Bose RoomMatch System Solves Two Problems for Winnipeg's Rowandale Baptist Church

	Rowandale Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which recently received an audio system upgrade featuring RoomMatch components from Bose Professional Systems. Photo: Ian Skrabek, Sound Art. 2013.

Rowandale Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where an average of 220 worshipers assemble each Sunday, faced the same issues that confront many churches as they aspire to have their message delivered clearly and articulately, while presenting music that is powerfully performed and inspiring. Unfortunately, in many of the acoustical environments typical of houses of worship, getting a single sound system to address both needs can be difficult. Rowandale Baptist Church found its answer with a RoomMatch system from Bose Professional Systems. Installed earlier this year by audio systems specialist Sound Art in Winnipeg, the new system consists of a center-hung cluster comprising one RM7020 module atop a RM12040 module, plus one RM9040 module used as a balcony delay speaker, and a pair of MB24 modular subwoofers (chosen in place of the RoomMatch RMS215 subwoofer due to space issues), all powered by Bose PowerMatch PM8500 and PM8500N amplifiers. From the moment it was first turned on, the company says the RoomMatch system delivered everything the church was looking for: clean, articulate, and powerful sound that evenly covered the entire worship space.

"The church, which had had some experience with the brand in the past, actually contacted Bose Professional Systems directly, and Bose then asked John [Loewen, head of Sound Art's sales and installation division] and I to take a look at it," recalls Ian Skrabek, project manager at Sound Art for this installation. "Like many churches, they were looking for a way to make speech clearer and get it to cover the interior of the church more evenly. At the same time, their worship music performances had become increasingly louder and more powerful -- a new youth service to be held twice a month would include a full band playing contemporary-style music. Specifically for this service they were concerned about meeting high volume and bass requirements. They needed a sound system that could handle that with full-range sound and do so without any distortion."

Skrabek felt confident that they could successfully address both issues with technology from Bose. Skrabek and Loewen chose RoomMatch array modules for their ability to handle high SPL levels in a more compact form factor, as well as their wide selection of coverage patterns to choose from and their smooth natural sound. "One of the really remarkable things about the RoomMatch systems is how few modules you actually need to cover a space," marvels Skrabek. Two modules essentially gave us four zones of coverage, which distributes the sound very evenly."

Furthermore, the PowerMatch amplifiers can be networked or not, depending upon the needs of the project. Sound Art used a PowerMatch PM8500N amplifier, networking the RoomMatch center cluster and balcony delay speakers together, while separately powering the MB24 subwoofers, which are soffited beneath the stage, with a PM8500 amplifier. "The PowerMatch amps are able to deliver an incredible amount of power from a standard 15A AC outlet, and all system processing was done with the DSP in the PowerMatch amps," Skrabek notes. "The church was extremely happy with the outcome. The resulting sound coverage from the RoomMatch modules is very consistent everywhere in the room and balcony. The sound system is now capable of accurately reproducing the most delicate sounds right up to concert-volume sound with thunderous bass. They got everything they were looking to achieve."