Audio/Sound Committee Update

As reported at the Annual Meeting, the committee, which includes Cliff Allen, John Bowman, Heinrich Christiansen, Shawn Fiedler, Bill Sears, Medb Sichko, Dan Taylor, and co-chairs Dick and Cynthia Perkins, is focusing on the need to increase our accessibility and enable everyone to hear the spoken word.  We recognize that the choir and organ need no amplification. The committee members are now refining our research and narrowing in on our preferred options for a sound system.  Based on discussions with members of the parish which have helped to define the needs, and meetings with three different professional sound companies, and a recent trial run of an audio system, the committee is hoping to have a recommendation to the Vestry soon.   

A new system should enable those who want to participate in services to be heard:

1. Our minister has made it clear that we need to provide assistance to those who speak at weddings, funerals; that is, any who seek out King's Chapel for special services and who cannot be heard without a microphone.
2. The systems should support the participation of our children, and seniors who may have weaker voices, first-time readers who may not be able to project their voices, and those who are making announcements or offering personal testimonies. 
3. A well designed system would enable our ministers, lectors, and lay-readers to use a natural and gentler voice for prayers, readings, and announcements.
4. It is also important that we have a system that can make a clear recording of our service for use by members who may be traveling or are unable to attend due to illness or other reasons.

After visiting more than 8 churches with architecture and soundscape similar to our own, and speaking with 7 sound professionals, we have narrowed down three companies that have given us their proposals for a sound system that will meet the criteria.

We have planned to focus on a three-step program:

1. The whole committee agrees that assistive listening equipment is clearly required and we should move forward to accomplish this task, which will give those with significant hearing loss the capacity to have clear sound, either through their hearing aids or through small devices to be made available as they enter the church.
    
2. Our second step will be to install a single source speaker system which will provide enhanced sound coverage for the majority of the main sanctuary.  This will be very helpful to those who often miss words or do not find clarity in the speaking voices of the clergy or readers. We would propose to have this system installed concurrently with the assistive listening system.
    
3. We will hold in abeyance the full-church wiring with multi-speaker outputs, as originally recommended, until and unless we determine steps one and two do not provide the solution to our clear present needs.

The equipment needed for the assistive listening systems and the single source speaker will be appropriate to step three and will be already installed and applicable for add-on speakers.

A trial run during the week following Easter allowed us to test a temporary sound system. Installation was requested by John Appleton so that all who gathered for the memorial service to celebrate the life of his beloved wife, Sarah Appleton, could hear the speakers. The amplification was a success for this service.  We were also able to use the system the following day, Sunday, April 12, for the Sunday Forum talk given by the Rev. Carl Scovel.  Many people reported that the individuals who made the announcements and introductions, as well as Carl, could be heard easily without missing words or straining to hear; some even said this was a first for them at King's Chapel. Although a couple of people found the sound unnatural for their liking, we feel that with this first trail run we're on the right track to a workable solution. 

In several ways this trial run was helpful.  1) first to know that a simple system, i.e., one central speaker might provide us with coverage we need; 2) that although the sound is different than natural sound, with adjustments made it could be very the helpful; and 3) the speakers were able to talk or read without straining to project their voices.    

The committee is meeting this week to test yet another sound system approach.

We appreciate the support shown from our members, as well as the questions asked. We hope the members will be patient, perhaps listening to yet another trail run, with the knowledge that we're getting closer to the making an informed recommendation to Vestry. We should add that the committee is working diligently to find the best system at the best cost.

If you'd like to share your thoughts, please send them to Dick or Cynthia Perkins, co-chairs, by email (cbhperkins@earthlink.net).