1 Speaker for a 2,000 Seat Room?

When Rocky Mountain Calvary (RMC) first approached us about doing an audio system upgrade, one of the main areas of concern and they really wanted to focus on was improving coverage in their main worship space and adding intelligibility. We reached out to Danley Sound Labs to have them design a system that would provide just what the church asked for. They did a great job of understanding what the church was after and designing a system to fit that! 

The main portion of the sound system was… 1 speaker! Yes, when we told RMC they responded with the same question I’m sure you are asking. “How could 1 speaker cover an almost 2000 seat auditorium?” 

​Well, let me introduce you to the Danley Jericho J7-95. This speaker has 8 high end drivers, 4 mid-range drivers and 6 low end drivers (That’s 18! for those in the back), all packed into a cabinet that is 3’ x 2’ x 2’, and only weighs in at 265lbs. It is quite the powerhouse with the ability to cover the main portion of the room all on it's own! In addition to the low end that comes from the Jericho we finished off this build with a set of Danley BC215, coupled in the ceiling, so that the low end would also be smooth and consistent throughout the room as well. To make sure we were able to cover the entire space evenly we also had a Danley SH46 and SH95HO on each side to help as a side and down fill for the edges of the auditorium. We also added 12 Cube speakers in the back of the room to cover underneath the overhang. With this combination, no matter where you are in the room you can clearly hear whatever is happening. 

The difference in the room from this upgrade was night and day. The Tech Director at RMC, Dan, commented that no matter where he walked in the room it all felt the same and he could hear everything! Even some of the attendees have mentioned that they can clearly hear the speaker whether they sit to the side or in the back!

The 2nd piece of this install to improve RMC’s system and meet their goals was to swap out their old Yamaha M7CL with a Yamaha QL5 paired with Waves. The QL5 is quite the workhorse with 64 inputs and 24 output busses, plus, with the addition of Dante, it really opens a lot of options for RMC. One of the bonuses with staying in the Yamaha family is that the user interface between the M7CL and the QL5 is very similar, bringing the learning curve between the two boards down significantly for the staff at RMC.

​With the addition of Waves, it takes input processing to a whole new level for RMC. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Waves, let me give you a quick overview. Waves has replaced what used to be entire racks of outboard gear with what they have now modeled and created as hundreds of plugins to do everything from compressor and dynamics, to EQ, to autotune. The real feat they accomplished is the ability to use these plugins in a live environment with extremely low latency. The possibilities are endless!

​The last piece of this puzzle for RMC were wireless mics and wireless in-ear-monitors (IEM’s). For the wireless mics we chose Shure ULXD-Q to match 2 units they already owned. And for the IEM’s we choose Shure PSM300’s. This allows the front line of the band to be fully wireless and the flexibility to change capsules to select the best vocal mic for each vocalist. The Shure ULXD also has the ability for gain to be controlled directly from the QL5 making for a system that integrates seamlessly together for ease of use and meeting the goals of RMC.

​This large audio upgrade was a big step for the church! Making big changes can be the best decision at times. The difference in clarity and intelligibility for RMC has made a noticeable impact for not only the staff of RMC, but also for the attendees! Working with the team at Lambda and the sound design professionals at Danley ensured that RMC would not only be getting quality equipment, but a system that actually is making a difference for the church!