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Danley Loudspeakers the Core of Sugarloaf United Methodist Community Life Building

Sugarloaf United Methodist Church in Duluth, Georgia recently debuted new audio, projection, and video distribution systems installed by dB Audio & Video in Gainesville, Georgia in its new Community Life Building. Sugarloaf's Minister of Worship Arts, Larry Parker, worked with Ronnie Stanford, systems advisor for dB, to create an AV system that would serve the multi-purpose nature of the space.

The church emphasizes community, celebration, hope and compassion to its 1,600-member congregation. As such, the Community Life Building is the epicenter, serving as the worship space, the gymnasium for church sporting events, as well as the meeting place for fellowship meals. From an AV standpoint, the building was both a technical and creative challenge for dB. "Sugarloaf's staff and volunteers are highly competent in media ministry and knew their functionality requirements," Stanford noted. "They wanted high-fidelity audio and complete coverage of the room. The robust system needed to support music, speech, IMAG and video playback – all the elements of a quality worship service."

The multi-purpose room has lines drawn on the carpet for basketball and volleyball as well as retractable basketball goals on each end of the room. A 50-ft. wide by 25-ft. deep stage is along one wall and is built to accommodate the choir, as well as a band. Cushioned stackable chairs are used during the high-energy worship services and are then stored away. Stanford's design had to take into account the room's uses as well as sightlines, usability and durability.

The audio design uses precision loudspeakers by Danley Sound Labs. The center cluster, flown over the stage, features two Danley SH50 full-range loudspeakers with a 50 x 50 Synergy Horn configuration and two Danley TH115 tapped horn subwoofers. Flown to the left and right are one each of the Danley SH50 loudspeaker for room coverage and a Danley SH100 loudspeaker aimed at the stage for stage wash/choir coverage.

For the stage monitor system, Stanford chose a 16-channel Aviom system with eight personal monitor mixers and four Community XLT41E-94B loudspeakers. Twelve Atlas Sound FAP42T ceiling speakers provide coverage throughout the rest of the building. A total of six QSC RMX-series amplifiers provide power for the system.

The front-of-house position is totally portable, with a Yamaha 48-channel M7 digital console mounted in a wheeled road case. At times when the audio system is needed for playback or for simple announcements during a meeting, the single Biamp Nexia SP signal processor can be used instead of the full FOH rack.

dB Audio & Video also designed and installed acoustic treatment for the room. The rear and side walls of the room created large reflective surfaces that required proper acoustic treatment in order to achieve the coverage and intelligibility that was required. Twenty 4-ft. by 8-ft. panels were installed along the back wall, and additional panels were also installed on the side walls to reduce the unwanted reflection.

The installed projection system features two pan/tilt/zoom Panasonic AW-E650 cameras outfitted with Canon Broadcast lenses that are remotely controlled from the production booth. Stanford also designed and installed the infrastructure to add up to seven more cameras. Also in the production booth are two 5,000 ANSI lumens Panasonic PT-D5600U DLP projectors that project onto two Da-Lite Senior Electrol screens that flank each side of the stage. An additional Da-Lite Cosmopolitan Electrol screen at the back of the room provides lyrics and direction for the onstage choir. Stanford chose motorized screens for all three locations to minimize any damage from the sports activities.

At the present, the new video distribution system for the church is handled through an Edirol HD-440, FSR Navigator 2 x 1 Computer Video Switcher and two Panasonic plasma displays. "It's great because Sugarloaf uses technology to be creative," said Stanford. "We installed an integrated system with the knowledge the church will use this to their maximum potential."

Recently, the new systems were in full display during the first worship service held in the Community Life Building. Parker led the 2,000 members and visitors through a ten-year retrospective of the church. "Our growth has been explosive during this time and we've done many wonderful things in our worldwide mission work," said Parker, who has been with the church since its inception.

From reconstructing a village in Nicaragua to building a house for an impoverished woman in West Virginia, churchgoers were able to see video footage of landmark events in the church's history via the new projection system. The footage was accompanied by Parker singing accompanied by a string quartet. The service then began with Dr. Scott Ray, senior minister, speaking through the new audio system with a sermon about amazing love. "We always have expansion plans," said Parker. "The plan is for five to eight years in this building and then moving on to build a dedicated worship center."

Tom Danley is one of the most innovative loudspeaker designers in the industry today and is recognized worldwide as a pioneer for "outside the box" thinking in professional audio technology. His legendary designs have been utilized in projects ranging from ground zero bombing simulation, jet engine active noise cancellation, and sonic boom generators to critical listening mastering studios, high-end home theatre, and houses of worship around the world.

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Danley Loudspeakers the Core of Sugarloaf United Methodist Community Life Building

10th October 2006

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