WHPAV provides advanced CDD12 / SXC115 solution in Arizona

Casa Grande, AZ—Whole Hearted Pro AV LLC (WHPAV) seriously upgraded the loudspeaker system at Trinity Baptist Church in Casa Grande, AZ—adopting a Martin Audio solution—to create better church sound after the previous system failed catastrophically.

The Problem? Poor Church Sound

It all started when Aaryn Sanders, worship leader at Trinity, called WHPAV founder, Trent Perkins. Aaryn was in a panic two weeks before Christmas when his speakers failed. “After confirming that our speakers were indeed dead, he (Trent) let us borrow some equipment until we could install a quality system,” Sanders reports. Trinity clearly needed some better church sound solutions.

Trinity was one of WHPAV’s earliest customers after the integration company started out in 2016. “We enjoy a long relationship with the church,” recalled Perkins. “It began with an installation that included rewiring much of the sanctuary AV.” The sanctuary is unique. It is a large A-frame that extends from corner to corner of the building, with a 45ft distance between floor and peak from the back of the stage to the large back wall of the sanctuary.  The widest part of the room is near the back of the sanctuary before the room starts to narrow again.

Such a challenging space requires a unique approach, especially when it comes to audio coverage. The original system included two double 15in subwoofers on each side of the 45ft wide stage. This setup came with serious cancellation issues. According to Trent, “The low end sounded great in the middle aisle, but bass response was less than optimal anywhere else in the room.”

He sensed that solving this conundrum would be vital if he were to upgrade the speaker system. It was the search for a solution to this problem that led him to Martin Audio.

All About that Bass

“It’s all about the bass,” Trent exclaimed! Most situations do not require rock concert levels of subsonic frequencies. But, the ability to faithfully reproduce lower octaves creates a far more satisfying experience for the listener. Getting that low-end response evenly distributed throughout the whole of that oddly shaped space would prove to be a real challenge.

The stage is so wide that there is no centralized place to put subs on the ground. Even had it been possible, listeners in the front corners of the room would barely hear any bass. Simultaneously those who sat in the front center of the sanctuary would complain that there was too much bass.

Trinity’s Senior Pastor, Dr. Phil Calvert, shared the flaws with the previous system. “There were many pockets throughout the sanctuary where the audio experience was less than satisfactory. In fact, it was so bad we posted a sign at the sound booth stating that if members of the congregation felt the sound was too loud or too quiet, they might consider moving to a different part of the room.”

The ideal solution seemed to be fly the subs near the peak of the room. Any lower and they could visually distract from the large stained-glass cross that fills the entire height of the room behind the stage. However, flying subs 30ft in front of a solid brick wall would be a recipe for disaster as the reflected long sound waves cancel much of the sound being projected into the room. This left him with the only possible option: a cardioid subwoofer solution.

Martin to the Rescue

That’s when Trent learned about a possible solution from Martin. “When I discovered that Martin Audio had a single 15in cardioid box design that could reduce the rear firing sound at 63Hz by nearly 30dB, I became very interested!” Having earmarked a pair of Martin Audio’s SXC115s, the focus then turned to the main hangs.

Trent discussed suitable options with Martin Audio’s Western Regional Sales Manager, Jim Sage, and Product Support Engineer, Will Harris. They initially considered the TORUS system. But they felt there might be a more appropriate solution. That’s when they decided to utilize the popular CDD12. The CDD12 takes advantage of something called Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology. WHPAV particularly admired the coaxial speakers’ unique woofer design that works as the outer portion of the horn.

They assured even coverage by suspending two of these at the front of the room and a further pair time-aligned 30ft further back. “The settings I developed in the Martin D3 simulation software during the design phase were very close to what I needed for individual tuning of the delayed CDD12s,” Trent confirmed.

To complete the picture, two ultra-compact CDD5 speakers, with their own versatile wall-mounts, were deployed to fill in some under-hangs at the front of the outside areas of the sanctuary.

The CDD5s, powered by a pre-existing amplifier, are processed by a dedicated Martin Audio DX0.4 . The rest of the PA is driven from a Linea Research (LR) 88C10. LR and Martin are both fellow Focusrite Group partners. The LR 88C10 8-channel x 1,250W amplifier has a full DSP! These include specifically designed FIR curves that optimize each of the Martin speakers.

The Result? Better church sound!

Installation began on a Monday and was complete and ready in time for Sunday’s service. With installation assistance from Aldo Higuera, Trent Perkins reflects on a thoroughly satisfactory integration. “I am really excited that WHPAV have now been given Martin Audio dealer status. The CDD12s ended up being a great solution!”

“The sound of the new system is amazing!” exclaimed Aaryn Sanders, on hearing it fired up. “The coverage at every seat was practically identical and everything is so much clearer than we have heard before in this room. In addition, the low-end response throughout the sanctuary is really clean, powerful and consistent throughout.”

“While our generally older congregation does not necessarily appreciate concert levels on Sunday mornings,” said Dr. Calvert, “we are increasingly reaching young families, and young adults in their 20’s and 30’s. We are looking forward to doing more community concerts and outreach events—now that we can do it with excellence!”

Are you looking for better bass?

If you are looking to get better bass in your worship center, you should check out our free PDF guide!  8 Keys to Subwoofer Success is our way of providing real-world solutions to help you obtain better church sound today.