...or is it just me?
Background: The lead music director is gathering the techs and volunteers for a "workshop on the sound system" happening in a month, as they changed some routing in the DSP. Me being the de-facto lead tech, I'm going to have fun grilling the contractor as to why line column arrays are such a good idea for a reverberant sanctuary that has tile flooring and minimal acoustic treatment while installed improperly.
Here's the skinny: The sanctuary is designed as a "cross" like a cathedral-type. Tile flooring & minimal acoustic treatment, you get that, very reverberant. Seats about 1600, so a big church. There are actually two systems, a pair (2) of Renkus-Heinz ICONYX line column array installed at the front of the church facing the congregation, and a distributed EAW install consisting of the AX series (AX2 & AX122). Speech AKA minister and ambo mics are permanent to the ICONYX via some weird DSP (could be BSS Soundweb, not london blueface) while the Music is to the EAW rig. EAW rig comes from another BSS Soundweb coming from a Soundcraft GB4-32 (really need to upgrade to digital).
/begin rant of reason
Now what I find idiotic is the ICONYX is not the right tool for the application. Having the ICONYX in the front will only serve the front, the back (including me, because that's where the sound board is) struggle to hear the minister because IMO the contractor DSP EQ'd it like a "cone/triangle" with low-mid and midrange the only thing everyone hears. Add to the fact that it's installed incorrectly in that its deeper in the wall cuts the horizontal dispersion and that the ambo mic point directly to the line column speaker.
I wish they could've made the speech to the main EAW rig and ditch the ICONYX as money spent on the ICONYX could've been money for the digital board. Basically a case of stupid.
/end rant