Saint Sabina Church

Solution

“Previous Saint Sabina Church sound systems using line array and column speakers failed to provide clear, uniform coverage throughout the sanctuary,” explains ASC systems consultant Brent Handy. “Rather than using a long 55-foot throw to the back of the church, our approach was to get high-fidelity, point-source speakers as close to the congregation as possible to provide the same tone and sonic character to everyone.”

Handy based his design on Fulcrum Acoustic’s compact CX Series coaxial loudspeakers. To cover the center liturgical area, he deployed four downward-firing Fulcrum CX896 8-inch coaxial speakers with 90° x 60° dispersion along the side wooden trusses. Each CX8 is backed by a CCX1265 12-inch cardioid coaxial loudspeaker on the opposite side of the truss directed at the horseshoe-shaped seating area. Two standalone CCX1265s with 60° x 45° horns provide even coverage for seating closest to the church entrance.

“Fulcrum had just launched their cardioid CCX product family, applying their patented Passive Cardioid TechnologyTM to their best-selling line of compact coaxial installation loudspeakers,” states Handy. “The timing couldn’t have worked out better for us as this truss-speaker design approach demanded cardioid patterns to minimize low-frequency blowback and work within the architecture rather than fight against it.”

“When Father Jeff Stephan uttered his first hello with the new system, parishioners had never heard such volume and clarity in their church sound,” remarks Handy. “Church members love the musicality of the new Fulcrum system and as far as Father Jeff’s homilies, well, he had them at hello.”