‘Like words from heaven’: listed church rejoices at sound advice

‘Like words from heaven’: listed church rejoices at sound advice

A churchwarden in Gloucestershire has invented a new game – spot the loudspeakers.

‘When visitors come into our building I challenge them to see if they can see where we’ve located them,’ said Nigel Robbins of the Church of St John Baptist, Cirencester and former mayor of the town. ‘When they give up, I smile and say: “From heaven!”’

It follows a massive overhaul of the sound system by CRE National exhibitors Novum AV. St John Baptist is a Grade 1 listed building which includes architectural styles from the 12th century. Novum used special look-alike material for the loudspeakers – successfully camouflaging them from the impressive surroundings of what is one of the largest parish churches in England.

In fact, the company removed a dozen boxed speakers from the medieval limestone columns in the church and more than 300 metres of unsightly cabling before installing the tall, slim, speakers, designed to blend into the environment – each one colour-matched and positioned discretely. The speakers improve building architecture and aesthetics.

‘The specialist system we used means that sound waves are digitally steered direct to the congregation, focussing on the listening area and directing sound away from hard, reflective surfaces,’ said Tim Jacques, the head of Novum AV. ‘This avoids the problem of reverberation in large buildings – particularly with a lot of stonework. The high controlled coverage also means that the words spoken can be much more intelligible.’

By designing a system with a small number of specialised loudspeakers, the budget was directed towards buying high quality units. Providing extra speakers would have involved more installation labour and other materials.

‘We had been bedevilled by a sound system for the spoken voice which frequently let us down,’ said Nigel Robbins. ‘The new speakers perform magnificently, the human voice suffering no distortion through dispersion such as reverberation. The softest sound comes through clearly from over 70 yards away. Hard-of hearing people declare they no longer require the old loop system!’

The new speakers actually enhance the appearance of the atmospheric church, making it easier to lease the space to local organisations – both a community benefit and a commercial opportunity for the church.

• Novum will be on stand T12 at CRE National 2022

Photos: Hiding in plain sight: the new sound system at the Church of St John the Baptist, Cirencester

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