|
Frequently Asked Questions:
Acoustics In Houses Of Worship
1. We've just completed a new worship facility and the acoustics are horrible. What should we do?
First, we applaud your understanding that acoustics play a HUGE roll in the success of a house of worship. Great looks are wonderful, but, as we trademarked years ago, "How can the congregation HEED the word if it can't HEAR the word?™"
To begin the process of taming your facility's acoustics, download a copy of our House of Worship Room Analysis Form. The process involved is similar to our normal Product Application Support service, with a few exceptions:
- While hand drawings/sketches will work, we'd prefer to see copies of the actual blueprints of the space. Digital pictures or video are always welcome, too.
- Our turnaround time for large spaces such as sanctuaries and multi-purpose rooms is 5-7 business days. We'll perform basic acoustical modeling of the space, attempting to predict things like reverberation, intelligibility, musical clarity, etc. This is not an exact process and the results are subject to many variables—all of which cannot be quantified without on-site analysis. However, without ever leaving our headquarters in Indianapolis, we've helped from afar thousands and thousands of folks achieve their desired acoustical results.
All of the above is free, with a few exceptions, because we take into consideration that you'll likely be buying our products once we've finished analyzing your space. We put together a shopping list of acoustical treatments that you can then purchase through any of our thousands of dealers around the globe. Installation is a snap with most of our products, and should be something your staff members or volunteers can tackle with little difficulty. If you don't desire to handle the installation yourself, contact us and we can discuss other options with you, such as Auralex-certified installers performing the installation.
2. We're considering building a new worship facility and are concerned about the acoustics being correct. What should we do?
Assuming you're working with an architect and approaching all aspects of the design seriously, you should consider hiring a Professional Acoustical Consultant, which is someone with a degree in acoustics. How do you find one? You can hire Auralex, which employs degreed acoustical consultants, or you can visit www.ncac.com, the official website of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants. Naysayers take note: Auralex only gives rational, objective advice regardless whether we're being hired as acoustical consultants or not, and regardless whether the client ends up turning into a customer and makes the decision to implement Auralex products.
An effective acoustical design is absolutely critical—probably more so than any other component of a facility's design, given the intent of the space—and ensures that the message is accurately communicated to the congregation. It does no good whatsoever to design a beautiful house of worship, only to have its design compromise the effectiveness of the delivery of the message. There is at least one famous house of worship that has spent eight figures on new sound equipment in an effort to try to tame the acoustical problems that were inherent in the sanctuary's design. It probably goes without saying, but they have not been able to accomplish the desired goal. A member of the Auralex staff was recently in this house of worship and said he could almost not hear the message due to the low volume level the staff had to use in order not to excite the room's bad acoustics. Obviously, this proves our point: the better you can get the acoustics from the get-go, the better off you'll be in the long-term, both monetarily and spiritually.
We have been quite successful over the last 29 years at retrofitting houses of worship, but you should understand going into your new project that retrofitting is generally more expensive than designing acceptable acoustics into the facility in the first place. Plus, based on a given facility's design, acoustical compromises often have to be made when retrofitting a house of worship. Never has the age-old adage been more appropriate: "Get it right the first time." Or, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." Or, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Or..., well, you get the picture.
There was a church in the Midwest that literally did not use their new multi-purpose room for 8 years because of the horrible acoustics in the space. They came to Auralex, we got 'em into just a few thousand dollars of treatments...and now they pack the room with a few hundred screaming teenagers for highly amplified contemporary Christian music concerts every Saturday. Are they happy with Auralex? They told us to drop by for dinner any time we want.
If your group simply doesn't have the money to hire an acoustical consultant, don't lose too much sleep. Auralex is standing by to help get you the best-sounding room your organization can afford, and we promise to do our best to make the process as painless and inexpensive as humanly possible. We're realists.
3. If you're still wanting to poke around on the Web, here are some additional resources you might find helpful:
- www.churchsoundcheck.com - This website is maintained by one of the foremost experts in worship audio and acoustics, Curt Taipale. The discussion groups in particular are a fantastic way to keep current on all the latest goings-on in the fields of worship audio and worship acoustics.
- www.worshiptech.com - This website is also maintained by one of the world's foremost experts in worship audio, Kent Morris. Kent offers wonderful training programs in worship audio year round. His website is recommended if you're considering new construction or renovation of a worship facility.
- www.churchplansforless.com - Auralex works with Church Plans For Less, a company dedicated to offering high quality worship facility designs at rock-bottom prices.
- www.tfwm.com - Technologies for Worship Ministries. Their mission is "to help educate churches and ministries everywhere to reach their congregations more effectively through the use of modern technology."
|
