What appears to be an acoustic wave is a series of decorative scrolls
Singapore’s Queenstown Baptist Church has been equipped with a
tailor-made sound system that’s just the right fit. Richard Lawn reports
WHEN AN AUDIO CONSULTANT IS
called in to improve the audio in a
church’s unique worship space, they
enter the venue with an open mind
in the knowledge that they cannot
impose a cut-and-paste design from
a previous solution. Specialist house
of worship AV consultant Robert Soo readily admits that he has gazed at some Singaporean sanctuaries for long periods of time, becoming ever more perplexed in his attempts to tame the space. Having been asked to troubleshoot and tweak the audio system in Queenstown Baptist Church (QBC) for several years, he eventually received a request to design a new AV system that would enhance its modern contemporary Sunday services.
Despite having familiarised himself
with the church for several years,
Soo acknowledges he was going
to be tested by the room’s low
ceiling, asymmetrical shape, lack of
acoustics and tight budget. ‘Each
time I created a design, it was a case of going back to the drawing board,’ comments Soo. The room width at the front is approximately 13.7m, tapering out to 26m at the rear over the 18.5m depth. What appears to be an acoustic wave suspended below
the 4.7m-high ceiling is in fact a
series of decorative scrolls that serve
no intended acoustic purpose.
Having ruled out a line array at
the outset, Soo conceived a simple
point source design. ‘The idea was
to keep the speakers as focused,
tight and flush as possible to the
ceiling in order to maximise height
and minimise reflections. However, it
was always going to be a challenge
balancing performance, aesthetics
and acoustics in this tricky room.’
Several loudspeaker suppliers were
asked to provide demonstrations
over a number of weekend services
Four ceiling suspended Outline Vegas 12 speakers provide the main sound reinforcement in QBC’s sanctuary
in September 2018. PAVE System
Pte Ltd was ultimately selected by
the appointed church committee to
supply and install the audio upgrade
prior to the 2018 Festive Season.
‘It wasn’t an easy switchover,’
confirms PAVE’s project manager,
Lee Cheng Hee, who headed a team
of eight technicians including sales
manager Koay Kheng Ying. ‘We had
to gradually phase out and dismantle
the old system during the week, clear
up in time for Sunday services and
carry on where we left off on the
Monday.’
The sanctuary is now adorned
with four ceiling-mounted Outline
Vegas 12 two-way cabinets paired as
separate L–R systems for half of the hall each. ‘The 1.75-inch compression driver is
mounted onto a rotatable
horn assembly, ensuring
we could orientate them horizontally while
maintaining the required
HF dispersion,’ explains
Soo. The rotatable 90° x 60° waveguide really
mitigated the effects of the
low ceiling and
controls the directivity.’ Suspended
from poles fixed onto individual
concrete blocks above the ceiling
décor, the Vegas 12 operates within a
55Hz to 19kHz frequency range.
Low frequencies down to 35Hz
(±3dB) are maintained by pair of L–R
Outline DVS 118 subwoofers, whose
crossover is set at 80Hz. Similarly,
the quasi-omnidirectional 18-inch