PROJECTS
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Less is more Ecclesia Sound has been able to shrink the required audio equipment at Notre-Dame du Port by 80% by embracing Active Audio
Four Active Audio Ray-On 110 speakers have been placed on the columns
WHEN NOTRE-DAME DU PORT’S ageing audio system started falling apart, the HOW first contacted the Italian integrator that had installed the original equipment nearly 25 years ago. However, when the quote arrived, the church decided to seek a second opinion, this time from a French company. A Google search led to the discovery of Ecclesia Sound, a newly formed local systems integrator with only two years of experience installing sound systems in houses of worship in the south of France. Notre-Dame du Port was built between 1840 and 1853 by architect Joseph Vernier, designer of the Place d’Île de Beauté where the church is situated. When the building nearly collapsed in 1845, construction had to begin again but it wasn’t until 1896 that the façade and columns were added by architect Jules Fèbvre. The HOW has been listed as a historic monument since 1991 and overlooks the luxury yachts moored in Nice’s historic port. “When I visited the church, I did a full diagnosis and tried to explain that 20 speakers was way too much,” explains Ecclesia Sound’s owner, Joachim Fritsch. “When I said I would replace the existing speakers with just four fixtures,
they were very sceptical. The priest was unsure if the speakers would cover the entire audience and if he would be able to hear himself, and wanted to add more cabinets. I suggested adding the four speakers first and then adding more if he wasn’t happy. When he tried the system, he commented that he had never heard himself so clearly.” Fritsch provided the church with a sound simulation using EASE software. Even though he offered to do a site demonstration, the HOW was happy with the specifications on paper and was in a hurry to complete the installation ahead of a special celebration and visit from the Bishop of Nice. Located on the historic harbour of Nice, the church celebrates the feast of Saint-Peter every year on 4 July, as Saint-Peter is the patron saint of fishermen (although nowadays the harbour has more yachts than fishing boats). This year, the church invited the Bishop of Nice, Mgr André Marceau, to celebrate the feast, and so they needed to upgrade the sound system fairly quickly. “The church asked if I could finish the upgrade in two weeks. I said yes of course. Because I’m local I can be very flexible and responsive, and they really appreciated that. We skipped
the site demonstration and went straight ahead with the installation.” The new Active Audio Ray-On 110 speakers have been placed on four columns of the church: two at the front and two as delay speakers. The challenge came in the form of cabling, however – Notre-Dame du Port is planning a much larger refurbishment in two or three years’ time and so Fritsch was asked to reuse the existing cabling for the new speakers. “The old speakers weren’t 100V speakers, neither were they 8Ω speakers, they were somewhere in between,” he describes. “When I removed the last speaker from one side, all the others on the other side stopped working. It took me some time to figure out how they’d laid the original cabling. “When the refurbishment takes place, I will be able to lay new cables and a time delay for the second row of speakers,” continues Fritsch, who was unable to add the delay line because there’s currently only one cable running from the front speakers to the delay speakers. Looking ahead, he’s planned enough channels in the amplifier to be able to separate the delay speakers from the front speakers when the time comes, improving the church’s speech
24 WORSHIP AVL January–February 2022
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25/11/2021 12:44