“In a room like this one, lots of people would just opt for a center speaker cluster in mono, and be done with it,” says Taft. “To me, that’s just taking the path of least resistance. But it doesn’t give them a lot of options in terms of getting good sound. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just very utilitarian.”
Instead, Taft created a unique dual Left-Center-Right system configuration that affords the entire congregation a seat in the sweet spot. The system, comprising six Community iBOX IHP two-way loudspeakers and two TD218S subwoofers, uses Miles Technology’s M86 Multisonic Imager to take the 32-channel Allen & Heath GL300 console’s conventional left/right stereo output and spread it into a pair of Left-Center-Right-Sub configurations. “We’re using the M86’s plus-minus matrixing process to essentially create an L-C-R mix for the left side of the auditorium, and another L-C-R mix for the right side. In a room as wide as this one, I really prefer it to a more traditional Left-Right stereo concept, because it delivers better imaging, especially to the outer edges of the seating area.”
As Taft explains, he drew his inspiration from some of the complex sound design schemes he’d heard in some of Cirque du Soleil’s shows on a recent trip to Las Vegas. “I’m not comparing this to any of those high-end Vegas shows,” he says, “but I’ve been really impressed by the way those designers create the illusion of sound floating in the air. You almost forget there’s a sound system because the sound is so nicely dispersed, rather than originating from one or two points.”
Of course, Taft points out that a lot depends on the person mixing the service, and on the performance of the loudspeakers. “I think the iBOX was really the ideal speaker for this design,” he observes. “It delivers a degree of intelligibility and performance I’ve rarely found with other systems. It’s musical without being muddy, and it can be aggressive without being in your face. And it sounds good right out of the box, with a minimum of EQ and processing.”
Taft also gives high marks to Community’s unwavering support of their products. “A lot of companies make great sounding boxes, but the support I’ve gotten from Community is something special in today’s marketplace. No matter how small or simplistic a project, they’ve been there for me. We had a rather challenging design in this room and I was a bit concerned going in as to how I was going to address hanging the speakers. But the new iBOX yolk rigging system was so right-on that it pretty much made it plug-and-play. Community really provides me with all the solutions I need to get the job done right.”
