Eliminate Unwanted Reverberation for Live Sound in a Church Setting

Perhaps It's Not a Problem with the PA System—You May Need to Fix the Room 

Does your room have an acoustic problem? When the band plays and people speak, does the sound reverberate off walls, making it difficult to understand the spoken word or the band? 

High church ceilings are lovely for choral music and organs but make understanding other speech or instruments difficult. In a church, every seat should offer every person a consistent natural sound. If seats in the front are louder while others in the back can hardly hear, people may feel disconnected or distracted.

While you may be concerned that your speakers or audio system are faulty, the issue with the acoustics and lack of clarity is most likely due to the challenging acoustics of the space. Factors such as ceiling height, hard surfaces, and wall and floor materials can all contribute to this problem. Fortunately, there is a straightforward solution that can permanently resolve this issue. Here’s how acoustic treatment panels work and can help your church in Spokane, WA, and surrounding areas.

SEE ALSO: Check Out Our Church Audio, Video & Lighting Gallery 

Why Does My Church Need Acoustic Treatments?

The sound that we perceive is largely composed of reflected sound waves. These waves bounce off various surfaces such as walls, floors, and ceilings before they reach our ears. However, in churches with steep ceilings, angled walls, or open walls, the sound pressure can be unevenly distributed, causing an increase in sound intensity on one side of the room while decreasing on the other, which leads to the creation of an echo.

And while the in-person experience is essential, you also want to consider recordings and live streams. Can people viewing your services at home hear the music and sermons clearly? Are the acoustics making it hard to follow along? Acoustic treatments can fix that. 

What Do Acoustic Treatments Do? 

To achieve an even distribution of sound in a room, acoustic treatments are employed to absorb sound waves. Acoustic wall panels are commonly constructed from materials such as fiberglass, mineral fiber, and foam. Our team will identify the most suitable materials and panel widths for your space and install them in the optimal positions on walls and ceilings. In the event that your church wishes to maintain a particular aesthetic, we can work with you on fabric choice and also custom shapes to fit your space.

What Difference Will Acoustic Panels Make? 

We recently had the pleasure of helping Worship Center in Pennsylvania with acoustic treatments. The church opened their new building in 2010 and has been tweaking the system, including a couple rehangs, working around the lack of acoustic treatment. Speech intelligibility and inconsistent coverage to each seat were the primary issues. 

Our team at CCI Solutions along with Worship Center, settled on Venueflex’s passive and active acoustic tools to “Fix the Room.” With the design and treatment of the room, Worship Center had a room conducive to speech and accomplished a consistent sound from seat to seat. People asked if the church had gotten a new sound system—that’s how dramatic the improvement was. Thanks to acoustic treatments, the church audio now sounds focused and tight, like a music studio. Audio also sounds much better online for service live streams. Once the room was fixed, everything else fell into place. 

To Fix Your Room, Talk With CCI Solutions 

Are you ready to improve your church’s audio? CCI Solutions in Spokane, WA, installs acoustic and soundproofing treatments and will ensure you’re pleased with the results. Contact us here to learn more about our acoustical treatment services!