Take the oldest Saxon building in arguably the UK’s most famous medieval city, and the task of equipping it sensitively with a 21st century sound reinforcement system may sound like the contract from hell. Add to that the fact that the pulpit in St. Bene’t’s Church, which dates back to 1025, is situated in front of the speaker position and you will understand why installation contractor Matthew Dilley of About Sound had more than English Heritage and the Diocesan Council to contend with when fitting the new JBL CBT (Constant Beamwidth Technology) columns; these form part of a major sound system upgrade using brands from the Harman Pro portfolio.
In the event, the installer turned the situation to his advantage. “We welcome challenges and restrictions such as this,” he stated. “I derive no satisfaction in trashing historic buildings! But what you don’t want to see is a pulpit ahead of where you want to place your speakers.”
Dilley’s task was to combine form factor with performance — always aware that feedback suppression would be an issue. “I short-listed several and carried out demos, all the while knowing they would never have been acceptable to the architect on the grounds of being too obtrusive.”
He was pleased he waited, for at last year’s PLASA Show he saw the newly-launched JBL CBT Series. “It seemed just right, combining good looks with quality. A lot of these old columns contain multiple drive units which roll off at 250Hz, whereas the CBT’s are full bandwidth.
The challenge was to get the same size of box but sounding better, he said. “The only ones I had seen in the form factor I wanted weren’t good enough, however these sounded good, they were acceptable visually and they were signed off at a Diocesan hearing.”
Full story:
http://www.soundtech.co.uk/jbl/news/cbt-oldest-church-cambridge
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