The Challenge
Calvary Presbyterian's 36-by-91-foot vaulted cathedral sanctuary is a beautiful room — wood-plank ceilings, glass walls, exposed glulam beams — and a punishing one for live audio. Hard reflective surfaces in every direction, an unshielded acoustic drum kit on stage, and a JBL PRX635 main pair that simply couldn't keep up with the room produced exactly the symptoms the worship team described:
- Excessive feedback on stage during services
- Drum and keyboard bleed into the singers' microphones
- Singers unable to hear themselves over the band
- Inconsistent house coverage — clarity in some seats, mud in others
- Poor broadcast and stream audio
Before — drums in the open, bleeding into every vocal mic
After — full ClearSonic isolation booth, drummer stays visible, vocals stay clean
Our Approach — A Two-Phase Plan
Rather than try to solve everything in one disruptive install, we structured the upgrade in two phases — each scoped to deliver visible improvement on its own. Phase 1 (this case study) replaces the front-of-house system: a flown line array, a cardioid subwoofer configuration, and full drum isolation. Phase 2 follows with a wireless in-ear monitor system for all twelve musicians, a complete stage microphone package, and targeted acoustic treatment for the room itself.
What Phase 1 Delivered
- New flown main speaker system — engineered to the room's geometry and rigged from the existing structural beams
- Directional subwoofer array — low end aimed at the congregation, away from the stage; reused two of the church's existing subwoofers
- Full-enclosure drum isolation booth — transparent acrylic so the drummer stays visible, complete acoustic containment so vocals stay clean
- Tuned and time-aligned for the room, with a measurement-based EQ calibration against an industry-standard live-sound target curve
Before — open wire shelf, tangled cabling, no enclosure
After — locking 22U cabinet, dressed cabling, room to grow
Results
Even Coverage, Every Pew
A flown line array replaces a struggling stand-mounted pair — clear vocals and instruments from front row to back wall.
Drums Out of the Mix
Full-enclosure isolation booth eliminates drum bleed into vocal microphones, recovering control of the live and broadcast mix.
Tighter Low End
Cardioid subwoofer array directs energy into the audience and away from the stage — less stage rumble, less feedback, more punch in the seats.
Phase 2 — Coming Next
Phase 2 will deliver a wireless in-ear monitor system for the full 12-piece worship team (4 musicians + 8 singers), the complete stage microphone package, and targeted acoustic treatment to take the edge off the room's natural reverberance.
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