Florida Church Chooses RCF HDL Line Array as a Multi-Use Sound System

Harmon AV, an events production and sound integration company based in Fort Myers Florida, has seen a steady increase of integration business over the past few months. With COVID restrictions lifted statewide, Bobby Harmon, co-owner and integrator at Harmon AV, has seen a big push with clients wanting to improve sound quality, become more digitally capable, and stream video online. One notable installation was a complete system upgrade at Burnt Store Presbyterian Church [BSP] in Punta Gorda which features an RCF HDL active line array system.

When the conversation started about upgrading BSP’s audio it was apparent that the 20-year-old system was in dire need of an upgrade. “The challenge for us was to find a PA that was properly voiced and was going to cover the room for varying types of services,” said Harmon. “Initially when we discussed upgrading the system, one thing that came up was their live concert series. The church holds several live concerts [with full bands] throughout the year, and usually hire outside companies to provide additional sound.”

Other acoustic challenges throughout the church included echo and bounce-back which were addressed by Harmon AV. “One issue we had to address was the reverberance of the room, which they liked for the traditional services, so they didn’t want to change that,” continued Harmon. “We talked about room acoustics and treating it, but the music minister didn’t want to change the natural acoustics of the room. Another issue brought up by one of the pastors, was the ‘echo in a cave’ sound of being when speaking on the stage, which we determined was bounce-back from the backwall. We knew we could solve these issues with a line array system and few fills throughout the room,” said Harmon

When asked about choosing active speakers over passive, the RCF HDL 6-A was selected for its sound quality, vocal intelligibility, and overall install flexibility. “My experience with the [HDL] 6-A was that I really like how the box is voiced,” said Harmon. I’ve been very impressed with how they’re tuned, I knew it would be a really good fit. For me it really wasn’t a matter of choosing a passive or active, it was about choosing the right solution for the space—and it happened to be active.”

“My experience with the [HDL] 6-A was that I really like how the box is voiced,”

For the low-end Harmon placed two RCF SUB 8004 Active Subwoofers on each side of the stage. “The original design was to fly the subs, but we made the esthetic choice of hiding them on the floor. We put one behind the band, the other side next to the organ. They complement the HDL 6-A very well,” added Harmon.

Another challenge Harmon AV faced was power sequencing and brought in an electrician to run additional power throughout the room. “I find the ease of an active system is really nice, not having to match amps, the [RCF] system didn’t require very much tuning either, the modules are very flat out of the box, it sounded great with little effort.”

To improve the overall experience for the pastors, Harmon installed two RCF M-1001 Passive Speakers, powered by one RCF IPS Series Power Amplifier [IPS 2700] for stage fills, giving pastors some voice lift with basic stage monitoring. “We like how that was working so added an additional pair of M 1001s to the overflow areas as well,” said Harmon.

With the warm Florida weather Harmon AV have seen live events slowly come back. “We’ve done some outdoor movie nights, and a few smaller outdoor receptions, and private concert events,” said Harman. Autumn is a perfect time of year for outdoor events. We’re taking all the precautions we can to keep our staff safe.”