 |
 |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
||
Factors That Determine the Cost (of (Nearly) Anything)
| Quality Required: | Site Conditions: | |
|
Functional Needs: Number/Type
Of Wireless Microphones
|
THE RIGHT SYSTEM |
|
| Installation Factors: | ||
Typical Cost Per Seat
(figure at maximum seating capacity)
| A: Liturgical System | B: Average System | C: Professional System |
| Amplified liturgical service with non-amplified music (choir with pipe organ) and drama, pastor may use wireless microphone | Moderate amplification for music (choir with organ) and drama, some liturgical elements, singers use monitor speakers, some wireless mic use. | Broadcast or High energy amplified music and drama based churches, higher SPL wider frequency response. |
Is the accuracy of the design of great importance or is the overriding concern of the committee that the system be “cost effective” and “simple” to operate? Sometimes doing the right thing in terms of system design is neither cheap nor simple. If the desire of the client is to provide the listeners with a wonderful, stunning, impact filled and accurate listening experience in a difficult room (acoustically or geometrically) then the budget and personnel required may not be viewed as cost effective or simple. Great results come from accurate (reasonable) budgets, great designs, great product selection, great installation, great system tuning, great operators and great users. An accurate design takes into account all the spoken and implied information from the client and is the first and most important step in the sound system process.
The written specifications may be viewed as a text statement of a performance window. The bigger the opening of the window the bigger the envelope of quality and the “looser” or poorer definition there is to the specification. Design specifications must be established by the client and system designer early in the process so that the design can be accomplished to the client’s satisfaction. The best specifications are worded in such a way to assure that the “window” of acceptable quality narrowly defines at least the following items in very explicit terms.
Remember that the tighter and more defined the specification the more protection it affords the church in terms of the guarantee of high quality performance.
Items to be included in the proposal include:
Design Scope – What functions does the system need to provide to be acceptable?
Block Diagram – The block diagram is an essential working document in the design phase of the project. It defines the signal path to and through the various components, showing the routing of all sources through the system to the loudspeaker, normally in a left to right manner.
Equipment List – Once the needs of the client are defined in the design scope and the block diagram prepared, it is then possible to prepare an accurate equipment list for all major system components. This is not a shopping list of every piece part, but rather a general overview of the main specific parts or descriptions of those parts.
Installed
System Specifications Include:
Intelligibility,
Measured in Articulation Loss of Consonants (ALCons), ideally below 5% at all
seats. No seat should exceed 10%
Alcons if the loudspeaker system is properly selected and installed.
Frequency
Response, Lowest Pitch (Frequency) to Highest Pitch (Frequency) to be
reached at all seats.
Deviation
in Response – When measured against a known volume level at a given seat,
this specification will show the widest acceptable margin (loudness to softness
in decibels), normally in the following terms:
Deviation at 2kHz to be no more than +/-2dB at any seat, any seating
condition when measured with a 1/3 octave band of pink noise centered on
2kHz.
Signal
to Noise Ratio – Better than 25dB at all seats
Equivalent
Acoustic Distance (EAD) is to be no greater than 8’ with one microphone
active and the talker 1’ from the microphone.
Acceptable
Volume Levels without Distortion - At maximum listening distance (D2) the
system will provide 90dB of program material plus 10dB peak (headroom) without
measurable distortion as observed on a calibrated test microphone and viewed on
an oscilloscope measured at D2.
Needed Acoustic Gain (NAG) and Potential Acoustic Gain (PAG) must be determined by client and designed and be met or exceeded to meet the system specifications. How loud does the system need to operate (NAG) and does it have the potential (PAG) to reach that level within the room conditions.
It is generally true that you get what you pay for. Does anyone really believe that a Yugo is quality engineered and manufactured as a Buick? Chevy? Toyota? Given the importance of the message involved it would seem that most listeners would opt for a Chevy or Buick quality if given the choice. Remember that a Buick may well cost 3 to 4 times the cost of the Yugo.
Middle price range products are most often found in upper end music stores, contracting firms and lower end recording supply houses). It is generally not a good value to purchase systems on either end of the specification scale as the quality of the low cost items is often suspect and the value of the very highest priced items in the studio boutique-type shops may not be an audible difference and the cost may well be double or triple the middle price systems.
Experienced contractors will be able to provide typical repair and product failure rate information. Most often contractors will be slow to recommend products with shorter warrantees than those which the contractor provides to the client.
The first step in determining the correct path to a sound system upgrade is that of determining the viability of reuse of equipment, or possible purchase of used equipment. Assuming the equipment in question has not been subject to smoke, water or fire damage, and it was originally of high quality there is often no reason to replace a high quality used component. Of course, this assumes the used component can fulfill the functional requirements in the upgraded system.
It is entirely possible for a church to provide the correct funding, install the correct sound system, tune and verify the great specifications are met, train the system operator and users to a high level and still be left with disastrous results IF the operator is locked away in a closet and cannot hear the results of his mixing decisions. The bottom line is that if you are purchasing a sound system but leaving your operator in a closet, the best you can hope for is marginal quality, so you may as well start saving your funds for the next upgrade where the operator is moved into the room.
Why is the yearly repair budget considered within the quality portion of this information? Simply put, it is a necessary part of any component purchase. A properly designed sound system will last decades, however it may need periodic maintenance and adjustment. Small components under stress may fail (thin microphone cables on lapel microphones comes to mind) and loudspeaker rigging should be checked at least every five years. Plan on about 3-5% of the system cost (above the cost of batteries, cassettes and CDs) as a safe long-term figure.
How long it takes a steady sound to decay once the sound is abruptly stopped. Long reverberation times can improve the sound of certain instruments (2.5 seconds to 3.5 seconds of decay time can make a pipe organ sound great), however the longer the reverberation time the more difficult it becomes to achieve excellent intelligibility (5% AlCons). In reverberant conditions exceeding 2 seconds it may well be impossible to reach the desired intelligibility with providing the listeners with headphones to mask the room sound.
Echoes are somewhat similar to reverberation in that both a caused by reflections from hard surfaces (walls, floors or ceilings) back into the space. Echoes are generally caused by distant walls where the combination of the reflective surface, the size of the reflective surface and the distance of the path from source to reflective surface and back to the source is longer than about 100ms. If you stand at the podium and the back wall of the church is 55-60ft away and is reflective, you will likely hear some type of echo from a short clap or word.
Fan Shaped Rooms and Rooms with Transepts - The wider the coverage area the more likely the system must be comprised of multiple loudspeakers or horns, as opposed to a single 15” woofer and single horn/driver combination box. This creates cost issues, rigging issues, cancellation of signal issues and therefore drives the cost and complexity of the system up.
Domes
and other unusual recessed or intrusive portions in a room nearly always creates
difficulties in terms of late arriving reflections, which creates difficulties
and increasing cost in the design and implementation of the project.
Rooms
with low ceilings create significant difficulty in terms of even coverage.
The correct means of addressing this problem is often found in many small
speakers located near the ceiling line firing into the seating.
These speakers must be signal delayed to synchronize with the sound
coming from the platform to provide a natural, and intelligible effect.
It is very costly to install this type of system due to higher
installation, amplification and processing costs.
This type of room condition may require a second loudspeaker system located towards the center of the room and providing coverage to the back of the congregational seating. Requires extra amplification, processing, loudspeaker and installation. If the distance from the pulpit microphone to the loudspeaker above the pulpit (assuming a centrally located loudspeaker system) is defined as “X” then the greatest “throw” distance for the sound system to project without the need for a second (delayed) speaker system is 3X. For example: If the distance from the pulpit microphone to the center loudspeaker cluster is 15’ and the sanctuary is 75’ long, you will need a secondary cluster with appropriate EQ, delay, amplification, loudspeaker, rigging and installation.
If
there are recordings produced from the service the following points should be
considered in budgeting. The
further down this list you travel and the higher quality results you expect, the
greater the budget requirement in terms of cost and personnel.
· Is there a tape shut-in ministry?
· Is there a tape duplication ministry?
· Is there a broadcast ministry?
· If there is a broadcast ministry does it occur in “real-time” or is it delayed to allow for editing and remixing?
· Is the choir miked for reinforcement and/or recording?
· Are CDs pressed of the choir recordings from special services?
The
following multipliers can be used to help assess the number of mixer channels
(inputs) required for a five to ten year period. You church may vary somewhat but these numbers have proven to
be accurate in most cases that we have seen in the past 20+ years.
Growth and change are difficult to accurately predict, so keep in mind
that these ideas are recommendations based on past information.
They cannot be specific to you church, particularly in the midst of
revival or service changes.
Add up the number of wired microphones and wireless microphones currently in use. If you are in a liturgical church and see no need for a praise band or worship team approach then multiply the total number of microphones by 1.3 to arrive at the minimum number of channels to provide in a new mixer. If you currently have no worship team, but see your church leaning in that direction then multiply by at least a factor of 2. Another way to look at this is that a small praise band with drums will use 12 channels before adding vocals (3-6 mics), Pulpit, Lectern, Pastors wireless and any other wireless for dramas, plus inputs for cassette and CD playback and choir miking. In this scenario, a church that uses 6-8 inputs in ”liturgical” mode can easily require 28-32 channels in “band/drama/miked choir” mode. Monitoring requirements will also require a significant mixing change, but that is another topic.
The advent of inexpensive portable radio transmitters and receivers allows the church the option of offering the freedom of mobility to the hearing impaired members of the congregation. No longer are the hearing impair relegated to a single pew with a hardwired system. The ALS is the second most chosen option in most sound systems, closely following wireless microphones. Adds approximately $800-1,000 to the system cost based on discounted, installed pricing for a 3-4 receiver system.
It is critically important to the quality of any sound system to minimize (reduce to 1 if possible) the number of live microphones. In a manual system this task falls to the operator, however if there is no operator present than the church must accept lesser quality performance if all microphones are left active or replace the manual mixer with an automatic system. The high quality automatic system turns on and off microphones seamlessly and immediately, and also reduces the volume slightly when multiple microphones all key on together (when the organ plays). This automatic gain reduction maintains the freedom from feedback available from a single microphone, even though several microphones are “live”. The only drawback to the current automatic mixing technology is the lack of manual mixing features needed to perform a typical “music-oriented” service mix. There are automixers that are full featured but the cost is currently astronomical for these devices.
This provides the Sunday operator the flexibility desired for a music-oriented mix, while giving the Pastor a way to activate a few microphones in auto mode for smaller, less technical services. Obviously, the cost for a hybrid system is significantly more than either a manual or automixer taken separately.
The
desire for a large number of wireless microphones (needed for dramas, children’s
presentations etc..) can be the single largest component cost driver of the
sound system. It is possible to
effectively use single wireless system comprised of a a low cost, single antenna
(non diversity) system if the receiver is placed near the microphones, on the
platform. However, when multiple
microphones are in use and the operator needs to visually determine the status
of the transmission by having the receivers at the mix console then everything
involved in the scenario significantly affects the price of the wireless
components.
Items which drive the cost of the wireless systems include:
2.
Distance from antennas to transmitters
3.
Lack of line of sight from transmitters to antennas
4.
Antennas not sufficiently separated from each other, VHF systems require
5’ separation for each diversity antenna set OR the use of an antenna
splitter, preferable powered (active).
5.
Active antenna splitters divide two incoming signals (Antenna A and B)
into four outgoing pairs (AB) (AB) (AB) (AB), therefore a splitter is required
for every four systems, a seconds splitter is required at seven systems and
every three systems thereafter. This assumes a single pair of high gain antennas spaced at a
minimum of 5’, correctly chosen for the frequencies involved.
6.
Number of frequencies available. The
lowest cost systems do not offer the possibility of more than four systems in
the same environment. The lower
cost systems do not have removable antennas, therefore the required 5’ antenna
separation cannot be achieved. Better
performance demands mid priced or higher systems for all critical applications.
It is recommended that at an early stage in the design the church determine the type of system desired. This can be a mono, stereo, or combination (L,C,R). While this subject can be expounded on by professionals, and is the subject for much debate, then general rule of thumb is that music sounds best in stereo and speech sounds more natural (and more intelligible) from a properly designed mono system, generally one located above and in front of the chancel. The best compromise is the LCR system which provides stereo reproduction for music and mono center reproduction for speech. Not surprisingly, this is also the most costly system in terms of components and installation. It is also the most difficult system to mix for, which creates major problems for all but the most skilled (read professional) operators.
Number
of Matrix Mixes – Matrix mixes are found on large format reinforcement mixers.
The matrix capability allows a different mix of the mixer subgroups and
master outputs be sent to outlying areas or non critical monitor mixes.
If you feel the need for matrix capability be prepared for a significant
price increase in the mixer ($4-5K).
Number
of Aux Mixes for Processing – This subject is generally determined by the
needs of the worship team musicians. Ideally
everyone would benefit from an individual “custom” mix.
Individual mixes are created by “Auxiliary” mixes or Aux mixes on the
console. Most performance type
mixers in the middle price range offer 4-6 AUX mixes, while large format
consoles (40-56 channel) normally offer 8 aux mixes.
Specialized monitor mixing consoles are available but they significantly
increase the cost of the system and the complexity of operation.
Monitor mixers can cost as much as the primary house mixer.
By
activating the channel aux volume you can send the signal from a single (or
group of) microphone(s) to an outboard reverb processor, then return the
modified signal to the mixer. Other
types of processors commonly adding through the Aux mixes include: Reverb,
Delay, BBE processors, Aphex Aural Exciters, Subwoofer Enhancement.
The bottom line is that there is a finite number of aux mixes available
and the needs of the band monitoring and the use of outboard processors must be
satisfied in some manner. Compromise
will be the order of the day, even with a high budget, sophisticated
mixer.
What
feeds the Recording Mix – The type and quality of recording mix must be
established early in the budget process. There
are many variables that must be determined and made to work within the
parameters of the laws of physics and logistics.
For example, if a stereo recording mix is desired the sound system is
designed to reinforce in mono then the mixer must have a dedicated mono output
or technical wiring must be accomplished to allow the mono blending of the
signals. Stereo recording also may
set the configuration of the subgroups and possibly the matrix outputs.
A simple recording of the pastor’s sermon is easy, a high quality stereo recording with the appropriate mix of all signals (while maintaining a mono house mix) is very difficult and expensive.
These details must be discussed in great detail with the contractor of choice as they all determine to some degree a significant portion of the installation budget.
There
are three basic types of installations:
Turnkey – Assigns the entire success of the project to the contractor. Design, Complete Installation, Commissioning, Training, Warrantee
Volunteer – Assigns all labor to the client volunteers
Combination - Often times contractors can work with the church volunteer pool to assign certain tasks to be completed before the actual contractor portion of the installation begins. This allows the church to save some of the costs while assuring that the very technical portions of the project are completed and warranted by factory trained dealers and installers.
Warrantee costs are generally calculated into the project cost and are not normally defined, however some additional cost savings may be available if warrantee type of length can be negotiated. Most contractors (and customers) seem to have settled on the normal warrantee for on site service being a two year period. If you desire a longer period then plan on additional costs.
At
some point in the purchase process it must be determined by the client and all
other parties (contractor and consultants) who is responsible for the system
meeting the needs and expectations of the client.
The firm taking responsibility will expect and deserve to make a profit
for their labors and expertise. This
is sometimes a point of contention between contractors and consultants as many
consultant specifications are written in such a way that the contractor assumes
responsibility for the system even though the consultant was paid to accomplish
an accurate design for the client. Many
reputable contractors do not install systems designed by other firms (competing
contractors or consultants) for this reason.
The final step in the installation process involves the commissioning of the sound system. This task is sometimes divided into calibration, test, and tuning. Expect any professional quality system to be commissioned in this manner. Also, expect to pay for the task, either as a separate labor line item or in higher costs per component. Wholesale houses do not install, test, warrantee or commission sound systems.
After the sound system has been installed and commissioned it is time to learn the proper use of the components. A typical operations class will cover sound fundamentals, and overview of the system components and a section on mixing basics, philosophy and techniques. Expect to pay for the training, either as a separate labor line item or in higher costs per component. Wholesale houses do not teach sound system operations classes.
The
verification of specifications should be included with the owners manuals and
system wiring diagram. Normally
these items are delivered 7-10 days after the completion of the operations
class.
Depending on the church location and the relative distance to a qualified contractor, there will possibly be some additional cost built into the project for the travel time, per diem, and projected warrantee labor. This may add a significant amount if the selected contractor is more than 100 miles away from the site.
If
the project is new construction there may be costs associated with union labor
which can raise the cost of the sound system portion of the project.
As a low voltage system, sound systems generally do not require
installation by an Electrical Contractor and some savings can be accomplished if
the conduits are runs and the electricians pull the cable, then the system can
be installed after the project is substantially complete.
Construction projects that are union installed generally do not allow
volunteer labor from the church to assist in any significant manner.
All contractors should be concerned with the cleanliness of the workmanship concerning the audio installation, however it is possible for church committees to be unreasonable in the desire to “not see the speakers”. Speakers should blend into the project as aesthetically as possible, however, it may be necessary to enlist the aid of an architect to design a cosmetically suitable and acoustically acceptable grilled frame for the loudspeaker assembly. Exceptional results come from exceptional budgets. Some degree of compromise may be in order.
