Challenges in Sound System Design and Installation
Churches, schools, and all event spaces have one big thing in common. They all need working sound systems that fit their specific needs. How do you define what size, quality, coverage, and type you need? Where do you start? The short answer is it depends on your specific situation. There are no one size fits all cookie cutter systems that will fit everyone’s needs and stay in everyone’s budget. That being said, figuring out what system or systems fits your needs can be accomplished with the following criteria in mind.
- Budget
Deciding on a budget for your sound system maybe one of the hardest parts of the process. You may not know what you need to budget to get your needs covered with a sound system. There may be different options on how much to spend and how to spend it but it’s important to create a budget at the beginning of the process. Even if you don’t stick to the budget completely it’s a great starting point. With so many ways to accomplish different objectives in sound system design, it’s important to decide how much you want to spend.
- Construction
Sometimes a sound system’s design and installation is both conceived and implemented before the walls are closed up in new construction. Most of the time this is not the case. You’re either upgrading / replacing a sound system or you’re past the point of construction in your new space and now you’re thinking about sound for the first time. If you happen to read this before the walls get closed up in your new space, STOP! You have a golden opportunity to design and install your sound system with construction in mind. Doing so could help you with keeping wiring covered up and out of sight, keeping sound from bleeding through your walls and into your neighbor’s space, and installing equipment in the ideal location.
- Using the Space
How do you use your space and what events do have or plan to have in it? This may be or seem to be very clear. However, every church does things slightly different, every school has different needs, and every room affects sound in a unique way. Defining how you plan on using your space is a very important step in designing and installing a sound system. Start by creating a list of the events you plan on having in the space. Add specific details of what each event would need concerning the sound system (ex. wired microphones, monitors for musicians, or microphones for speech, etc.). Then put these different events in order of frequency. How often would each event take place, monthly, weekly, or daily? Overall it’s better to design a sound system that works very well for the type of events you have most frequently. People often get hung up on expensive features that they would like their sound system to have but they may only need them once or twice a year. Depending on the specific situation these needs may be covered by renting supplemental equipment. Doing so may save you money and help keep your sound system as simple as possible for your most frequent uses.
Once you’ve answered these three big questions, we can help you with the technical part!
James Jacobsen
Pro Sound and Lighting / Technical sales
