The Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Portsmouth, UK is the mother church of the Catholic diocese and seat of the Bishop of Portsmouth. An Audio-Technica System 20 PRO digital wireless system was recently installed in the nave, from where services are delivered.
System Design Audio, a church installation specialist, took charge of the process. The installation at St John’s Cathedral involved a 4-channel System 20 PRO ATW-R1440 receiver and two ATW-T1401 bodypack transmitters with lavalier microphones, for use by clergy delivering services from the lectern.
The receiver is mounted unobtrusively on a column some distance from the System 20 PRO half-rack chassis, connected via Ethernet cable to allow for discreet installation without detracting from the church’s aesthetic.
Peter Hearn, audio managing director, System Design, said: “We’ve used Audio-Technica wireless systems in many houses of worship projects over the years, and I was very interested in System 20 PRO as soon as it was launched. We typically need a very robust, reliable, and easy-to-use solution for our clients, and the license-free nature of 2.4GHz systems is a real benefit too.”
He added: “Despite the size of the cathedral’s nave, a single receiver gives us the best coverage of any wireless system we’ve ever installed at St John’s. When we were testing System 20 PRO, no matter where we roamed with a transmitter, we couldn’t get it to drop out. Installation was incredibly easy. The system is designed to be plug-and-play, and that’s certainly been the case here. Straight from the box, the transmitters and receivers synced with each other, which really inspires confidence in a solution that’s used day-to-day by clergy and other volunteers with no professional audio training.”
He concluded: “There are some other features that really make the System 20 PRO ideal in situations like this. Little touches like the mute switch positioned on top of the body-packs–rather than on the side–make them easy to use by clergy who wear them under vestments, for example. And although we currently have a simple setup at St John’s, the fact that System 20 PRO is scalable up to 20 channels makes it suitable for much bigger installations.”
