Pennsylvania’s St Luke Greek Orthodox Church is known for its breathtaking Byzantine architecture and elaborate iconography.
The church serves as a spiritual and cultural hub for its congregation, offering a space where the community gathers for worship, celebration, and reflection. With its high-domed ceilings, expansive nave, and traditional Orthodox design, the sanctuary is visually stunning but posed significant acoustical challenges. A sound reinforcement system from Renkus-Heinz solved those challenges.
Poor speech intelligibility had become a growing concern, making it difficult for worshippers to fully engage with Fr. Christ. With a reverberation peak of 3.38 seconds, congregation members struggled to hear the spoken word clearly, leading to increased complaints. Seeking a solution that would preserve the church’s aesthetic and elevate the auditory experience, the team at Spinnaker, the project integrator, led by VP of Project Development Fenicia Redman, selected Renkus-Heinz following extensive EASE modeling.
“The congregation was vocal about the issue,” said Redman. “Many elderly members expressed frustration that they couldn’t clearly hear the liturgy. We knew we had to find a solution that provided pristine intelligibility while maintaining the church’s sacred atmosphere.”
To determine the best possible system, Spinnaker conducted an in-depth acoustic analysis using EASE modeling. “The client preferred the Renkus-Heinz solution,” Redman explained. “The natural warmth of the sound was something that truly stood out.” The final installation featured a single Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Gen5 IC24 column array, discreetly positioned between the front two windows.
“We needed a solution that would blend seamlessly with the church’s visual aesthetics,” Redman noted. “The IC24-RN provided excellent dispersion while being visually unobtrusive.” With Renkus-Heinz’ OmniBeam beam-steering technology, Spinnaker focused sound exactly where it was needed, avoiding the excessive reflections that had previously muddied the spoken word.
The system is powered by a Yamaha MTX5D processor and TF Rack, with simple, intuitive control via an iPad. This allows church staff to easily adjust settings as needed.
While the installation itself was straightforward, a particular challenge was protecting the church’s ornate interior. “The walls are adorned with 24-karat gold leaf,” Redman said. “We had to be incredibly careful during the installation process to ensure nothing was damaged. Our team took meticulous precautions, and in the end, everything went smoothly.”
Another consideration was ensuring that the new sound system complemented the church’s existing acoustics. “Rather than fighting against the natural acoustics, we worked with them,” Redman explained. “The RenkusHeinz system allowed us to reinforce speech while still allowing the beauty of the choral music to shine through. It was about precision rather than force.
“One of the most touching moments came when a senior member of the congregation turned to her grandson and said, ‘I can finally hear Fr. Christ,’” Redman shared. “That’s why we do what we do. Sound is more than just technology; in houses of worship, it speaks hope.”
