AES Seattle Feb 5, 1997 meeting

AES PNW Section - February 5, 1997 Meeting

Tour of Seattle's Saint James Cathedral Sound System

On February 5, 1997, the AES PNW Section toured the installed sound system in Seattle's recently renovated Saint James cathedral.

Section Chair Dan Mortensen started the meeting, announced the next planned meetings, had the 19 attendees introduce themselves, and introduced the presenter, Brian Bylenok.

As manager of Systems Design and Integration for Electronic Image Systems of Bellevue, WA, Bylenok guided the design and installation of the system. As owner of AVCS, he oversees the maintenance and operation of the system.

The cathedral was first built in 1907, and by the start of the major 1994 renovation, had acquired many quaint characteristics. Indoor-outdoor carpet lay around the altar, painted acoustic tiles lined the domed ceiling, and a peculiar old sound system of Argos columns and such dominated. The cathedral would be closed for 6 months to effect a renovation that would transform it into a much more beautiful structure than it had ever been. A suitable sound system would be needed, too.

The acoustic problems for sound reinforcement in cathedrals are well known. Mostly, it's long reverb time, making voice reinforcement and intelligibility difficult. No acoustic treatment was possible, as the renovation required visual specifics. In addition, the architect would allow no hanging speaker clusters for esthetic reasons. Eventually, only one acoustic consultant (Smith-Fause) would agree to attempt a distributed sound system.

A system was devised around the then-new Peavey Media Matrix computer control system. The system could be developed and adjusted easily with the software, at less cost than with hard wired components. It could be operated under a variety of conditions by untrained personnel.

The system includes 8 normal mic positions around the cathedral, and 6 to 8 delay zones. Many Tannoy CPA5 mini speakers provide most of the distributed sound, with EAW JF80s at key sites.

Naturally, not all went smoothly. The Media Matrix was in its infancy, and numerous modifications were provided as development progressed. A TEF analysis of the early system indicated that the software automatic mic mixer was not working well, and that intelligibility was not so good until the room filled up with people (reducing the reverb time). Various system tune-ups were implemented. The software audio processing was reworked to operate reliably within the DSP resources - even though the guidelines suggested that it should have already worked.

Attendees walked throughout the cathedral to hear the system while a person spoke through various mics. A main floor cabinet has tie lines and a computer monitor for basic system operation, and the group went downstairs to see the racks with analog mic preamps and the Media Matrix hardware.

The value of the installed system was estimated at $100,000 - but seeing the beauty of the cathedral's other renovations was priceless.