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19RCF NX L24-A 700-watt active column speaker is designed to be set up and operating in 10 minutes. The pole-mounted system couples with the SUB 8004-AS subwoofer to create a system capable of achieving 130+ dB SPL in a tight 100x30-degree pattern. www.rcf.it/contacts/usa 20. SAMSON TECHNOLOGIES XP308I is an all-in-one portable PA system with an eight-channel mixer, 300-watt amplifier, iPod dock, and eight-inch drivers that packs up into a single portable unit weighing 40 pounds. www.samsontech.com
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21. YAMAHA STAGEPAS 600i and 400i speakers include a detachable powered mixer for easy portable set up in a variety of configurations. The line includes new high-efficiency amplifiers, speakers, and high performance DSP. www.yamahaproaudio.com
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7. ELECTRO-VOICE ZLX ZLX offers a complete, innovative, and user-friendly package, including a unique DSP module with LCD and application/location presets. www.electrovoice.com 8. ELIPSIS AUDIO DIVA 4.6 brings 650 Watts RMS and a two-stage compressor/limiter for high volume. www.elipsisaudio.com
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12. MACKIE SRM 1,600W high-definition power amplifiers and “Built-Like-A-Tank” design is professional-grade and all-wood design. www.mackie.com 13. MARTIN AUDIO MLA MINI MLA's ultra-compact array technology is designed with cellular drive to deliver consistent frequency response and SPLs throughout the congregation, front row to farthest seat. www.martin-audio.com 14. MEYER SOUND UPQ-1P self-powered UPQ-1P loudspeaker is designed for main PA in small- and medium-sized venues, providing wide coverage of 100 by 60 degrees and flat frequency response. www.meyersound.com
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16. NEXO PS10-R2 feature NXAMP4X4 amplifier high output for their size and weight. Asymmetrical horn design ideal for single-speaker placement. www.yamahaca.com 17. QSC AUDIO K SERIES Active Loudspeakers include three full-range models and a subwoofer. Built-in 1,000W amplifier with full-featured on-board DSP. www.qscaudio.com 18. RENKUS-HEINZ IC LIVE ARRAYS Portable, scalable, versatile arrays are engineered with easy-to-use interlocking hardware system. Invisible digital beam steering puts IC Live output where it belongs, on the audience, away from walls and ceilings. www.renkus-heinz.com
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4. The CALIFONE PA419 operates on AC or batter power. It offers an Apple-approved docking station, multiple line in and outputs, DVD/CD player, and wireless mics for two simultaneous presenters. www.califone.com 5. D&B AUDIOTECHNIK T10 two-way, passive loudspeaker features dual 6.5-inch drivers and a 1.4-inch compression driver with a passive crossover network. The system is designed to deliver remarkable economy of scale for all portable needs. www.dbaudio.com 6. The EAW JFL213 compact, two-way line array module features a range of EAW’s most innovative line array technologies. www.eaw.com
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9. JBL VRX900 JBL’s VRX900 Series Constant Curvature Line Arrays are designed with concert-proven drivers. High-performance sound in easy-to-handle, affordable package. www.jbl.com 10. K-ARRAY KR200S ultra-slim, two-way powered line array two-inch, high-efficiency drivers, capable of over 120 dB of continuous output. www.karray.com 11. L-ACOUSTICS 112P Self-Powered Coaxial 112P offers plug-and-play design for FOH, fill, or monitor applications. www.l-acoustics.com
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1. ALCONS AUDIO LR7 is a sub-compact line array module with a 6.5-inch woofer and a four-inch RBN401 Pro Ribbon driver. It can be hung or mounted on a U-bracket with stand adapter system. A companion subwoofer, the LR7B, is also available. www.alconsaudio.com 2. ANCHOR AUDIO BEACON is a fully portable and turnkey sound system that stands six feet tall and folds to the size of a suitcase. www.anchoraudio.com 3. BIEMA LAVA SUB The Biema LAVA Sub is a compact active three-way line array system designed to deliver high-quality reinforcement for music and speech. www.mega-lite.com
Investing in good sound is one of the most easily justifiable financial decisions for any church. For portable churches, good sound is vital. But regardless of whether your church is a portable start-up, going multi-site for the first (or 50th) time, or operates from the same location it has for the past 100 years, every church needs a portable, flexible, multipurpose loudspeaker system. Thankfully, great sound can come in exceedingly small packages.
Practically every loudspeaker maker has at least one portable model in its product family. When carefully considered in light of the needs of your ministry, the right loudspeaker can pull multiple duties as the main PA system, a stage monitor, sound reinforcement for a full-band praise and worship with a choir, or a conduit for prelude and background music.
All-in-one systems: a mixed blessing
The low end of the cost spectrum for portable loudspeakers has long been awash in packaged sound systems. Most of these systems include a mixer with one or more inputs, a built-in power amplifier, and at least one built-in loudspeaker—complete with a protective cover and an integrated handle.
This can make for an attractive package, and traditionally, music retailers have made a great deal of money selling these systems to churches and travelling ministries, but low-cost, packaged sound systems should be approached with caution.
While its true that all the components of these sound systems are manufactured by the same company with the explicit intention of fitting well with one another and being highly portable, the downside of packaged systems is that they often cannot be upgraded, they are notoriously fragile, and are rarely high power enough to handle a full band. “It is common for a portable church to go through two or three different package sound systems in the first five years,” reports Alex Atkinson, a Chicago-based freelance audio consultant (www.getlightning.net). “The money [put toward] those packages would have been better spent on individual pieces of portable equipment [that] could have been upgraded to suit the needs of the growing church.”
A word on power
Portable sound systems range in total output from less than 10 watts up to 1,500 watts—how much power you need depends entirely on audience size: a common rule of thumb is 1-2 watts per person indoors, 2-3 watts per person outdoors. While purchase price is often closely tied to power, savings is to be had in the long run when buying a more powerful system: More powerful systems are much more efficient and often cost less per watt to operate than lower-powered systems.
Sound columns: small footprint, high power
Loudspeaker manufacturers are responding quickly to the burgeoning market for small-format, high-powered sound systems with a variety of form factors. Two examples are portable column speakers and small-format, ground-stacked line arrays. These two relatively new designs can offer additional flexibility and performance that is difficult to achieve with the standard speaker-on-a-stick configuration. Don't over look these higher-end options when shopping.
Portable loudspeakers can include everything from tiny hand-held, tour-guide systems, all the way through large-format concert touring systems. For the purposes of this article, we'll focus on small-format loudspeakers designed to handle music and speech.
The above slideshow highlights some of the latest and greatest additions in portable sound. (Not pictured) MONTARBO FULL1018ST - The three-way active system includes a powered bass cabinet with three class-D amplifiers and DSP to power the sub and two passive satellites. Conceived with medium-sized rooms in mind, including houses of worship, the DSP controls filtering, EQ, delay, limiting, and diagnostics. www.montarbo.com
