One goal for the recent AV upgrade at the Ethiopian Evangelical Church in Dallas, Texas was to create even sound coverage to every seat in the house. "We have achieved that with the Martin Audio WPM Line Array loudspeaker system," says Worship Leader Daniel A. Michael.
Daniel A. Michael is serving as a division leader at the Ethiopian Evangelical Church in Dallas. The division he leads consists of worship and media ministry, as well as the young adult ministry of the church. He says of his team, “I am blessed with highly dedicated brothers and sisters who contribute a lot for the worship and media ministry.” The church recently moved into a new facility that required many AVL upgrades, including the installation of Martin Audio WPM Line Array Loudspeakers. Michael gives us Five Minutes to learn more about the changes.
CPM: What is your role with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church?
Michael: My role includes leading worship, teaching, planning, scheduling, technical support, live audio mixing, recording, broadcasting, video editing, and follow up with members who are serving under my division.
Daniel A Michael has many roles at the Ethiopian Evangelical Church. He leads worship, teaching, planning, scheduling, technical support, live audio mixing, recording, broadcast and video editing..
CPM: Tell us about the new upgrade to the sound system at your church.
Michael: Recently we have moved to the new location which is twice the size of the previous place. We have done renovation for the main sanctuary and some other areas of the building. We have made major upgrades for the sound, lighting, and video systems.
"I can’t even compare it with the previous system. It is way better." - Daniel A. Michael, Worship Leader.
Our goal was to change the traditional-looking church setting into a more contemporary worship setting. We have been blessed to have the company called Epic Resource Group who helped us with their expertise to achieve what we have envisioned regarding the main sanctuary sound, video, and lighting systems. All the upgrades went very well, and we are so excited to have a wonderful worship place that is equipped with amazing sound, video, and lighting systems. The Martin Audio WPM Line Array sound system upgrade is the most major upgrade we have made compared to the lighting and video systems.
CPM: Why were Martin Audio loudspeakers specified for this project?
Michael: Based on our project and the schematic design, the best loudspeaker system we have found is WPM Line Array speakers from Martin Audio. We have eight boxed arrays on each side (one box resolution with two iK81 high power eight-channel class D amplifiers) and 4 SX218 double 18-inch subs on the fly and also eight 18-inch subs under the stage. All front and under balcony fill speakers are from Martin Audio. The way the design was made, thanks to Epic Resource Group, was to get the coverage of the sound system to each seat in the sanctuary, and we have achieved that with the WPM Line Array loudspeaker system.
CPM: Describe the quality of sound after the installation compared to before.
Michael: The quality of the sound is amazing! I can’t even compare it with the previous system. It is way better. I can say with confidence that we have the best sound system to perfectly fit the space we have, and also the quality of the sound is so great, which I believe helps to enhance our congregational worship experience.
CPM: What kind of comments have you received from congregation members about the new sound system?
Michael: Everyone in our congregation is excited about the experience they are having with the change of the new system. I have never received any negative comments about the new sound system.
About Martin Audio WPM Optimized Line Arrays
WPM is incredibly versatile, combining the latest acoustic technology, a very small footprint and reduced weight make it the system of choice for smaller houses of worship which require superb fidelity, coverage consistency and control from an ultra-compact line array.
A passive 2-way system with an impedance of 16 ohms, it can be driven by external iKON amplification in blocks of 1, 2, 3 or 4 resolution configuration, allowing greater flexibility of budgets and the level of control required in a venue. With a complement of 2 x 6.5” LF drivers and a vertical column of 3 x 1.4” aluminium dome HF drivers, the acoustic design of WPM is uniquely innovative. The LF drivers are located in the side walls of the HF horn — an arrangement which would introduce acoustic cavities which would degrade the horizontal dispersion if conventional cone drivers were used. WPM’s drivers adopt an elegant solution by having solid moulded diaphragms that match the contours of the horn walls and maintain the continuity of the horn profile. Each LF driver also features a demodulation ring in the neodymium motor system to minimize distortion and maximise mid-band output.
In the triple-driver HF section, each individual HF wavefront is precisely coupled to the horn throat via a short waveguide for faultless 100° horizontal constant directivity coverage.
