• 31.12.2018

Technical aspects and features of sound engineering in places of worship

On December 15, 2018, Zinteco company joined the technical implementation of a significant event in Ukrainian history - Unification council of the Orthodox churches of Ukraine. We utilised the most advanced technologies of sound engineering  for the  realization of this project.

The Unification council was held at the Cathedral of St. Sophia.

During the centuries Sofia of Kyiv was the main sacred object of Rus’-Ukraine. The cathedral, as the main sanctuary of the state, played the role of  spiritual, political and cultural center. Under the arches of St. Sophia there were solemn enthroning, church councils, receptions of ambassadors, signing of political agreements. The chronicles were conducted at the cathedral and the first known library in Rus’ was created there.

Here there were also the most outstanding events in the formation of Ukrainian statehood. At the beginning of the twentieth century Universals of the Central Council of the Ukrainian State of 1917-1918 were proclaimed on the Sofia Square. Here in 1991, the Act on the State Independence of Ukraine was supported by the All-Ukrainian People's Congress.

The purpose of the Council on Dec. 15, 2018 was the election of the head of the United Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In addition, the statute of the new Orthodox Church was approved.

Technical concept of the Council

The implementation of the technical part was carried out by the Zinteсo company.

When creating the sound concept, a large number of factors were taken into account:

• Acoustic specifics  of the historical building The measurement of the room acoustic characteristics was carried out using special equipment and software. Taking into account its results, it became clear that the only correct solution would be the use of a uniformly distributed complex of many acoustic systems distributed close to the participants
• Architectural limitations The main part of the action took place in the central navi and Council members also sat in the side navies and were "isolated" visually and acoustically from the center of the event. This required a distributed audio-video broadcast system
• Restrictions in space requirement and location of the equipment The large audience (300 people) did not give the possibility of free equipment placement. In addition, taking into account the historical and cultural value of architectural elements (frescoes of the XI century, etc.), it was clearly  impossibile to place systems near the walls. So, the usage of the systems on acoustic tripods and trusses was almost eliminated.

After 3D room simulation and acoustic calculation in the Nexo NS-1 software, a sound scheme based on the use of a large number of compact speakers was adopted. iD-24 systems by Nexo ideally complied with these requirements.

The iD-24 are one of the latest developments by the French company Nexo - compact at high power, the ability to quickly choose the angle of coverage, a large number of options for installation (rigging, various options for placing on the floor, walls, etc.).

36 Nexo iD-24 systems (modifications 120x60 and 90x40), as well as 10 Nexo PS-10 systems were used to ensure high-quality sound of speeches at the Council. Thanks to their design features, the iD-24 could be installed on an ordinary microphone stands, which was used during this temporary installation.

The sound system was controlled by the Yamaha QL-1 and four system processors Lake LM-44. Amplification - 12 x Nexo NX Amp 4x4 and 4x1. Remote control was also required. A powerful Mikrotik access point was used to create a Wi-Fi network. Sennheiser MD 431 II microphones were used for speeches.

As a result, we received a high-quality system, with the sound evenly distributed throughout the area of St. Sophia's Cathedral. Each delegate of the Council received all the necessary information qualitatively and comfortably and was a full participant in the historic event.