St. Catherine University Selects Custom Loudspeakers From d&b audiotechnik

A historic chapel in Minnesota challenges hostile acoustics with creatively camouflaged point source Ti10P enclosures.
Aug. 19, 2015, by PSW Staff
St Catherine

The Our Lady of Victory Chapel at St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota was designed in the Romanesque style in 1924 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. However, such aesthetics seldom guarantee an acoustic friendly environment.

Managing director of Audio Logic Systems (ALS), John Markiewicz accepted the challenge to overcome the acoustic issues, using loudspeakers from d&b audiotechnik.

“Hostile is how I would describe the acoustic of the chapel: it only takes a little L/F energy to make speech unintelligible.”

“Although I considered a single point source solution when we were first exploring the audio installation options, the aesthetic considerations dictated the distributed route was essential. In fact, the more I looked at it the more I realized a single point source would be no easier and would detract from the beauty of the space. The 24C column loudspeakers from d&b audiotechnik’s xC-Series would have been ideal in such an acoustic environment, but, in this case, not appropriate from an appearance perspective.”

Ultimately, Markiewicz opted for a somewhat counterintuitive approach: “The point source Ti10P from the T-Series offered an alternate solution entirely within the scope of the visual requirements and met all the intelligibility criteria.”

Color matching for installations of this nature is nothing new for ALS or d&b, but at St. Catherine University, the chapel’s interior aesthetics took what was required to a whole new level, as director of campus ministry, Laurie Svatek explains.

“It was important that the loudspeakers blended into the room seamlessly. The tile work on both the interior and exterior of the chapel is the largest display of artist Ernest Batchelder’s work anywhere in the world. Each one is hand painted so color matching all the way through the chapel was a big ask. When John explained that we could have them completely color-customized, I was really excited to see how that could be achieved.”

The loudspeakers arrived from the factory in a rather unusual beige/grey, the base color of the chapel interior, and were then placed in the creative hands of Tamatha Miller.

“Tamatha is to artwork as d&b is to sound,” says Markiewicz.  “ALS have engaged her artistic talents on numerous occasions previously, so we knew she would understand what was required. She took each loudspeaker, painted and matched them to each specific position. Then once installed, she went up the scaffold and touched them in. I can’t fault Tamatha’s work, her attention to detail was immaculate, even down to the antenna of the wireless system, the cable conduits and the touch panel control system.”

Markiewicz selection of the Ti10P was founded on its unique features, size and pattern control.

“They gave me the pattern control I required, specifically the 35 degrees in the vertical down as low as 800 Hz needed to achieve the desired coverage without exciting the walls. By arranging the loudspeakers down the aisle on the available columns I was able to get close, direct and intelligible coverage. Naturally I modeled the room in d&b’s ArrayCalc simulation software. The key was the mixer we supplied, a Roland M200i. By utilizing the hi-pass filters for the open mics I was able to leave the system still sounding warm and natural for playback material (this venue is often used for weddings and other functions). Any added L/F from such material wouldn’t be passed by the board. The mixer is rack mounted and controlled from the wall panels where you can make minor adjustments, but you can only access the hi-pass filters via iPad, something outside the purview of the chapel’s technicians.”

During installations of this nature and with this degree of architectural sensitivity it may often be the perception that quality of sound reproduction has to be compromised to maintain the visual impact of the room. Quite clearly, this is not the case as Markiewicz concludes: “We were asked: can we make the voice of a priest heard and understood? I knew we could do that but to do it without detracting from the visual experience of the chapel was the real challenge here. With some imaginative artwork, careful planning and support from d&b audiotechnik that has been fully realized.”

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