What’s the best sound system for your church? Well, that depends — there are no one-size-fits-all formulas. Bundled or packaged solutions can be a starting point, but the best sound system for your church is the one that’s designed specifically for your church.
A Few Things to Consider
When you’re building a sound system for your church, there are many questions you should ask:
Will your system be portable or permanent?
A church is more than a building. At Sweetwater, we’ve seen congregations meet in all sorts of unique places — community halls, roller rinks, pizza parlors, bowling alleys, and more. A church in Las Vegas even met in a casino! If this describes your situation, you’ll need a portable solution. That said, if you meet in a dedicated space such as an established church building, you’d be better served with a permanent installation.
What shape is your room?
Your church’s sound system needs to direct sound to where people will be and away from walls and ceilings. You need speakers that match the size and geometry of the room. A long, skinny room with a high ceiling will require a different approach than a short, wide room with a low ceiling.
What’s your worship style?
Ranging from traditional to contemporary, your sound system will have different requirements depending on the worship style of your church. If you’re just amplifying the pastor’s message, you can get by with a small system with good vocal intelligibility. But if you’re also reinforcing a large choir or a worship team with modern electric instruments, your system needs to be able to reproduce all the instruments’ frequencies. And if your church has multiple worship styles, you’ll need a scalable solution.
Who’ll be running your system?
Often, you’ll have untrained volunteers running sound, so user-friendliness is a necessity. Your system must be designed to match the skill level of the team tasked with operating it.
What’s the wireless environment of your room?
Some church congregations consist of 50 people, others have over 50,000. The larger your wireless system, the more complex it is, and compatibility with local broadband availability is always an inconvenience.
What’s your budget?
It doesn’t matter how great a sound system is spec’d for you if you can’t afford it. That’s why at Sweetwater we have PA systems to fit every budget. It’s also a wise idea to future-proof your system. Buy a system that will continue to meet your needs in the future — it will save you money in the long run.
Key Components — the Building Blocks of Your System
Your church’s sound system needs to sound great and perform consistently, whether your pastor is delivering the message, the choir is singing an inspiring work of music, or the worship team is rocking out on guitars, keyboards, and drums. Regardless of your specific needs, there are key components that are part of every sound system. A good sound system designer can tailor these components exactly to your needs.
Mixer
When you’re putting together a sound system for your church, one of the first things you need to look at is a mixer. After all, your entire system revolves around it! It provides your audio inputs and outputs, microphone amplification, routing, and more. So where do you start? First of all, you’ll need to consider how many inputs you are going to need for your PA. Are you amplifying a single person talking? An acoustic performance? A full band? You’ll also need to decide if you want an analog mixer or if you want to go digital. Beyond that, volunteer-friendliness is crucial. From the popular Behringer X32 and PreSonus StudioLive 32 to the Allen & Heath SQ7 and Yamaha CL5, Sweetwater stocks a wide range of high-quality mixers to suit every skill level and budget.
If you want to learn more about mixers, Sweetwater.com is packed with information. You can start by checking out our Mixer Buying Guide. If user-friendliness is a concern, read our “3 Volunteer-friendly Digital Mixers” article.
Speakers
The next component you’ll need to look at is your speakers — and they are a crucial component! After all, they’re what’s creating the sound that everyone is hearing. Quality PA speakers make the difference between a great-sounding system and a sound-reinforcement nightmare in the making. There are numerous factors that go into choosing PA speakers. Do you want powered or unpowered ones? Portable or permanent? Sweetwater carries an endless array of great-sounding PA speakers, from the Bose Panaray MA12EX to the QSC KLA12 and the PreSonus ULT15. If you’re not sure what’s best for your needs, check out our PA Speaker Buying Guide, or call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer.
Microphones
It’s safe to assume at least one person will be speaking during your worship service, and there will probably be at least one person singing. You may also have acoustic pianos, guitars, and more acoustic sources to amplify. That’s why you’ll need microphones. And if you plan on moving around while you’re speaking or performing, you’ll probably want wireless mics. Handheld wireless systems like the Audio-Technica ATW-1322 System 10 PRO, Sennheiser EW 100 G4-845-S and Shure QLXD24/B87A are ideal for singers and speakers. Sweetwater carries specialized instrument mics as well, such as the Shure SM57 and SM27, along with the sE Electronics sE8 set and Audix DP7 drum package. For miking up choirs, the Audix MicroBoom MB8450, Earthworks FlexWand 730, and Audio-Technica U853R are great choices. And for the ultimate in discreetness, try a headset mic like the DPA d:fine. Sweetwater also stocks full-blown headworn systems like the Shure QLXD14 / MX153, Shure GLXD, and Sennheiser EW 100.
Need help navigating the wireless jungle? Check out our Wireless Microphone Buying Guide. We also have excellent information on how government regulations affect local broadband availability in this “Why You Should Care” article and this “When Will It Impact You?” article.
Monitors
No matter what’s going on, presenters and performers need to hear themselves. Stage monitors like the Galaxy Audio PA6BT Hot Spot, Turbosound TFX152M-AN, and JBL JRX212 are affordable ways to build a monitoring system. If stage noise and stage real estate are a concern, earphones like the Shure SE215 and the high-end Westone Am Pro 30, along with an in-ear monitoring system like the Shure P3TRA215CL and Sennheiser ew IEM G4 Twin, are great choices. Either way, quality stage monitoring is essential. Not sure which is best for your church? Read our Live Sound Monitors Buying Guide and In-ear Monitor Buying Guide.
Conclusion
A good sound system designer listens more than they speak and will ask a lot of questions before designing your system. Sweetwater Sales Engineers undergo extensive training and continuing education and will be happy to design a sound system that’s right for you. Give us a call at (800) 222-4700 to get started!
