Although it hadn’t suffered any damage during The Second World War, it was severely damaged in 1999 during the bombardment of the nearby building of the Serbian Radio Television. The restoration began the following year and lasted until 2007.
Since this is almost a century-old building and the time has inevitably left its mark on it, the need for its reconstruction has occurred in the recent years. Apart from repairing the damage to the building, it was decided to replace the old one and to design and install a new sound system indoor and outdoor of the temple, so that the believers could follow the course of worship without any disturbances.
The Installed Sound System
After a thorough analysis of all the key factors about the church area, we designed and installed a sound system consisting of RCF and Audix components.
The system is based on a digitally controlled RCF VSA 1250 II active speaker, positioned on a floor stand. Thanks to powerful DSPs, it sends the processed audio signal to each speaker separately in order to control its vertical acoustic dispersion and direct it exactly to the desired area of listening, thus preventing the acoustic energy from being directed towards the ceiling or bare floors.
Two-way, wall-mounted speakers RCF MQ 80P were installed above the choir and in the altar. They are an adequate choice in areas characterized by certain environmental disturbances, because they deliver a clear voice reproduction. The installation is very simple due to the speaker bracket and thanks to IP55, they are suitable both for outdoor and indoor use.
The external sound system consists of compact RCF MQ80P-B two-way speakers with IP55, and are also suitable for indoor use. Thanks to their 90° x 60° constant directivity and simple accessories, they can be combined in groups of two or more, in order to obtain a wide sound coverage, and to reduce the installation points. Their installation is very quick and easy, because of the brackets with several fixing points.
The reproduction of the church choir singing is enabled by a miniature hanging microphone Audix ADX40, which, by means of an evenly controlled cardioid pattern, isolates a certain part of the area from other vocals and provides a natural sound.
In order to enable an uninterrupted church mass, we also installed a miniature condenser Audix M60 boundary microphones with immunity to RF interference caused by mobile phones and GSM devices. Audix F9 is used for sound reinforcement of the Russian national instrument balalaika. The microphone is shaped as a pencil and delivers middle and high tones.
The rack cabinet for the control and management of the sound system consists of digital DSP processor, Audix ADS48 UHF antenna combiner with built-in power supply, 4-channel amplifier and a touch-screen controller.
Sommer Cable FRNC cables were used for entire wiring, both for the rack cabinet, as well as for all the speaker and microphone installations. The FRNC (Flame Retardant Non-Corrosive) mark indicates that the cables are fully compliant with the Fire Protection Act, because they prevent its spread, reduce the density of smoke and do not emit harmful gases.
Since the system will be managed by a priest instead of a technical person, user-friendly operation was enabled. The entire system is fully automated, and the switching system on/off is done in the proper way, using a single switch, which protects the equipment.