Florida's Celebration Church Unites Congregation with Meyer Sound Surround System

In its new 3,000-seat, arena-style sanctuary in Jacksonville, Fla., Celebration Church has installed a surround sound system using 90 Meyer Sound loudspeakers. The multi-site church’s new system was created in partnership with WAVE, a design and systems integration firm headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.

According to Jeff McDuffie, the church’s audio production director, lead pastor Stovall Weems was insistent about creating an aural experience that eliminated the separation between the stage and the congregation. With this objective in mind, McDuffie and worship pastor Matt Adcox teamed with WAVE’s Armando Fullwood and Dr. Paul Henderson to create a system design based on the Meyer Sound MICA line array loudspeaker.

The installed system features twin arrays of 10 each MICA loudspeakers. Two cross-fill arrays of three-each JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers hold a stereo image across the wide auditorium, while nine 700-HP subwoofers hold a solid “0.1” bottom end. Ten UPQ-1P loudspeakers carry front stereo to the upper stadium seats while 11 UP-4XP 48 V loudspeakers supply front fill.

For the immersive audio field, 34 HMS‑10 cinema surround loudspeakers are mounted overhead and on sidewalls, maintaining a balanced, dynamic image at every seat. A Galileo loudspeaker management system with six Galileo 616 processors provides equalization, timing and distribution for the complex web of signals.

According to McDuffie, the consistent, linear response from all loudspeakers in the Meyer Sound system has helped immerse the worshippers at Celebration Church. “From an operator’s standpoint, the surround sound performance is seamless,” McDuffie says. “When I do a sweep with the joystick from left to right to behind, I don’t hear any dips or fluctuations in the sound. In that regard, the HMS-10s are just amazing.”

WAVE’s Armando Fullwood agrees: “Utilizing the Meyer HMS-10s for surrounds creates a depth of mix positioning that I’ve never been able to realize with other loudspeakers.”

Complementing the Meyer Sound loudspeaker system are three DiGiCo SD10 digital consoles, allowing live sources to be positioned in a hemispherical sound field, as well as surround playback of pre-produced elements synchronized with video and lighting using the facility’s show control platform. These surround effects are created as part of the WAVE 4D immersive process, which optimizes the audience experience using video and stage elements, immersive lighting, acoustical design, and live surround audio. The installed equipment also includes Shure ULX-D wireless microphones and PSM-900 in-ear monitors.

Specializing in worship facilities, WAVE offers comprehensive design, integration, and installation services that encompass room acoustics, sound and video systems, lighting, networking and control. In addition to the principal Charlotte location, the company has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Washington D.C.