Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Church, Tampa, Selects D.A.S Audio

Recognized as the largest non-denominational, Pentecostal church serving the Hispanic community in central Florida, Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church has a seating capacity for 2,600 worshippers in a former gymnasium. Driving the church's audio is a loudspeaker system from D.A.S.

Mick Hall, account manager for GC Pro (Guitar Center professional division), was intimately involved in both the design and installation of Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal's installation. "This project was an extensive facility upgrade of a building the church recently purchased," he says. "Management's goal was to create an immersive worship experience and, as such, they were looking to acquire a comprehensive setup that integrated audio, lighting, and video for their new sanctuary. For sound, there were numerous conditions that led to the selection of the D.A.S. equipment."

"A high level of speech intelligibility and solid music reproduction characteristics were a huge consideration in the selection of the loudspeakers," he continues. "Services are very upbeat and contemporary. There's a huge praise band and vocal ensemble that augment the church choir, so music is a key element in the services. After auditioning a number of loudspeaker systems, the decision to deploy D.A.S. Audio was made. Simply put, D.A.S. offered superior sound quality, was entirely self-powered (which eliminated the need to house racks of power amplifiers separately and also simplified system cabling), and offered the long throw characteristics essential to properly fill the space. Top this off with the system being a great value and it essentially sold itself."

The sanctuary's seating area measures roughly 180' in length, is 130' wide, and has a ceiling height of 28'. To provide consistent coverage throughout the space, 14 D.A.S. Audio Aero 12A powered, two-way, mid-high line array module -- flown seven elements per side over the stage / altar area -- serve as the house mains. These are augmented by several Avant 12A powered, two-way enclosures. A single Avant 12ª -- each one positioned at the extreme left and right sides of the front area, serve as downfills to provide coverage for the extreme sides of the space. Another two Avant 12A loudspeakers serve as center downfills for the area immediately in front of the stage. Additionally, a single Avant 12A is mounted to the rear of each flown Aero 12A loudspeaker cluster and is aimed down at the stage area. These serve as monitors for those on stage. Finally, two additional Avant 12A enclosures provide delay fill to the rear balcony.

Low-frequency support is provided by six D.A.S. Audio LX-218A powered subwoofers. There are three enclosures per side -- housed in specially built, recessed cubicles beneath the stage front area. For on-stage monitoring, eight D.A.S. SML-12A powered, multipurpose monitors are available. These can be freely positioned depending upon the nature of the activity on stage.

Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal's AV system installation took place during the latter three months of 2010, with the bulk of the audio system installation taking place during December. The church had its grand opening service on New Year's Eve.

"Our client is ecstatic," says Hall. "We've received numerous compliments about the sound system's performance. With the incredibly capable and responsive support from D.A.S. Audio of America's Miami-based staff, we assembled a sound system that exceeded the customer's expectations. In the months following the installation, our client has given GC Pro numerous referrals. When a project leads to repeat business, that's as good as it gets."