State-Of-The-Art Sound Systems On A Budget

Everyone has budget constraints and limitations. Yes, even the government has budgetary limits . . . it just ignores them. But that’s a luxury few of us can afford. Therefore, we either learn how to work within our budgets, wait until our budget increases, borrow the money or give up and do nothing at all. Actually, only the first choice is practical and realistic. What happens when your sound system dies? How do you upgrade or purchase a new sound system without exceeding your budget? The reality is, you must learn to work within your budget.

Working within a budget creates two options:

1. You can purchase all the components of a sound system with this year’s budget. However, in order to do this, quality is usually compromised for the benefit of a lower price.

2. You can plan to purchase a system you truly desire over several years, but it requires patience and prioritizing.

Obviously, the better option is the second. This article will give you ideas to determine what equipment you need to consider to upgrade your sound system. We will then offer hints on how to prioritize the possible purchases.

What’s Next?

Let’s assume your sound system is not meeting your needs. To define what your needs actually are, some questions must be answered. What are the strengths of your current sound system - equipment, installation and/or design? What are the weaknesses of your current sound system - again, equipment, installation, and/or design?

Unfortunately, these questions may not be easy to answer without a good understanding of sound system equipment, design and installation techniques. A knowledge of new equipment is also helpful.

Since everyone is not a sound system expert, we can help. We will evaluate your present equipment and give you advice on what is working. We can also give you advice on new equipment which may solve a sound system problem or need you may have. Please call us for help.

So, let’s now assume you know what useful equipment you have and what equipment you may need for a successful sound system solution. If the solution requires more funds that you can commit, some choices must be made. This requires setting priorities for short- and long-term goals.

Budget Smart

Once you know the amount of money needed, you can start setting up a budget. You’ll want to spend what money you have wisely.

A quality sound system should last for many years. This means the equipment you purchase now should be items with the least chance of becoming obsolete next year.

Most basic sound systems are comprised of equipment from the following categories:

1. Main Loudspeaker system

2. Microphones and source equipment

3. Mixers and control equipment

4. Peripheral equipment and accessories

These categories are listed in order of priority for improvement considerations.

Loudspeaker System

Let’s say your current loudspeaker system cannot be heard equally well in every part of the auditorium or it simply does not sound very natural. Perhaps the sound becomes distorted before the level is loud enough. If this is your situation, the loudspeaker system is probably the best place to invest the majority of your budget.

If your loudspeaker system is not capable of providing good coverage with clear intelligible sound, improvements to the other system components will not necessarily improve the sound. A good loudspeaker system requires an engineered design along with a careful selection of the right components. Just installing any new loudspeaker system may not provide the best sound or even coverage.

Microphones and Source Equipment

Microphones are also extremely important. A great loudspeaker system with poor microphones will still produce poor sound. The same goes for a cassette deck with bad or dirty heads. Bad quality “in” will produce bad quality “out.” The opposite is also true. Great microphones will still sound bad on a poor loudspeaker system.

Microphones need to be matched to the application. Microphones are designed with certain characteristics for specific purposes. Please call us for advice on your microphone selection process.

Mixers and Control Equipment

In recent years, mixer and control equipment has im-proved greatly and has also become more sophisticated. This allows us to provide you with more options and suggestions for improvements. Like many areas, computers and computer controls are becoming increasingly useful in providing a good system with unprecedented function and control.

Be aware that fast change and improvements in equipment also mean the equipment you purchase now will soon be succeeded by a new model. The challenge is to invest in equipment that will be reliable and perform the job for which it was designed.

Peripheral Equipment and Accessories

In the planning process, we strongly recommend that you consider investing in future needs during a current installation. This will save your church more money at a later time when the next phase of improvement is added. For example, let’s say you have decided to purchase a 16 input mixer next year, but new microphone jacks and cables must be replaced now for your present 6 channel mixer. It would be wiser to add all 16 jacks now rather than just install six microphone jacks. Or perhaps your existing loudspeaker system and electronics are working, but you would like to add some enhancements to the system. The addition of accurate equalization can greatly improve the intelligibility or naturalness of the present system.

Foresight can make a big savings in the long-term expense of maintaining and upgrading your church’s sound systems.

And Don’t Forget . . .

One important area that is often overlooked in the sound system budget is the need for maintenance and supplies. It’s simply not prudent to purchase a high quality system and then not have the finances for batteries. Accidents happen. Dropping a microphone can change its characteristics. It’s only realistic to build a maintenance and supplies cushion into your budget.

by Ron Huisinga © 1996 Internet Sound Institute (www.soundinstitute.com). This article is for personal use only. Any commercial reproduction is not permitted without permission. To obtain permission, contact ISI at hopi@soundinstitute.com

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