CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Many of the things we have been working on for the renovation will be visually very beautiful.  However, one of the most important considerations for Project 2017 has been sound.  Acoustics and microphones greatly impact how sound travels throughout the building.  After all, if you can't hear the message, it diminishes the quality of your listening experience. 

As you probably recall, our sound system was replaced a little less than a year ago.  Our old system failed (right around Easter 2016) and the new one was installed by a company called Pro Audio.  They did an analysis of our space and set the system for maximum results.  It's been working really well! Because we are replacing the carpeting in the church with tile, the acoustics will probably change again.  Our sound system designers will be able to re-adjust our speakers and levels to fit the new space.

We also have removed some of the old speakers that were not hooked up to create a cleaner and more streamlined look.  Our new organ will have speakers in both the front and the back of the church which will eliminate the sound "delay" while creating a rich timbre.

We are also very happy to announce that we will be installing an "audio induction loop" (also called a "hearing loop") throughout the church and the chapel.   On our wish list, we are able to move forward with it due to the generosity of the donors of  Project 2017.  This is a state of the art assistive listening technology for individuals with reduced ranges of hearing.  A hearing loop consists of a physical loop of cables which will be positioned under the flooring. (The timing is perfect of course because we will be putting new tile in the church and new carpeting in the chapel.) The cable generates a magnetic field throughout the looped space which can be picked up by telecoil (t-coil) hearing aids and specialized hand-held hearing loop receivers for individuals without t-coil compatible hearing aids.  We are working with a company called Assistive Hearing Systems, LLC who has designed the best possible system to work in both the church and the chapel. 

If you have used this system before, it will be easy for you!  If you have hearing aids but don't know about the t-coil, ask your audiologist if you can take advantage of this technology.  We will have a few training sessions in the future for users and for our ushers so that they can help people as we will have some hand held loop receivers as well.  You probably have seen this sign at theatres and auditoriums. This sign will now be at our church entrances to let visitors know that they can tune in with the hearing loop!

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