St Mary’s Church got in touch after members of the congregation found it hard to hear clearly during Sunday services. The church had previously had part of the system updated, but it still wasn’t delivering the clarity they needed. When we were brought in, we installed new microphones and upgraded key parts of the audio infrastructure, with a longer-term plan in place to update the loudspeakers as the next phase.
The Venue
St Mary’s Church, Prittlewell has served its community for more than 1,000 years. Before we became involved, its sound system had been upgraded in stages over time, and although the church had had part of the system updated relatively recently, it was still supported by a mixture of older equipment and ageing infrastructure.
The result was a system that continued to operate but no longer delivered the clarity or reliability the church needed for regular worship and community events. As with any historic building, improvements also needed to respect the existing fabric of the church while supporting modern worship.
The Challenge
The church first contacted us because some members of the congregation were struggling to hear clearly during Sunday services. That is a frustrating problem for everyone, and it can leave people feeling disconnected from worship.
On closer inspection, the issue went beyond any single piece of equipment. Some microphones had become unreliable, the wireless system no longer offered dependable performance, and volunteers often had limited options when connecting equipment. Rather than patching individual faults, the aim was to address the immediate problem properly while creating a foundation for the church’s longer-term plans.
Our Solution
We installed new microphones for both altar areas, along with new Sennheiser wireless handheld and lapel systems supported by professional antenna distribution for dependable performance.
Alongside this, we upgraded key parts of the audio infrastructure, adding new multicore cabling, XLR patching and additional connection points around the church, together with an Allen & Heath SQ-Rack digital mixing system. We also improved the way the Hymnal Plus system connects, giving volunteers greater flexibility during services without disrupting the rest of the audio system.
Every part of the work was designed to fix the immediate clarity problems while preparing the system for the next stage: upgrading the loudspeakers.
Results & Impact
The improvements were noticeable immediately, with members of the congregation commenting on the clearer speech and improved sound quality at the very services where hearing had been a problem.
The church now benefits from a more reliable and flexible audio system that is easier for volunteers to operate. This work forms the first phase of the church’s ongoing audio improvement programme, with the loudspeaker upgrade planned as the next stage.
Installation Overview
- New audio multicore infrastructure and XLR patching
- Additional audio connection points throughout the church
- Replacement microphones for both altar areas
- Allen & Heath SQ-Rack digital mixing system
- Sennheiser EW-D wireless handheld and lapel microphone systems
- Professional antenna distribution for improved wireless reliability
- Audio infrastructure designed to support the future loudspeaker upgrade
