Community Bible Church (CBC) partnered with Nashville-based integration firm AVLX to deploy a comprehensive d&b audiotechnik sound system featuring SL-Series line arrays and subwoofers, combined with a DS100M signal engine (Soundscape) featuring both the En-Space and En-Scene software modules. The system is interconnected via the flexible MILAN networking protocol, ensuring low-latency and superior bandwidth management while maintaining mission-critical, full redundancy.
[Not So Quiet Reflection]
With a weekly attendance of over 20,000 across five services, CBC required a solution that could serve their 3,500-seat main auditorium while bridging the gap between high-energy worship and intelligible spoken word. The church’s leadership, known for being early adopters, sought to replace an aging system that struggled with coverage and sightline issues.
“At Community Bible Church, innovation isn’t a buzzword, it’s a mindset,” said Joey Riggins, director of marketing and technology at AVLX. “The leadership team believes technology, when used thoughtfully, can elevate every moment of worship. Their relentless pursuit of clarity ensured that they were willing to invest in the right solution from the start.”
The decision to move to an immersive Soundscape system rather than a traditional left/right stereo array was driven by the desire to fundamentally change the congregant experience.
The design philosophy leveraged Soundscape’s En-Space room emulation to solve a complex acoustic conflict common in modern churches: the tug-of-war between live acoustics and broadcast audio.
The room was designed to be acoustically ‘dead’ to ensure pristine broadcast audio Chris Torri, managing partner at AVLX explained. With En-Space, AVLX was able to add reverberant characteristics back in while controlling the room's energy—giving the space a cathedral-like feel for the choir or tightening it up for the message—without compromising the broadcast mix. "In addition, the choice of XSLi line arrays and KSLi subwoofers has also drastically improved the quality of their broadcast audio, thanks to reduced stage volume provided by their cardioid performance,” he added.
For Eric Allen, CBC’s head of audio, the primary benefits of the new system are clarity and consistency. The system utilizes En-Scene object-based positioning software to accurately place audio sources within the 360-degree sound field, aligning what the eyes see with what the ears hear.
“The creative freedom has also empowered the worship team to envelope the congregation, especially with sweeping pads and atmospheric sounds,” Allen added. “By throwing those into the surrounds, it pulls the audience into the moment.”
“The initial impression from the congregation was that while they couldn't define what had changed, they knew something was significantly better. You can see it on their faces," said Allen. “We have much more flexibility now to ensure everyone, in every seat—including those in the balcony—has a distinct, clear experience. The sonic clarity and spatialization we now have is just unbelievable. When combined with a redundant MILAN network, we’re assured congregation will always hear the message.”
