Summary:
- By integrating two Quantum225 consoles alongside an existing SD12 and SD-Racks on an optical loop, St Paul’s created a standardized, shared-resource ecosystem.
- Acting as the central distribution and routing hub, the 4REA4 engine provides 128 input and 56 output channels of dedicated processing while transparently bridging the church’s MADI, Dante, and optical networks.
- Upgrading from purely legacy SD processing to the modern Quantum engine delivered an immediately noticeable jump in transient response, speech intelligibility, and musical headroom.
Located in Sydney, Australia’s Castle Hill suburb, St Paul’s Church is a modern house of worship and home to a comprehensive AV ecosystem. As part of an ongoing investment in its production capabilities, CityAlight, the church's music ministry, recently helped introduce its team to a new suite of DiGiCo digital mixing solutions. In consultation with music and pro audio retailer Turramurra Music, CityAlight chose to add two Quantum225 consoles and a 4REA4 system processor to its existing DiGiCo SD12 and SD-Racks, all connected via an optical loop.
“DiGiCo Quantum is an ideal platform for larger churches and other venues where audio quality, ease of operation and long-term flexibility are all critical,” said Mat Stevens, general manager of Turramurra Music. “Quantum delivers the sound quality and intuitive workflow you’d expect from DiGiCo, while giving venues the scalability to expand and adapt their systems as their requirements evolve.”
Part of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, St Paul’s runs a variety of community services, events, and concerts alongside three regular Sunday services, two of which are live-streamed each week. Augmenting its existing SD12 console workflow, St Paul’s elected to standardize its audio system with DiGiCo consoles across the board, simplifying training and weekly operations for its large volunteer production team.
“One of the big things about the DiGiCo Quantum225 is the intuitive nature of the layout and user interface. Another of our primary focuses was to create a system that had redundancy and future expandability,” said Rich Vassallo, chief operating officer for CityAlight.
St Paul’s is also utilizing DiGiCo’s 4REA4, the FGPA-powered system processor that combines high-performance processing with routing and control. It supports up to 128 input channels and 56 outputs, flexible network connectivity, and seamlessly integrates with DiGiCo consoles and third-party audio protocols. These features make it ideal for multi-space venues like St Paul’s. 4REA4’s host of capabilities helps simplify the deployment and day-to-day management of sophisticated networked audio systems. At St Paul’s, the 4AREA4 is used as a bridge between the church’s MADI, Dante, and optical networks, and, according to Stevens, having a reliable, high-quality resource at the heart of their system has not just improved audio processing, it has delivered peace of mind, too.
“The 4REA4 has been integrated for distribution of audio to the many areas around the venue that require it,” he noted. “To be able to rely on snapshots and automation makes things easier for their volunteer team to achieve a great professional result on Sundays.”
Providing a modern, scalable mixing platform, the DiGiCo Quantum225 consoles not only support seamless networking capabilities, but also enable the church to deliver exceptional audio quality for both in-person and streamed services.
“Since we upgraded to the Quantum 225s and 4REA4, we have noticed a significant increase in quality, in both our speech and music delivery," Vassallo concluded. "It was a huge relief on the first day that we launched it and we got a lot of amazing feedback from the congregation about how pleased they were. They said that the music just sounded even and full.”
