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Sound & Communications December 201522

HOUSE OF WORSHIP: TECHNOLOGY

BACK TO THE FUTURE

By Anthony Vargas

Congregation Rodeph Shalom revisits old problems with new technology.


Rodeph Shalom’s stunning

aesthetic necessitated an

audio solution that would

not be visually obtrusive.

23December 2015 Sound & Communications

As advances in technology are made, the old ways of doing things can

quickly fall by the wayside. Revolutionary new hardware and software have a ten-

dency to completely reframe the way people approach all kinds of problems, and

there are perhaps no better witnesses to this phenomenon than AV professionals.

Although most make it a point to ensure their installations are as futureproof as

possible, many integrators and consultants are all too familiar with the experi-

ence of investing a ton of time and effort into a project, only for their solutions to

be rendered obsolete (or at least not as ideal as they were initially) by a new type

of speaker, or display, or microphone hitting the market soon after the fact.

This proved to be the case for Philadelphia Sound Productions (PSP, www.

phillysound.com) and its client, Philadelphia PA-based Congregation Rodeph

Shalom. Credited as the oldest Ashkenazic synagogue in the Western Hemi-

sphere, Rodeph Shalom has attempted to stay on the cutting edge of AV technol-

ogy in its efforts to spread its message of faith. The congregation hosts weekly

Friday and Saturday services, weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and High Holy Day

services that typically draw well in excess of 1000 attendees, as well as presenta-

tions by guest speakers and the occasional concert or movie screening (such as

a showing of Schindler’s List that took place during the World Meeting of Fami-

lies Film Festival, part of Pope Francis’ recent Philadelphia visit). An increased

focus on the musical aspects of its worship services in recent years, coupled with

the synagogue’s popularity as a site for community events, led the congregation’s

leadership to make finding the right sound system a top priority.

While Rodeph Shalom represents somewhat of a departure from the usual

house of worship installation in terms of denomination (although, as AV systems

become more and more ubiquitous in public spaces of all kinds, integrators

that cater to HOWs can increasingly expect to work with clients of all different

creeds), the chief concerns of the synagogue’s personnel and the building’s

acoustical quirks should ring familiar to AV professionals with even the slightest

experience in the worship market. The structure itself, originally built in 1928, is

a breathtaking example of Moorish Revival architecture that has earned a place

on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Its main sanctuary is a cavernous

space that features intricately carved and highly reflective stone walls, a large

balcony, and a 63-foot-high domed ceiling with dazzling stained glass embellish-

ments at its apex. All of those factors added up to a mandate against any hard-

ware that would not fit the room’s aesthetic, limited options for cable pulls and a

complete prohibition of acoustic treatment of any kind; in other words, the usual

expectations for an installation in such a visually impressive, historically signifi-

cant house of worship.

Although the synagogue underwent a major audio upgrade in 2008 courtesy of

PSP, advancements in sound delivery technology in the years after that installa-

tion necessitated a trip back to the drawing board in 2013. According to PSP’s

Owner Walter Mosetter, “The problem was that line array technology was still

in its early stages in 2008, and they were pretty much big, gigantic things, so

when we did the initial upgrade, aesthetically a line array wouldn’t work. A subtle

column line array and amps with DSP really weren’t available, at least not at the

level we needed. So, technology and the availability of some really cool stuff is

what drove the change.”

Also necessitating an audio upgrade from the 2008 system were the myriad

acoustic challenges presented by Rodeph Shalom’s architecture. “The room is so

large, and the dome creates acoustics that simply bounce like crazy,” explained


All Photos: Jack Ramsdale



of PSP. Rodeph Shalom’s Cantor Frankel, Director of Finance Tom Perloff,

Executive Director Roy Feinberg and Senior Rabbi William Kuhn, as well as

architectural firm Kieran Timberlake and contractor INTECH Construction,

also provided input throughout the project.

Before designing the new solution, Acentech and PSP had to reckon

with the shortcomings of the system installed in 2008. Fortunately, Stokes

already had quite a bit of hands-on experience with the old system. Since

the 2008 upgrade, he had been handling the front of house mixing for the

synagogue’s more musically intensive Friday-night services, which typically

feature a mini-orchestra of about 10 performers.

The problems identified by Stokes largely echoed Cantor Frankel’s

observations about the old system. “The initial system used traditional horn-

loaded PD boxes,” recalled Stokes. “One of the biggest issues we had in the

room is that you’ve got this big domed ceiling, so, acoustically, it was always

a challenge to try to get really high-quality sound in the room while keep-

ing the volume down and having everybody covered. That was the primary

concern when we did the redesign: to make sure we had a speaker that

could get quality sound to every seat without having to raise the decibel

level above normal.”

In order to ensure that the new system would address the main sanctuary’s

acoustic challenges, Artese and Horesco performed an extensive acoustic

modeling of the space using EASERA software. “First, we wanted to look at

the room, the acoustics and take some measurements to see how the exist-

ing sound system was performing, identify any trouble spots and confirm

what the synagogue was reporting,” said Artese. “The limitations were not

necessarily with the old system itself, but the system as a whole, including

the space. Basically, there were dead spots in the floor of the sanctuary where

nothing was intelligible. You could hear that there was sound, but it was com-

ing from so many directions. We even measured some flutter echo.”

Horesco determined that the flutter echo and dead spots were caused

by the way the point source speakers installed in 2008 interacted with the space. “The

system was a combination of direct and distributed speakers, both on the sides of the

sanctuary and up in the balcony. Unfortunately, the ones on the sides fed right into

the dome, and if you were seated under the dome, you weren’t going to hear much,”

explained Artese. “The sound was coming at listeners in the main part of the sanctu-

ary from many different directions with a lot of delay, and very little direct sound. We

didn’t understand that, and I thought there was just a setup issue at first. However, as

we did some more measurements, we realized that, because of some problems with bass

response in the room, direct sound was something you had to be really careful using.”

Artese compiled his findings into a preliminary report and offered his recommenda-

tions for a system that would work with the sanctuary’s complicated architecture. His

recommendations centered on scaling back the complexity of the system as much as

possible. “We wanted to simplify things,” said Artese. “My first comment after hearing

the old system was that the sound was just coming from everywhere, and it was almost

unnatural because you couldn’t really locate a point source. We needed to be able to get

the sound to both the main sanctuary floor and the balcony, while keeping it out of the

dome area and trying to minimize reflections.” Acentech and PSP decided that using a

line array would significantly streamline the room’s audio and provide far more control

over the system, allowing them to direct the sound away from the room’s trouble spots.

After demoing a few different models, they decided to go with two triple stacks of Ren-

kus-Heinz ICL-FR line arrays, one on each side of the bimah, or altar. They are supple-

mented by two Renkus-Heinz PN112-SUBs, positioned just underneath the arrays. PSP

originally considered using double-stack arrays, but ultimately felt that the triples would

more adequately cover the space and provide more control, as well as the extra sonic

Rodeph Shalom’s Cantor, Erin Frankel.

“With the sound bouncing like that,

the old system had to be calibrated in a

way that cut off both intelligibility when

somebody was speaking, and also a full

range of tone. The higher end of sound,

for either spoken word or music, ended

up sounding tinny and flat, not warm.

So, that was the main reason we needed

an upgrade. We wanted to be able to

hear speech in a more natural way—not

just loud, but also clear—and to restore

a more natural sense of sound with the

full range of tone, from low to high.”

To accomplish this task, Rodeph

Shalom turned to PSP and Acentech

(www.acentech.com), an AV/IT and

architectural acoustics consulting firm,

to design a new system that would

minimize the room’s impact on audio

quality. The system was designed by

Acentech consultants Perry Artese

and Joe Horesco, in cooperation with

Mosetter and Raymond Stokes, also

The decision to use column line arrays, one on each side of

the bimah, streamlined the audio system’s interaction with the

acoustically challenging space. And custom rigging allows the

speakers to blend into the sanctuary’s ornate décor.


www.analogway.com

punch required for musical performances

and services that draw a packed house.

“We ended up going with the triples be-

cause we wanted to be able to have more

control over the lower end,” said Stokes.

“Also, we needed to cover the balcony,

which is fairly high up from the ground-

level seating plane, so that’s another rea-

son why we went with the triples. And, we

felt that they had enough output to be able

to cover the whole crowd on High Holy

Days, when we need a little extra volume

and headroom.” Artese agreed that the

triple stacks were the right choice for this

particular application. “We were able to

get better pattern coverage with the third

stack, and we were actually able to get a

little bit more output, too,” he explained.

“Our prediction was that we could obtain

a max of about 107dB SPL throughout the

space.”

Of course, the arrays had to be hung as

inconspicuously as possible, and special

care had to be taken to protect the syna-

gogue’s elegantly detailed walls. Accord-

ing to Mosetter, “There was concern

about putting a triple onto the old terra-

cotta wall material, because the speakers

would vibrate the wall and, over time,

some of it might fall.” To address this con-

cern, the architect, Kieran Timberlake,

and the contractor, INTECH, devised an

ingenious custom mounting structure that

serves a dual purpose of protecting the

walls and allowing the speakers to blend

in with the decor. “They came up with

welded-steel assemblies that are attached

to the building structure on each side of

the bimah, and the column arrays were

attached to those. We had the rigging and

the speakers custom painted to match the

interior of the space,” said Artese.

The synagogue was extremely pleased

with the result. “The look of our sanctu-

ary is obviously very important to us,

trying to maintain the grace and beauty

of the original historical structure. The

speakers we have now are a vast improve-

ment over what we had on the wall

before,” said Cantor Frankel. “They’re

almost invisible. The process of getting

the precise paint color from a sample

paint chip was just done perfectly. And

the way that they were positioned on the

wall makes them blend in as if they were

always there.”

Another major concern going into the

upgrade was figuring out a way to effec-

tively mic the main sanctuary’s upper-

and lower-bimah reader’s tables. “The

lower bimah has a fairly large reader’s

table, and then there’s the extra-large

reader’s table for the upper bimah,

which is used for High Holy Days,”

described Stokes. “With traditional

podiums, you can move the mic around

as needed, to get it as close to the mouth

as possible. In this situation, it’s kind of

unique because the Torah is rolled out

across a flat table, so the microphone

has to be positioned fairly far away from

the speaker at the upper end of the

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clear signal through the system.”

Artese also decided that Earthworks flex-wand mics would be a good

fit for the choir area. “I was concerned about the potential problems we

would run into with a lot of open mics in front of the line arrays,” offered

Artese. “But, because of the pickup patterns of the Earthworks mics and

the placement of the arrays and the digital steering, we avoided any type

of conflict or feedback. The band had been using monitor systems before,

and the musicians and the cantor can now perform the service without

any monitors whatsoever. The sound, the range, is very smooth, and

there’s virtually no feedback, even at substantial levels.” An Earthworks

piano mic is used—get this—to mic the piano. Additional mics, such as

those used by the rabbis and the cantor, include various wireless head-

sets and cardioid mics made by Shure, Countryman Associates and AKG

Acoustics.

The synagogue also upgraded its assistive listening system. “They

had a Listen transmitter installed, and we had originally proposed that

they switch over to a Listen loop system,” said Stokes. “But, because of

the cost and the fact that all of the pews would have to come out and the

carpet would have to come up, they wound up throwing that idea out the

window. So, we left the original transmitter in place, and they’ve upgraded

to the newer, compact Listen receivers with the neck loops.”

Although it wasn’t the change PSP originally had in mind, Stokes be-

lieves it has improved the aural experience for the congregation’s hearing-

impaired members. “Compared to the older receivers, the new ones just

sound a whole lot better, a lot cleaner, and without all of the hiss,” he ex-

plained. “They’re probably about a quarter of the size of the original ones,

and they have LEDs on the front so you can label what audio sources and

channels are in use. We were happy with the change, and the congregants

were happy, as well.”

The backbone of the new audio system consists of a BSS Audio Sound-

web London BLU-806 networked signal processor with Dante, which

Mosetter referred to as “one of the best DSP boxes out there,” a Yamaha

QL-5 digital mixer, a Roland S-4000S-3208 digital snake, a Cisco Systems networked

switch, a Lab.gruppen power amp and a Crestron CP3N control system. The hard-

ware is housed in Middle Atlantic racks. The entire system can operate under two

master presets: one for when the house is packed and the balcony is in use, and one

for when the balcony is empty and doesn’t have to be covered.

Mosetter handled the bulk of the system’s programming, and provided an overview

of how the various components interact. “We tuned the starting presets for each mic

in the BSS so that, throughout the chain of processing, we’re able to come up with

the correct EQ, compression and whatever else is needed for each channel individu-

ally,” he explained. “The channels are labeled and marked, and they pretty much

don’t change, including what microphone is used for what purpose. So, everything’s

pre-tuned and sounds pretty tight in the London processor itself.”

He continued, “Then those same microphone channels are passed via Dante out to

the Yamaha mixing console, so we didn’t have to come up with a bunch of weird splits

and snakes. We used one box. I don’t know if that’s such a unique thing, but it was

a pretty clever way of not having to rely on Yamaha RIOs for the stage mix. There’s

only one preamp in line, and it does the work of two. It really saved a lot of money

and effort and wire to be able to use the Dante snake system to feed the Yamaha

through the BSS.”

Much of the mixing required for typical services is handled by the auto-mix capa-

bilities of the BSS signal processor, and Stokes is on hand to cover the more compli-

cated front of house mixing duties on Friday nights and High Holy Days. However,

reader’s table. In the past, one of the

issues has always been getting enough

quality and enough gain before feedback

out of the microphones when little kids

are using them, and also people who are

not very well spoken.”

In the years since the 2008 upgrade,

PSP had tried many different mics

from multiple manufacturers, as well as

custom-made mics and hooks, without

much success. But this time around,

Artese suggested the Earthworks FMR

500, and it proved to be just the solution

they needed. “Just like any other house

of worship, they have challenges with

people coming up to read—soft talkers,

people not even close to the micro-

phone,” explained Artese. “So, I wanted

to experiment with the Earthworks 500

series, and coverage and pickup was

fantastic in that you could be anywhere

at that reader’s table and still get a very

The building’s spectacular domed ceiling created a lot of problems

for the old audio system, and providing adequate coverage to the

balcony was another challenge that had to be overcome.

Mosetter also programmed a few features

into the Crestron control system that

would give synagogue personnel, includ-

ing the rabbis, Cantor Frankel and the

maintenance staff members who oversee

the mix during Saturday services, some

wiggle room when Stokes isn’t around.

“There’s an operator-level page in the

Crestron that allows them to adjust the

preamps accordingly, and turn phantom

power on and off,” described Mosetter.

“Basically, with the Crestron, what I was

trying to do was keep things very simple:

minimal amount of screens, minimal

amount of things to touch. So, they hit

the Friday button that calls up and starts

Friday’s preset. That opens up a screen

that has only the 10 wireless mics they’re

actually using for that service, and those

are all set from the preset within the BSS.

The Crestron just gives the client the

ability to make subtle changes. We gave

them a +/-3dB window, and they can mute

some channels if they need to. We also

gave them an iPad, and they have some

control over the system via HiQnet Mo-

tion Control.”

Because the system had to be upgraded

so soon after the initial 2008 installation,

this time around, PSP and Acentech

prioritized making the new system as

futureproof as possible. This included

ensuring that the Crestron processor

could accommodate the likely addition

of video streaming capabilities down the

road. “Right from the beginning, we inter-

viewed all the rabbis and the staff to talk

about existing and future requirements

for the system,” recalled Artese. “So,

after a couple of meetings, we developed

a really thoughtful program that set the

direction for the design and set the direc-

tion for the future use of technology in

the space, including sound systems and,

eventually, video streaming and capture,

and whatever else they might need.”

Thanks in no small part to technology

finally catching up to the unique needs of

Rodeph Shalom’s historic home, this

latest upgrade seems to have satisfied

all the parties involved. “To me, the

best confirmation that we had really

done something right came during this

past High Holy Day season,” recalled

Cantor Frankel. “I kept hearing how

beautiful the music was, how beautiful

my voice was and people were saying,

‘You just keep getting better every

year!’ I’m very happy to hear feedback

like that, but I think part of it is that

people were hearing me and hearing

the music in a way that they haven’t

before. We really had restored the full

sense of tone, and they heard a warmth

in the sound that they didn’t before.

And people noticed without necessarily

being able to describe what they were

hearing.” In the end, that’s the mark of

any truly well executed sound system:

that people like what they hear, even

if they have no idea what’s going on

behind the scenes.

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