Background
San Juan de Dios is a colonial era church built around 1765 – long before sound systems were invented or acoustic design was understood. It is constructed entirely of “rubble stone” with a cement binder and plaster coating. The current sound system was installed around 1990. The building interior is acoustically reflective which results in a high reverberation. This means that at a normal rate of speaking, consonants will overlap and intelligibility suffers.
Beginning about one year ago, sound measurements and an engineering analysis of the current and alternative sound systems, wall treatments, etc were made.. For those interested, there is a report available that can be downloaded.
The report, which was reviewed by two other parishioners with technical backgrounds, recommended that the speakers be changed to a professional grade directional type which would focus the sound on the seating area (and not on the walls or ceiling) and that the amplifier be replaced with one of higher fidelity and power rating. Some acoustic absorption could also be added to the south walls of the Transepts and Nave (the wall with the front door).
Padre Dante reviewed the report and approved the project
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The existing speakers have been realigned and switches added to disable the ones in the rear of the church during the English Mass. This is a temporary step that was necessary to get proper sound measurements.
New wiring has been added for the loudspeakers with higher power capacity and the flexibility to disable speakers selectively from the front of the church.
A new amplifier was ordered and has been received. It will be installed in the next week or two.
Four new professional grade loudspeakers have been ordered, of which two have been received. These will be installed on the four large Cantera columns in the corners of the Crossing.
Mounting brackets for these speakers were designed and are on order. They are being built locally.
Measurements are being made after each separate upgrade to verify that the expected improvement is being realized.
Funding
Four speakers may be adequate to cover just the front third occupied by the current English Mass. The cost to accomplish that part of the project is about $2,500 US. The total cost of outfitting the entire church is about $5,000 US.
Several parishioners have already made contributions. If you would like to help, please contact either David Cunningham or Padre Dante. The funding for this work is entirely separate from the normal church collections.