In the world of house of worship technology, the "challenging space" is a familiar adversary. Few scenarios are more daunting than the converted warehouse—a vast, cavernous environment designed for industrial storage rather than acoustic nuance. This was the exact reality for Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs. Their 1,500-seat auditorium, characterized by high steel beams and corrugated metal, was an acoustic nightmare of specular reflections and a persistent diffuse field.
The problem was a classic paradox: the church possessed an incredible worship team, but the "industrial" limitations of the room created a massive barrier. Between the slapback echo and uneven coverage, the message was being lost in the architecture. To transform this warehouse into a true sanctuary, Charis Christian Center partnered with the engineers at Lux AVL. While the hardware was provided by DAS Audio, the final sonic success of the room rested on a comprehensive system redesign authored by Lux AVL to conquer the room's unique acoustic geometry.
In a room where sound waves bounce off hard metal surfaces and concrete floors, guessing at speaker placement is a recipe for failure. Lux AVL approached the project with a "measure twice, cut once" philosophy that went far beyond basic blueprints. They utilized advanced laser scanning technology to create a precise 3D virtual model of the sanctuary.
By building this digital twin, Lux AVL could simulate exactly how sound waves would interact with the warehouse shell before a single bracket was mounted. This level of planning allowed the team to optimize the acoustic geometry of the system—calculating specific splay angles and trim heights that would maximize direct energy to the seats while minimizing the energy hitting the walls. This wasn't just an installation; it was a surgical strike against the "warehouse echo."
A common hurdle in large sanctuaries is "stage bleed," where low-frequency energy washes back onto the stage, muddying the monitors and forcing musicians into a volume war. Lux AVL solved this by diverging from traditional non-directional subwoofer placements. Instead, they engineered a sophisticated "center end-fire" configuration.
The low-end deployment was a hybrid masterclass: four flown EVENT-118A subwoofers in the end-fire array, supplemented by two EVENT-218A ground-supported subwoofers for tactile, floor-level impact. Lux AVL’s specific design for the splay and timing of the flown array created a massive cancellation effect behind the speakers, effectively "quieting" the stage while throwing powerful, phase-coherent energy into the house. Caleb Kanneberg, Production Manager at Charis Christian Center, noted the transformation:
"Now you can walk anywhere in the space, and the sound is clear, controlled, and impactful. It completely changed the room."
This reflects a fundamental principle of high-end consulting: to increase the signal-to-noise ratio for the congregation, you must first master the silence on the stage.
In today’s hybrid church model, the digital experience is often the "front door" for new visitors. While the upgrade was primarily intended to solve in-room issues, it yielded an immediate jump in production value for online viewers. This wasn't just a byproduct of "better mics"; it was a result of a of the new PA and proper deployment. The stage volume reduction created the much needed clarity for the online service.
The system is anchored by the INTEGRAL-M88 processor, managed via DAS Audio’s ALMA Control software. Because the system utilizes Dante integration, Lux AVL was able to provide a clean digital split for the broadcast team. This matrixed approach ensured that the aggressive processing and room-tuning required to "tame" the warehouse didn't negatively impact the livestream mix. The result was a studio-quality broadcast delivered simultaneously with the live service.
High-end audio is often associated with musical "thump," but for a ministry, the "intelligibility" of the spoken Word is the ultimate metric. Before the Lux AVL intervention, the sanctuary struggled with the pastor’s vocal clarity and persistent feedback from choir microphones—symptoms of a system lacking sufficient pattern control.
The DAS Audio EVENT series provided the tighter pattern control necessary to keep sound off the microphones and on the ears of the audience. By increasing the system's headroom and precision, Lux AVL ensured that the pastor’s message could cut through the room without the risk of feedback or the need to "push" the volume to uncomfortable levels. Intelligibility is about the removal of distractions, and through proper engineering, the technology finally became invisible.
To achieve consistent coverage across 1,500 seats, Lux AVL deployed a massive array of 16 EVENT-28A dual 8" line arrays as the mains, supported by 8 EVENT-26A compact outfills. The goal was to ensure the person in the last row had the same intimate experience as the person in the front.
Michael Palmer, Vice President of Sales for DAS Audio, reflected on the project:
“Charis Christian Center is a great example of how thoughtful system design can completely transform a challenging space. This installation was about creating a worship environment where every seat feels connected to the experience.”
By using the specific splay and angle revisions authored by Lux AVL, the system provides a seamless "handshake" between the mains and the outfills, ensuring that the entire warehouse feels like a unified, immersive environment.