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Acoustic Solutions equips Derby Cathedral with KV2 system

15/2/2024

Derby, UK – Founded in 943, the Cathedral Church of All Saints – better known as Derby Cathedral – is one of Derby’s most beautiful and historic sites and holds many monuments of Derby’s and Derbyshire’s past. An important spiritual and cultural hub for the city and surrounding areas, the Cathedral hosts no fewer than 18 services per week – that’s two or three services daily – plus special and seasonal services to celebrate important events in the religious calendar. The Cathedral recently turned to specialist consultant and integrator, Charlie Brown of Acoustic Solutions to upgrade their audio solution to bring it into line with modern requirements. Brown specified and delivered a comprehensive point source system from KV2 Audio.

Brown is something of a reference when it comes to installing audio solutions in churches and cathedrals throughout the UK and is often the first port of call for houses of worship looking to upgrade or renew their systems. Derby Cathedral was no exception. “The pandemic was a catalyst for change for many churches as they were forced into live streaming in order to continue to connect with their congregations,” explains Brown. “I’ve installed over 40 live streaming systems in churches across the UK as a result, and it was whilst advising Derby Cathedral on this topic that it became apparent that their current loudspeaker system was less than adequate for the job.”

The Cathedral needed clarity of the spoken word and detailed, low-level playback that could be perfectly heard without over-exciting the acoustic of the building. Brown demonstrated several products from a number of brands, but it was the ESD25 and ESD5 from KV2 that the cathedral (and Brown) preferred above anything else.

“I generally find that once clients have been exposed to KV2, they don’t want anything else,” states Brown, “and if it were up to me, I’d use KV2 on every job if I could get it into the budget! In this case, ESD5 and ESD25 were an ideal choice – sufficiently compact that they fit in architecturally yet loud enough without being intrusive and with a clarity and detail that is second to none, all of which is perfect for a cathedral environment.”

Brown replaced around 30 100v line loudspeakers with a total of 16 ESD cabinets in white to blend seamlessly with the architecture. He deployed 4 of the larger, more powerful ESD25s at the front of the space near the altar to provide a little more bottom end, adding that the acoustics are such that any bass frequencies fill the space without effort. The rest of the Cathedral is covered by 12 of the more compact ESD5s. An Allen & Heath AHM matrix mixer defines eight speaker zones allowing areas to be isolated when not in use and the levels of each zone to be adjusted for flawless coverage with no hotspots or dead zones.

“We’ve had nothing but praise for the system since it’s been in, both from users and those who have experienced the sound it delivers,” reports Brown. Derby Cathedral operations Manager Jessica Kilmurray is in full agreement: “We’ve had a huge number of positive comments about how the new system looks and sounds from members of the Cathedral community,” she notes. “It just goes to show that it’s already making a significant impact on the quality of our services, which is marvellous.”