Opened a year ago as a multipurpose worship and performance center for young people at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, The Refinery is an all-Lab.gruppen installation, with multiple C Series amplifiers being used to power a number of sound systems. “It was a great call,” offers Greg Baker, Saddleback Church’s technical director. “Our new gymnasium and auditorium within The Refinery are very well served by our Lab.gruppen amplifiers, which have been totally reliable since we added them in June of last year. We are very pleased with the new addition.” The new facility derives its distinctive name from the church’s avowed aim to “Refine young children into adulthood.” Reported budget for the recently-added audio, video and lighting system was close $2 million.
Working with a comprehensive AVL system design from Acoustic Dimensions, The Refinery’s audio and video installation was implemented by CCI Solutions. “The new 600-seat Refinery Auditorium features a performance stage facing a wide 90-degree seating area with tables and chairs available in the rear sections,” explains CCI Solutions’ senior systems consultant Mark Pearson, who oversaw the project. “We installed three Lab.gruppen C Series C 16:4, three C 28:4 and three C 68:4 four-channel amplifiers to power the JBL PD Series loudspeakers and VerTec subwoofers, in addition to JBL AM Series plus EAW JFX88 front- and side-fill cabinets.” The various C Series amplifiers are interconnected via Lab.gruppen NLB 60E NomadLink Bridge & Network Controllers for each area, using built-in NomadLink Cat-5-capable networking for remote monitoring and control. BSS London BLU Series processors handle system EQ and signal distribution. “We also added several C Series C16:4 four-channel and C 10:8 eight-channel amplifiers for The Refinery’s background-music and paging systems,” adds Pearson.
For the gymnasium, which features a full basketball court and moveable seating during use as a multipurpose room, CCI Solutions installed two C 28.4 and a pair of C 68.4 four-channel amplifiers to power the area’s JBL PD Series loudspeakers. “While the C 68.4 amplifiers drive the subwoofers in the auditorium,” Pearson continues, “for the gym we used a pair of FP 7000 models for the EAW LF315 subs, which need additional power.”
The choice of Lab.gruppen amplifiers was a joint decision between Acoustic Dimensions and CCI Solutions, with input from Saddleback Church’s former technical director, Steve Powers. “While the choice of loudspeakers went through several iterations,” Pearson recalls, “the Lab.gruppen amplifiers remained the team’s number one choice for the Saddleback installation; they are great sounding and totally reliable. C Series models offer plenty of headroom, but can take their available power right to the edge. And C Series amplifiers do not run out of performance on the low-end; the C 68.4s we used to power the various JBL and EAW cabinets keep up with their low-end requirements.” “We have had very good success with the Lab.gruppen products, and they served this project very well,” confirms Ryan Knox, Acoustic Dimensions’ senior consultant.
The C 16:4 amplifier is packaged in a 2U chassis and provides four, 400 W outputs into four-ohm loads; the C 28:4 and C 68:4 models are identically packaged but offer, respectively, 700 W and 1.7 kW per channel. Individually configurable Voltage Peak Limiters (VPL) allow each output to be optimized for any loudspeaker load, whether that load comprises a single large subwoofer or a series of small 100/70 V drivers. VPL works in combination with adjustable input gain to achieve maximum overall headroom, regardless of input levels or output impedances. “Lab.gruppen’s C Series amplifiers offer definite space-saving advantages for installations like this,” Pearson advises. “We were able to mount all the amplifiers within the three racks we had available, in addition to The Refinery’s high-definition video systems. That combination of an outstanding power-to-size ratio and a high channel density, coupled with superb sound quality, proven reliability and a comprehensive six-year warranty makes C Series our go-to amplification solution.”
A pair of Yamaha M7CL digital consoles – a 32-channel version for the gymnasium, and a 48-channel version for the auditorium – handles mixing assignments. “We mounted the smaller Yamaha console on a rolling cart with multipin connectors so that it could be moved easily into the outdoor amphitheater,” Pearson recalls, “and used to mix sound for outdoor events,” via an array of JBL AM Series loudspeakers.
“Our Lab.gruppen C Series amplifiers have been flawless in operation,” technical director Baker concludes. “CCI Solutions is a great company to deal with and we are glad that we followed their recommendations for the new Refinery Auditorium and Gymnasium project. We use the systems every day for various church events and conferences. The sound system has never let us down; the clarity and reliability are a big plus for Saddleback Valley Community Church.”