Saint Pius Tenth Church

Designed and Installed by Joe Barone

When Saint Pius Tenth Parish’s church in Western New York was completely destroyed by a fire, Father Paul Bonacci likened the catastrophe to Good Friday and assured his congregation that a wonderful Easter Sunday would surely follow. The parish entrusted veteran AV systems integrator Joe Barone to design and install a sound system for the stately new Catholic sanctuary reborn out of the ashes of its predecessor.

Challenges

The sanctuary’s hard reflective surfaces and lack of acoustical treatment presented significant acoustical challenges. Its aesthetic challenges included parameters on loudspeaker placement to avoid detracting from the awe-inspiring architecture.

Solution

“Saint Pius Tenth is the first new church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester in 40 years, so I knew expectations were running high,” recounts Joe Barone. “While the original sanctuary had been acoustically dead, the new one’s highly reflective marble, drywall, glass, and wooden surfaces create a very live and reverberant worship space.”

“Loudspeaker selection, aiming and placement were critical,” explains Barone. “While many loudspeaker brands offer limited driver sizes and horn patterns, and leave it up to designers to fit them into their projects, Fulcrum’s broad range of coaxial loudspeaker systems all but ensures the right tool for any given project.”

“We flew left/right Fulcrum DX1577 dual 15-inch coaxial loudspeakers with 75° x 75° horns as mains,” relates Barone. “Four compact DX896 dual 8-inch coaxes with 90° x 60° horns serve as fills for the sanctuary’s side and mezzanine sections. Rounding out the system, a pair of compact Fulcrum FX896 8-inch, portable coaxial vocal monitors provide clarity and source separation for the church choir.”

“Church deacons and parishioners have been very positive about the new sound system,” enthuses Barone. “The discrete system provides an aural clarity and presence that makes the room breathe like a fine wine. An elderly gentleman who always sits in the back of the church told me he could now hear every single word of the service. I’m honored to have been chosen to be part of Saint Pius Tenth’s rebirth and I couldn’t have done it without Fulcrum’s coaxial loudspeakers and support.”

Pull-quote graphic showing the Fulcrum Acoustic logo and quotation symbol

An elderly gentleman who always sits in the back of the church told me he could now hear every single word of the service.

Joe Barone

Project Details

LocationRochester, New York
MarketWorship
Type900-seat sanctuary
Fulcrum Products(2) DX15 – Dual 15” Coaxial Loudspeaker
(4) DX8 – Dual 8” Coaxial Loudspeaker
(2) FX896 – 8” Coaxial Vocal Monitor
Supporting ProductsAshly Perma 8250 combined DSP and Multi-Channel Amplifiers
Tannoy Ceiling Speakers

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