Project Category
PA Systems
Venues & Performing Arts
St Francis of Assisi Church Paddington
Houses of Worship
Masters Voice Technology delivered a church PA system upgrade for St Francis of Assisi Church, Paddington, improving speech clarity, audio coverage, wireless microphone performance and simple volunteer control. The solution supports masses, readings, music and parish events while addressing the acoustic challenges of the church’s heritage architecture, high ceilings and reflective interior.
Improving Speech Clarity in a Reverberant Church Environment
Historic churches are beautiful spaces, but they can be difficult audio environments. High ceilings, hard surfaces, reflective walls and long reverberation times can make spoken word difficult to understand, especially toward the rear of the nave.
At St Francis of Assisi Church, the existing PA system had several issues:
- Uneven sound coverage through the seating areas
- Echo and reduced clarity toward the rear of the church
- Poor speech intelligibility during sermons, readings and ceremonies
- Manual adjustments required by volunteers
- Outdated analogue audio equipment
- Noisy 3.5 mm music input
- Limited flexibility for future AV upgrades
The parish needed a reliable house of worship AV system that would make every word easier to hear, keep operation simple for volunteers and support both speech and music without compromising the look and feel of the church.
How the Church PA System Was Designed to Work
The system workflow was designed to make the church audio system simple, reliable and consistent during services, allowing parish staff and volunteers to focus on worship rather than managing complex audio equipment. Masters Voice Technology delivered a church PA system upgrade for St Francis of Assisi Church in Paddington, Sydney, improving speech clarity, wireless microphones, music playback and simple volunteer control through Q-SYS audio processing.
Speach and Music Inputs
Wireless headset microphones, lectern microphones and music sources capture sermons, readings, prayers, announcements, choir support and background music for services and parish events.
Digital Audio Processing
The Q-SYS digital signal processor manages audio routing, automatic mixing, equalisation, speaker delays and level balancing to improve speech clarity throughout the church.
Volunteer Control
A QSC touchscreen control panel gives parish staff and volunteers an easy way to adjust microphone levels, music volume and system presets from the lectern.
Deliver Clear Sound Across the Church
JBL column loudspeakers and acoustic tuning distribute sound evenly through the church, helping the congregation hear every word clearly from the front pews to the rear seating areas.
The Solution
Masters Voice Technology designed and installed a complete digital church PA system built around Q-SYS audio processing, Shure wireless microphones, QSC touchscreen control and JBL column loudspeakers.
The upgrade replaced ageing analogue components with a more reliable, flexible and future-ready audio platform. The system was designed to support worship, music and community use while keeping operation simple for non-technical users.
The design focused on three key outcomes:
- Clear speech throughout the church
- Simple operation for volunteers
- Reliable audio performance for masses, ceremonies, music and parish events
Technology Integrated Throughout the Church
A Q-SYS Core 110fx was selected to provide the audio processing, automatic mixing, equalisation, speaker delays and level control needed to manage the church’s challenging acoustics. A QSC TSC-70-G3 touchscreen gives parish staff and volunteers simple access to microphone levels, music playback and system presets without requiring a traditional mixing console. Shure SLXD wireless systems with MX153 headset microphones were used to maintain clear and consistent voice pickup as clergy and presenters move around the sanctuary, while JBL CBT 50LA-1 column loudspeakers were installed as time-aligned rear delays to improve coverage and speech intelligibility throughout the nave. Together, these technologies provide reliable, easy-to-operate sound reinforcement for services, ceremonies, music and community events.
Q-SYS Digital Signal Processing
At the centre of the system is a Q-SYS Core 110fx DSP, providing audio routing, automatic mixing, equalisation, speaker delay and level control. This allows the church to maintain consistent sound quality across different services without requiring manual mixer adjustments. For a heritage church with challenging acoustics, Q-SYS provides the control needed to improve clarity, reduce feedback risk and support future expansion
QSC Touchscreen Control
A QSC TSC-70-G3 touchscreen was installed at the lectern, giving volunteers a simple control point for microphones and music. Instead of relying on a traditional audio mixer, users can manage the system through a clean touchscreen interface. This makes the PA system more practical for day-to-day church use and reduces the risk of incorrect settings during services.
Shure Wireless Microphones
Two Shure SLXD wireless systems with MX153 headset microphones were installed to improve speech reinforcement for clergy, readers and presenters. Headset microphones provide consistent voice pickup as the presenter moves, helping improve clarity and gain before feedback. This is especially important in churches where lapel microphones can sound inconsistent as the speaker turns their head or moves around the sanctuary.
JBL Column Loudspeakers
Additional JBL CBT 50LA-1 column loudspeakers were installed as rear delay speakers to improve coverage through the nave. The speakers were time-aligned within the Q-SYS processor so that sound arrives naturally across the congregation. This helped reduce dead zones, improve intelligibility and create a more even listening experience.
