The Naval Academy Chapel is a historic focal point for the U.S. Naval Academy and the city of Annapolis, Maryland. Dedicated in 1908 and remodeled in 1940, the Chapel underwent an extensive restoration in 2009. Its classic cruciform design centers on a 121-foot-high dome, seats 2500 worshippers, and includes a 268-rank pipe organ. In addition to religious services for several faiths, the Chapel also hosts weddings, funerals, and other services.
The large size, hard surfaces, and high dome of the Chapel have always presented substantial acoustical issues. Because of its acoustics, the building suffered from poor speech intelligibility and uneven coverage. In an attempt to deal with these issues, staff at the Chapel tried several different sound systems, including a distributed system and a pew-back system. However, none solved the underlying acoustical issues.
SOLUTION
Working with Design and Integration of Baltimore, Maryland, the Chapel staff chose to implement a new sound system based on Community ENTASYS column line source loudspeakers. ENTASYS column arrays were installed on each side of the Chapel to cover the audience area, mezzanine, and choir loft.
ENTASYS baffles can be configured as “straight” (6° vertical coverage), “curved” (12° vertical coverage), or in J-format at the factory or in the field. This versatility helped achieve good front coverage while providing ample sound to the rear of the Chapel. The ENTASYS arrays were aimed with a laser to avoid slap echoes from the back wall, with a delay added to the rear stacks to match the sound arrivals from the front. Carefully adjusted levels of the individual loudspeakers resulted in even coverage throughout. The rear ENTASYS can be turned “off” when no one is seated in those areas. Throughout the Chapel, ENTASYS’ narrow vertical coverage keeps sound away from the ceiling and the dome and its wide horizontal dispersion provides even coverage in all seating areas.
CONCLUSION
System aesthetics were very important to the Chapel. For this reason, Biamp custom-painted the ENTASYS columns to an RAL color number provided by the contractor, resulting in a final product that seamlessly complemented the existing structure. The Chapel staff was very pleased with the system’s intelligibility, coverage, and appearance, granting the space with a sound solution designed to stand the test of time.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
