Renkus-Heinz has continued to expand upon their line-up of steerable products featuring electronic beam steering. A few years ago, Renkus-Heinz released the IC2, a high-output line array system, featuring the same beam steering from the highly revered Iconyx.
The IC2 is intended to provide the excellent control provided by Iconyx, in a package designed for higher SPL sound reinforcement situations. Unlike many of its competitors, beam steering can be accomplished with a single box, and the system can be easily scaled to make for larger arrays.
The IC2 boxes are super compact, with very little depth to them. That means they can be installed in situations where comparable products would require more depth. They feature 4 low frequency 8″ drivers. For high-frequencies, each IC2 box features 4 1″ titanium nitride compression drivers. They provide 60 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, and can provide a maximum SPL of 131 dB. The beam steering is +/- 30 degrees, and the vertical opening can be adjusted between 10 and 80 degrees.
Stacking boxes will mean lower frequency beam control, which makes this a really handy tool, even in spaces that might not be considered highly reverberant. They come with a 120-degree horizontal pattern as standard; a 90-degree option is available as well, when narrower horizontal dispersion is required. For permanent installations, the IC2 is a rock-star product, that gives you unprecedented control, and flexibility. This product features a very sophisticated on-board digital signal processor and 8 channels of amplification.
Also available are a 2 x 12″ and 1 x 18″ subwoofer, that can be stacked with the IC2 box, allowing for seamless integration of subwoofers within the line array. The system can be used in both ground-stack and flown applications. Due to the rigging hardware, up to 20 boxes can be flown in an array. The system utilizes an audiophile-quality Class-D digital amplifier providing 2,000 watts of power.
While Iconyx are great for handling highly-reverberant spaces, oftentimes Iconyx, or the larger format Iconyx Live may not be an acceptable solution when the speaker system will be used for higher SPL music reinforcement. This is where IC2 is the right product for the job! We’d like to share with you one application in our territory, where IC2 was well-suited.
This particular Catholic church suffered from poor sound for a long time, and the integrator was searching for a solution that would provide clear, intelligible sound reinforcement for speech, while being equally well-suited to provide clean and clear sound for the churches several worship bands. This room is particularly tricky as it does have a multi-second RT60 time, and lots of highly reflective surfaces.
After looking at several options, David Lusk of AV Technologies Inc. asked us to bring in a few solutions from Renkus-Heinz. We provided demo’s in their sanctuary with both IC Live and IC2 systems. After evaluating both systems, the church worked alongside David and AV Technologies to determine the best fit.
Since the church was very concerned about both sound quality and aesthetics.
With the help of the marketing department at Renkus-Heinz, we provided a photoshopped photo (with several angles. David from AV Technologies even mocked up cardboard made out to the exact dimensions of the proposed IC2 array, and he even color-matched it to show the church precisely what it would look like in the space. The church was able to leave the mock-up in place over a weekend of services, to see if they received any negative feedback. While the placement was crucial for coverage and performance, the precise location was also selected in order to minimize it affecting nightlines from every single seat in the sanctuary.
After having the mock up in place, and having received zero negative feedback, they decided to move forward on using IC2 for their new speaker system. The proposed system featured four IC2 boxes in two arrays, placed left and right in the room. Due to the extreme width of the room, the wider 120-degree horizontal dispersion pattern proved to be very useful and provided just enough coverage side to side in the room. It was decided that subwoofers were not required, and could be added in the future if required.
The system is processed by a Soundweb, and a Soundcraft digital console in the balcony provides all the input and control. This system is a good example of a space, that traditionally many may not have considered the IC2 an applicable product for. The church is absolutely thrilled with the results of the new sound system, and they love the clarity and consistent coverage that the Renkus-Heinz IC2 system provides. It is more than capable of getting loud when required, but works as flawlessly for speech reinforcement. The installation was done beautifully, and it blends in seamlessly into the aesthetics of this church, providing good quality sound, while not affecting this sacred worship space.
It is important to note that this installation was also a success because of the over-and-beyond support from many people at Renkus-Heinz. Many members of the application engineering team helped us with coming up with a few proposed designs for AV Technologies. Those included Joe Fustolo, Jim Mobley, and Brandon Heinz. Further support was provided by Ladd Temple and Rik Kirby.
I mention this as this is one major we reason we are so thrilled to represent such a fantastic manufacturer, like Renkus-Heinz. They went over and above in order to ensure this project was a success! If you are curious to learn more about Renkus-Heinz, please contact us for more info or to schedule a demo: http://pacificav.net/contact/
To learn more about the IC2, please go here.