Project Spotlight
South Shores Church
Dana Point, CA
ABOUT SOUTH SHORES CHURCH
Located just half of a mile from the famous Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point, California, South Shores Church has been serving Southern California coastal communities for over 60 years.
With panoramic views of the ocean, Saddleback Mountain, and surrounding city lights, and a campus built on six acres of land, South Shores Church is the home to a 584-seat sanctuary, with additional rooms dedicated to adult and children’s ministry meeting spaces, additional fellowship rooms, staff offices, and an outdoor deck overlooking the ocean.
![South Shores Church building entrance](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0796/0408/9136/files/Church_1600x960_4_2048x2048.jpg?v=1708970500)
THE CHALLENGE
With a growing church congregation, and spaces that were built as early as 1960, the team at South Shores Church knew that they needed to renovate and expand their property to not only welcome more people to their campus, but to also modernize the experience to create a connection with people from the moment they stepped out of their car.
Musical worship was also an increasing priority for the church which contributed to their desire to enhance acoustics throughout the entire property as part of the renovation. With no audio in the outdoor spaces of the church, and a need to improve audio quality for band-style worship inside of the main sanctuary, the team at South Shores Church needed to find an audio solution with common voicing in multiple form factors for the indoor and outdoor spaces.
As the team dreamt up their ultimate audio solution for the newly renovated campus, the Coronavirus pandemic quickly impacted the vision and emphasis on enhancing their outdoor space. With less people spending time inside of the main sanctuary due to new regulations, investing in evenly distributed outdoor audio would allow people to worship and enjoy the live music experience from anywhere on the grounds. With a very broad vision, and a desire for high-quality audio to elevate their campus, the team at South Shores Church turned to Sonance to bring their vision to life.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
- Find an audio solution with common voicing to connect with people from the moment they get out of their cars, to entering the foyer and main sanctuary
- Best-in-class fidelity and uncompromised sonic performance in 70V/100V applications
- Weatherproof outdoor-rated audio solution that can withstand the elements
METHODOLOGY
Professional audio integration is more than merely filling a space with sound. It’s a
![Sonance Landscape Series satellite speakers welcome church goers from the parking lot](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0796/0408/9136/files/Church_1110x620_1_2048x2048.jpg?v=1708970396)
tangible design element and a critical part of the space’s environment that is meant to create a mood and elevate the senses without distracting from the designer’s vision and aesthetic goals. For over 30 years, the architectural speaker pioneers at Sonance have continually explored and refined the fine art of musical fidelity within a designed space, with their series of award-winning in-wall and in-ceiling speakers.
RESULTS
From the parking lot, to the planters lining the entrance of the property and the rafters supporting the roof, the South Shores Church outdoor installation consists of a combination of 4.5” and 6.5” Landscape Series Satellite speakers, 12” and 15” Landscape Series Subwoofers, two omnidirectional 70V/100V OMNI-6T speakers, and a variety of Surface Mount Woofers. The weatherproof construction of the products safeguards the speakers against moisture and other outdoor elements. Sonance's broad offering of outdoor products and form factors also allowed the South Shores team to fill varying landscapes with full range sound while retaining common voicing space to space.
In the main foyer, Sonance Professional Series In-Ceiling speakers were installed to ensure a consistent continuum of sound was had from the outdoor spaces to indoors.
To control the audio, IPORT LUXE was installed in the control booth to run the dLive MixPad mixing tool software that pairs with the Allen & Heath mixing system. The ability to use an iPad as a mobile mixing unit has enabled the audio staff to keep tabs on audio performance across all zones, inside and outside, during live services. And to ensure all systems run smoothly and clearly, the SonAmp DSP 2-750 was installed to optimize performance across all speakers.
The placement of speakers throughout the property provides an impactful and consistent experience to ensure people can enjoy worship services from anywhere on the property, which is particularly important today, as congregation members can social distance outdoors while enjoying the sermon and the surrounding ocean views.
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
The Sonance OMNI-6T is an omnidirectional 70V/100V/8 Ohm loudspeaker, designed to deliver 360-degree coverage in applications such as houses of worship, resort gardens, hotel pool areas, theme parks and outdoor shopping malls. The OMNI-6T features a unique 2-way design, consisting of a high-excursion 6.5” Woofer and four x 1.25” Wide Band Drivers, providing best-in-class frequency response. Sonance’s Laminated Core Transformer delivers uncompromised fidelity in 70V/100V. The textured dark brown enclosure is designed to blend into ground cover, garden beds and foliage.
![Sonance OMNI-6T omnidirectional speaker for outdoor landscapes](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0796/0408/9136/files/Church_1110x620_3_2048x2048.jpg?v=1708972204)