OMS Canada has modernised the sound system for All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Toronto. Built in 1967, it is an example of mid-century modern architecture, and features a sweeping, semi-circular sanctuary designed to emphasise spiritual clarity and architectural symmetry, providing an unobstructed visuals for celebrants.
The mandate to OMS Canada was not simply to install more loudspeakers. The stated aim was to deliver exceptional speech intelligibility, provide even and natural coverage across the large open sanctuary and integrate the technology without interfering with the building’s architectural character. EM Acoustics’ Reference series, supplied by Contact Distribution, proved to be instrumental in achieving this vision.
The sanctuary seats approximately 800 people and is arranged in five triangular seating ‘wedges’, each accommodating around 150 worshippers. “Speech intelligibility is absolutely critical for worship spaces, and this is a very live, reverberant space,” explains Jeff Shorthouse, co-founder of OMS Canada. “It wasn’t about increasing the volume; the audio needed to be clearer, more natural and provide completely even coverage across the congregation.”
Historically, the church relied on a system of 15 distributed loudspeakers, which suited an earlier era of sound reinforcement but created challenges for today’s services. Visually, the previous system disrupted the sanctuary’s clean mid-century sightlines. Acoustically, the multiple loudspeakers produced inconsistent coverage, with competing, confused arrival times and compromised clarity. The church leadership, who are all technically knowledgeable themselves, had high expectations for the project.
Before any final design decisions were made, OMS Canada and Contact Distribution arranged on-site demonstrations of EM Acoustics loudspeakers directly in the sanctuary so that the parish leadership could evaluate their performance in the actual worship environment.
The structural realities of the church added further complexity to the installation. The sanctuary contains no vertical columns, instead featuring four major overhead beams at varying heights, ranging from 16-25ft high. The client was concerned about preserving the room’s aesthetics and made it clear that any sound equipment needed to integrate into the environment rather than dominate it.
“They wanted the loudspeakers mounted above the congregation and tied in visually with the beams, without disrupting sightlines,” continues Shorthouse. “The room is too beautiful to clutter, so the goal was to have the technology disappear into the background as much as possible.” EM Acoustics Reference Series, and in particular their R8s, provided the perfect balance of performance and compact form factor. The loudspeakers blended in naturally with the wood finish of the beams, whilst their output is powerful enough to eliminate the need for extra reinforcement in the form of more loudspeakers. The outstanding frequency response and controlled pattern of the R8 allow it to deliver natural, full-range audio, all while remaining unobtrusive to the eye.
OMS Canada redesigned the sound system entirely rather than reusing any of the previous loudspeaker locations. The new system is based around five EM Acoustics R8s mounted in a semi-circle above the sanctuary, each carefully oriented to serve one of the five wedge-shaped seating zones. Uniquely, Reference Series enclosures ship with two interchangeable rotatable waveguides. OMS Canada used the 110 x 50-degree option to achieve optimal coverage for each audience section. Initially confirmed through EASE modelling, real-world implementation gave the team the confidence that an extra line of delay loudspeakers was not necessary.
The system is powered by EM Acoustics’ Di20 installation amplifier, whose proprietary FIR filters provide precise tuning and exceptional phase coherence. Supporting EMS-51X loudspeakers for the choir organist and choir monitor, and an EMS-41 for the dais complete the audio system. A Soundcraft Si Performer console provides intuitive day-to-day control for clergy members, musicians and trained volunteers.