About the Project
In the world of AV system design, few projects are as demanding as houses of worship. Highly reverberant surfaces, architectural constraints, and volunteer-driven operations often converge to create unique—and often unpredictable—challenges for consultants and integrators. Retrofitting these spaces with modern audio systems requires not just technical precision, but true collaboration across disciplines.
When St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Austin, Texas, set out to finally fix its long-standing sound issues, they turned to one of the most respected names in the field—Ken Dickensheets, principal consultant at Dickensheets Design Associates. With more than 6,500 projects under his belt and decades of experience in acoustics and AV system design, Dickensheets brought both clarity and confidence to a parish that had grown frustrated with years of failed solutions.
The Bose Professional Solution
Built roughly 15 years ago, St. John Neumann is architecturally stunning, with soaring ceilings and a prominent dome above the altar. But the space had suffered from a series of poor audio installations. At least three previous systems had failed to deliver intelligibility, and high ambient noise from the mechanical system made matters worse.
“What the church needed wasn’t additional acoustical treatment, but the right solution applied in the right way,” Dickensheets explains. “For the room to meet its potential, we needed to solve the background noise problem and specify the right loudspeakers, placed in the right positions.”
To make matters more complex, the church required a solution that would visually disappear into the architecture, offer precise coverage, and be ready within an extremely tight timeline—one week before Easter.
Dickensheets had a clear vision for the project. He selected Bose Professional MSA12X steerable column arrays for their precision, clarity, and unobtrusive design. With stacks of one, two, or three modules depending on coverage needs, the MSA12X offered the flexibility required for a space that couldn’t accommodate conventional point-source systems.
“The modularity was critical,” says Eric Ramay, system design developer at Mood Texas, the integration partner on the project. “Using the same product across the space kept everything streamlined—for installation, programming, and aesthetics. The mounting was the same for each loudspeaker, which really saved us time.”
Having worked with Bose Professional on multiple projects over the years, Dickensheets knew the team could be counted on to deliver.
“Bose Professional provides exactly what we need—products that perform as advertised, in-stock availability, and support that makes the job easier,” he states. “Whenever we’ve contacted the Bose Professional team with questions, we’ve received almost immediate answers. That’s what makes a manufacturer a true partner.”
That partnership proved essential. When site conditions required a creative loudspeaker mounting solution, the Bose Professional engineering team responded quickly with clear, actionable guidance—confirming the team could safely move the mount to a non-standard position without compromising integrity or safety.
“We reached out and got a direct response from their technical team,” Ramay says. “It wasn’t in the manual, but they confirmed it was safe, and that flexibility made a big difference. Being able to talk to someone who understood the product beyond the spec sheet was huge.”
When it came time to paint the speakers, Bose Professional also provided precise recommendations on materials and methods to ensure that both aesthetics and acoustic performance were preserved.
The installation team from Mood Texas faced numerous hurdles, from curved walls to irreplaceable tile surfaces. Working off a design by Dickensheets, the team coordinated closely with both the church and Bose Professional to ensure speakers could be mounted securely and discreetly. Legacy Bose Professional MA12 speakers were repurposed as choir source speakers, while ArenaMatch Utility speakers supported coverage in the narthex, hallways, and outdoors. The repurposed MA12 speakers were mounted in two sets of four arrays (left and right) on the face of the choir loft with the vertical arrays mounted side by side to provide, along with appropriate EQ and delay, a narrower horizontal beam.
Despite the complexity, the system was up and running on time. According to Ramay, the modular nature of the MSA12X helped make the aggressive schedule possible.
“Once our crew had installed the first few arrays, the rest went quickly,” he says. “It was repeatable. That efficiency was huge.”
But it was the steerable beam design that made the biggest difference. “Just getting the equipment where it needed to go was a challenge,” says Ramay. “The Bose Professional steerable arrays made it much easier than with point-source speakers, where they absolutely have to go in one exact location.”
In a space like St. John Neumann, speaker placement was limited by architecture and aesthetics. “With beam steering, we were able to install where it was feasible—and then steer the sound where it needed to go,” Ramay adds. “They blended in. The client couldn’t believe how natural they sounded.”
The technology also helped eliminate longstanding issues with clarity and feedback. “They’d already tried to fix this problem several times and failed,” he says. “This time, it worked—and the system looks like it belongs.”
The result? Uniform, intelligible sound across the sanctuary. Volunteer staff can operate the system in automatic mode. Congregants who once relied on assistive listening devices now hear clearly without them. And the loudspeakers themselves nearly vanish into the architecture.
Feedback from the church has been overwhelmingly positive.
“They weren’t just happy—they were ecstatic,” Dickensheets recalls. “The complaints stopped. People came up and said, ‘I can finally understand the priest.’ For the first time, they felt like they were part of the service.”
“The client has told us multiple times this is exactly what they hoped for,” added Ramey. “No more complaints about clarity. Just a system that works—and sounds great.”
The success of the project was made possible by a long-standing relationship built on trust, performance, and shared values.
“From Bose Professional, we’ve seen nothing except a willingness to innovate, meet customer demands, and base their product on sound engineering principles,” Dickensheets concludes. “They provide what we need—accurate specs, product availability, and a willingness to meet the contractor’s schedule. That’s what makes them a reliable partner.”
INTEGRATORS
Partner: Mood Texas
Mood Texas is a San Antonio–based AV integration firm with more than half a century of experience helping businesses and organizations succeed. Known for their reliability and local expertise, Mood Texas specializes in audio, video, and sensory marketing solutions across worship, retail, and corporate environments.
Partner: Dickensheets Design Associates
Dickensheets Design Associates specializes in acoustics, noise control, and AV system design. With more than 6,500 completed projects across houses of worship, performing arts centers, and public institutions, the firm is trusted nationwide for its technical rigor and client-first approach.
Featured Components
MSA12X Steerable Column Arrays
Compact, modular loudspeakers with digitally controlled beam steering, allowing precise coverage and minimal architectural impact.
ArenaMatch Utility AMU108 Loudspeakers
Compact, full-range loudspeakers that extend coverage to ancillary spaces such as hallways and other areas.
PowerShare and PowerShareX Amplifiers
Flexible amplification platforms that dynamically share power across channels, with Dante-enabled connectivity and DSP options for scalable system control.
