who do we talk to to get a new sound system?

The sound system in the gym of our building is a piece of junk. I found the manual in the clerks office and it has the installation date of 1984.


How do I go about getting this replaced?

nayand wrote:... installation date of 1984.


How do I go about getting this replaced?

The Facilities Management Group oversees such things. If I understand the organizational structure correctly, there should be a Physical Facilities Representative called from your stake as a liason with the FM Group. In my experience, the PFR is often a high councilor or a stake executive secretary. My recommendation would be to bring the matter to the attention of your stake president and ask him to have the PFR talk with the FM Group about it. Based on my experience with sound system replacements, it is very likely on schedule to be done fairly soon.

Most likely, the entire building's audio system (and perhaps the video system as well) will be replaced. Please be prepared that the new systems are designed to be operated in a "safe" manner by someone with no technical expertise. Unfortunately for those of us who like knobs to twist, the new systems have many fewer knobs and are much less flexible than some of us would like. Also, the installed PA systems are not intended for the volume levels most youth would like for dances and such. For some special programs, and for youth dances, you will probably need to use non-installed equipment.

rmrichesjr wrote:.... Please be prepared that the new systems are designed to be operated in a "safe" manner by someone with no technical expertise. Unfortunately for those of us who like knobs to twist, the new systems have many fewer knobs and are much less flexible than some of us would like.

We had the complete sound system replaced a couple of years ago. The new one is entirely digital. There are no controls on the front panel. The original configuration, including average sound levels, etc, etc, was all handled by a sound engineer with a laptop.

However, it's working just great.

What exactly is wrong with your system? Is it actually malfunctioning or is it not adequate for what you are doing?

As others have noted, the systems installed tend have very simple controls. It's important to use the microphones the church supplied with the sound system as it was tuned for use with that specific model. Use of other mics may result in feedback, weak, or tinny sound.

I think your best bet is to talk with your stake presidency. Ultimately they are the ones with saw as to what kind of system is installed. In my experience, the FM Representative can give you some information and alert the FM group about deficiencies, but do not have the influence the stake presidency has.

While I have no doubt that your vintage 1984 system may not be the best, there are a lot of other things that could be contributing to poor performance.

I've seen a lot of old systems like this that worked perfectly well, but had been tampered with so the levels and EQ were all messed up, causing it to sound horrible. It's possible you could get much better performance by having a good audio guy come in and tweak the levels. Also, it may just have some bad components that need to be replaced (a blown speaker, maybe).

Also, I will say that I have never heard a sound system in any gym that really sounded good- especially if you have wood floors... The kind of built-in system you get in a cultural hall is just meant for basic PA use. It works fine for vocals, prayers, etc. but will never sound good if you are trying to do music for a dance, for instance.

Anyway, all that said, you may well be due for a new system, so as the other posters said- run it by your Stake Presidency & FM group. I just wanted to point out that if needed, you may be able to get some extra life out of the system by a good service & tune-up. If the original system was built with quality components, there is no reason why an old system shouldn't work great for many years.

Now, if you need additional features or capabilities, that's another story. Good luck...