30 pages
Reference Charts for Church Audio and Video
Dense, citable tables: SPL by instrument, dBA targets by service style, loudspeaker coverage patterns, cable gauge by run length, wireless frequency bands by regulation, connector types and rack planning figures.
Every page is researched from manufacturer specifications, operator manuals, FCC rules, published standards and the consensus of verified owner reviews, not hands-on testing. Every table on this site is plain HTML you can quote, and every calculator shows its formula on the page.
Last updated
Cable and power
- 70 Volt Tap Chart: Wattage, Impedance and Amplifier Sizing Every standard 70 volt transformer tap with its impedance, its output level at the ear plane, and the amplifier size a given count of ceiling speakers needs.
- Audio Connector Types Chart for Church Sound Systems Every connector in a church sound system, what signal level it carries, whether it is balanced, where it appears on the platform and what goes wrong with each.
- Circuit Load Chart for AV Racks: Watts per Breaker How many watts each breaker size carries continuously under the NEC 80 percent rule, what church AV equipment actually draws, and how many circuits a rack needs.
- Phantom Power Requirements Chart: What Needs 48V Which microphones and direct boxes need phantom power, how much current each draws, the P48, P24 and P12 standards, and what phantom destroys if you get it wrong.
- Rack Unit Planning Chart: Sizing a Church AV Rack What one rack unit measures, how many U each piece of church AV equipment occupies, and the finished rack size a 100, 250, 500 or 1,000 seat system needs.
- Speaker Cable Gauge Chart: Maximum Run Length by AWG The longest speaker cable run each wire gauge supports at 4, 8 and 16 ohms, with round-trip resistance, percentage of load and the gauge to buy for any distance.
- XLR and TRS Wiring Chart: Pinouts and Adapter Recipes Pin assignments for XLR, TRS, TS, Speakon and DMX connectors, the adapter wiring recipes churches actually need, and what each miswiring sounds like.
Consoles
- Church Input List Template: 8, 16 and 32 Channel Plans Complete channel by channel input lists for church plant, small, mid-size and large platforms, with microphone, stand, phantom and routing for every channel.
- Delay Time Chart: Milliseconds per Foot for Fill Speakers Delay settings in milliseconds for every path difference, the Haas offset that makes a fill speaker disappear, and how temperature changes the speed of sound.
- Mixer Channel Count Chart: What Size Console to Buy How many console channels a given input count needs once growth is allowed for, the channel count by sanctuary size, and which consoles are sold at each size.
- Monitor Mix Planning Chart: How Many Mixes You Need How many monitor mixes a church platform needs by band size, when wireless in-ears stop being affordable, and what each delivery method costs per mix.
Loudspeaker coverage
- Ceiling Speaker Coverage Chart: Diameter and Spacing by Height Coverage diameter and spacing for ceiling speakers at every ceiling height and coverage angle, with the speaker count for four room sizes and the formula behind it.
- Inverse Square Law Chart: SPL Loss by Distance in a Sanctuary How much sound level is lost at every distance from a loudspeaker, why doubling distance costs exactly 6 dB, and where the rule stops being true inside a church.
- Speaker Coverage Angle Chart: Width Covered at Every Throw How wide each loudspeaker coverage pattern reaches at every throw distance, which pattern suits which sanctuary shape, and the angle your seating width actually needs.
Sound levels
- dBA Targets by Service Style: How Loud Should a Church Be? The average A-weighted level each style of church service actually runs at, from spoken word to a modern full band, with the NIOSH exposure limit that applies to each.
- Decibel Reference Chart for Church Sound, With Exposure Limits What every decibel level from a quiet sanctuary to a drum peak sounds like, where it occurs in a church, and the NIOSH daily exposure limit that applies at each level.
- SPL by Instrument Chart: How Loud Church Instruments Really Are Sound pressure levels at three feet for every voice and instrument on a church platform, from conversational speech to a full drum kit, with peak levels and mic notes.
Video
- Livestream Bitrate Chart: Upload Speed a Church Needs Video and audio bitrates for every streaming resolution, the measured upload speed each one requires, and the data a church consumes per service and per month.
- Projection Screen Size Chart: Sizing by Furthest Seat The 16:9 screen size a church needs for every distance to the furthest seat, using the 4, 6 and 8 times screen height viewing rules, with minimum front row distance.
- Projector Lumens Chart: Brightness by Screen Size How many ANSI lumens each screen size needs at every ambient light level, worked from foot-lamberts and screen gain rather than guessed from room size.
Acoustics
- Absorption Coefficient Chart for Church Building Materials Sound absorption coefficients by octave band for every surface in a church, from plaster and stone to pews, carpet, glass and fabric-wrapped acoustic panels.
- RT60 Target Chart for Churches: Reverberation by Service Style Target reverberation times for every church service style, measured RT60 by sanctuary size and absorption, and how many panels it takes to hit each target.
Amplifier power
- Amplifier Power Chart by Room Size: Watts for Every Seat Count Amplifier watts per loudspeaker for every church size from 75 to 2,000 seats, with room dimensions, throw distance, box count and total power for each service style.
- Speaker Sensitivity Chart: What 1W/1m Costs You in Amplifier Watts What loudspeaker sensitivity means in amplifier watts at every throw distance, why 3 dB halves the power needed, and the sensitivity ranges of each type of cabinet.
Microphones
- Microphone Polar Pattern Chart: Rejection and Feedback Every microphone polar pattern with its null angles, rear rejection, distance factor and gain before feedback advantage, plus where to put the monitor wedge for each.
- Microphone Type by Source Chart for Church Platforms Which microphone type and polar pattern suits every source on a church platform, from preaching voice to drum kit, with placement and a catalog pick for each.
Wireless
- Wireless Channel Count Chart: How Many Mics Fit How many wireless microphones fit in each open TV channel on analog, digital and high density systems, how many spares to keep, and the battery budget each count carries.
- Wireless Frequency Band Chart: What Is Legal in the USA Every US wireless microphone band after the 600 MHz repack, which are legal, which are prohibited, and the UHF TV channel map churches coordinate against.