DPA mics excel at Chicago house of worship

The audio team at Chicago’s Christian Church of Clarendon Hills (CCCH) recently turned to DPA Microphones’ d:screet Necklace Microphone when looking for a solution that would allow them to more easily mic pastors and performers of all statures.

This marks the first known house of worship application for the company’s latest miniature mic. In addition to its regular services, the 750-strong church lends its auditorium to local schools for concerts and events, so the audio team also keeps a supply of DPA d:fine 66, d:fine 4066 and d:screet 4061 miniatures on hand.

Initially trying the DPA d:screet Necklace mic on recommendation from their local integrator, Robert Locklear, minister of worship and music at CCCH said of the miniature mic: “It has a lot of the same tonal qualities of a regular headset mic with a little lower-end, which was a welcome surprise because of the high-end frequencies boost. We don’t have any of the wispiness that we have with most headset mics that are commonplace in houses of worship. We only have one Necklace mic right now, but it has such a great quality that we’re definitely going to purchase more.”

The size and durability of the mic also appealed to Locklear and his team, who have a limited budget for purchasing new mics: “We do a lot of plays and talent shows, both through our church and for local schools that rent our space, and the biggest problem we were having was trying to mic the children and petite women,” he explained. “For instance, our Pastor’s wife is very petite and when she would wear the d:fine headset mics that we use for the male speakers, we couldn’t mount it to her head properly because we have the longer boom, so the d:screet Necklace is a better fit for this situation.”

It isn’t just the smaller presenters who are benefitting from the d:screet Necklace. “It has been excellent for all of our speaking roles,” continued Locklear. “We had some doubts about it being placed down by the neck and behind the mouth, but those have really been unfounded. What’s more, our Senior Pastor is very comfortable with the mic. It’s especially useful for when he’s done with service as he spends a lot of one-on-one time speaking with people and found that it would often be off-putting for people sharing their life story with someone with a headset mic. With DPA’s d:screet Necklace mic, he just tucks the mic into his collar and sits it right where a tie might be, so no one notices the mic. This setup has given him and his congregation a lot more confidence to have personal conversations.”

Though the d:screet Necklace is proving to be the preferred solution for presenters, the church’s DPA collection began with the original 4066 Headset Microphone, now part of DPA’s d:fine line of headset mics. It was Locklear’s experiences with that mic that led him to purchase the d:fine 66 and d:screet 4061, in addition to the d:screet Necklace.

“We started purchasing the 4066s as we were replacing our competitor-brand headsets because we felt the DPAs were a lot sturdier,” he explained. “We purchased the dual-ear version, which was not available for most brands at the time. That solution has given our speakers a lot more comfortability, confidence and security because the mic doesn’t move around when they are talking. The mics are also great for the students who use them, especially for younger users when we host outside events. The wire is a lot more pliable than most headsets.”

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