Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, is one of the largest congregations in the Dallas area and in this community of large churches, that is really saying something.

The growth of the 23-year-old Dallas congregation is quite a story. Formed in February of 1977, the church has progressed steadily over the years from its initial, traditional building on Dallas' north side. In an effort to meet the needs of its mushrooming congregation, the church has moved several times. It moved first to a larger location in Richardson, Texas in 1980. But by the end of the decade, the congregation had grown to more than 11,000 and was forced to move again. It was at that point in 1994, that church elders acquired the present 120-acre site in Plano.

When the church dedicated its new site in March of 1997, the congregation numbered more than 14,000. And it has continued to grow.

Focal point of Prestonwood Baptist is the church's 7,000-seat Worship Center. The sheer size of the auditorium combined with a list of church activities that include vocal presentations, musical performances, theatrical productions and visiting artists, demands a high-powered, full-range system that can deliver true, concert quality sound.

The complex's $1,220,000 audio systems were designed by well-known Addison, Texas, sound designer Acoustic Dimensions and installed by equally well-known Ford Audio-Video Systems of Oklahoma City, a team that has worked together on many high-profile sound systems.

Some of the main features of the system include a 60-channel main house mixing console, 72-channel on-stage monitor mixer, 120-microphone capability, 48-channel recording console, and a full on-site recording studio.

Providing the sound in the Worship Center are three main arrays of speaker clusters, two over-balcony and one under-balcony delay ring, front fill speakers, subwoofers under the lip of the stage and a cluster to serve the 400-seat choir loft.

To provide the muscle for the low end of this massive sound system, Craig Jansen of Acoustic Dimensions recommended BAG END D18-E subwoofer cabinets, controlled by a BAG END ELF (Extended low frequency) processor. In total, 10 D18-Es were installed under the lip of the stage - that's 20 18-inch subwoofers moving air all at the same time.

Prestonwood Church's Director of Audio Jim Burdette couldn't be happier with the result. “We really like the BAG END subwoofers,” he said. “They augment the sound system very well, filling out the bottom end very linearly.”

“The sound system fills our needs today - and should serve our needs well over years to come,” Burdette concluded.