L-Acoustics K2 system deployed at Monte de Dios, the Caribbean’s largest church
Background and context
Monte de Dios, a new large-scale worship facility in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has opened with a sound system designed to deliver near-uniform coverage to almost 8,000 seats.
The semicircular auditorium, part of a 45,000-square-metre campus in Santo Domingo Norte, is now considered the largest Christian church in the Caribbean. The venue is led by Pastors Dr. Miguel and Montserrat Bogaert and was developed to accommodate a growing congregation that had outgrown several previous locations.
From the outset, church leaders set a clear technical goal: maintain no more than a 3 dB variation in sound pressure level between any two seats. Speech clarity was the top priority, but the system also had to support a high-energy music programme with a full band on stage for the duration of services.
Key announcement
To meet these requirements, local solutions provider Wholestage specified and designed an L-Acoustics K2-based system, using the manufacturer’s Soundvision software to model coverage before installation.
The project was delivered in partnership with Dominican Republic integrator SoundVideoLight (SVL), which handled the on-site installation, including rigging, lighting and show control infrastructure. L-Acoustics’ own team supported the design process, with its house of worship specialist contributing to the system layout and subwoofer configuration.
The main system consists of 48 K2 line source enclosures in four hangs of 12, covering the nearly 180-degree seating arc. Low-frequency energy is provided by 16 KS28 subwoofers in two flown arrays of eight, configured in a combined end-fire and cardioid arrangement to reduce cancellations and maintain even low-end coverage.
Front-fill is handled by eight X8 loudspeakers, while side-fill coverage comes from hangs of one A15i Focus over two A15i Wide per side. Two X12 loudspeakers serve as delay speakers. On stage, four X15 HiQ monitors provide sound for performers.
The K2 arrays are driven by 192 channels of LA7.16i amplified controllers to allow granular control across the audience area. The KS28 subwoofers are powered by 12 LA12X amplified controllers. The audio infrastructure is complemented by three DiGiCo Quantum338 mixing consoles for front-of-house, monitor and broadcast mixes.
System tuning was carried out using L-Acoustics M1 and P1 measurement and processing tools, with on-site support from an L-Acoustics application engineer working alongside teams from Wholestage and SVL.
Industry impact
This installation underlines the growing technical ambitions of large houses of worship in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly regarding even coverage and intelligibility in wide, fan-shaped rooms.
Monte de Dios leadership benchmarked their project against other large regional churches, including 12,000-seat venues, and sought similar sound reinforcement standards. Their 3 dB uniformity target is closer to what is typically seen in large-scale touring or arena installations than in many traditional church projects.
The choice of a fully modelled, line-array-based system with detailed amplification control reflects a broader trend: worship venues adopting design and commissioning practices common in live events and concert touring.
Why this matters
For event and AV professionals, Monte de Dios offers a case study in managing audio for very wide, semicircular auditoriums where consistent coverage is critical for both spoken word and music.
The project shows how predictive tools like Soundvision, combined with dense amplification channels and advanced subwoofer configurations, can be used to meet strict coverage specifications in fixed installations.
It also highlights how houses of worship are increasingly investing in broadcast-capable infrastructures, with dedicated consoles and system control designed to support in-person and remote audiences.
Further technical details on the K2 and related components used at Monte de Dios are available on the official L-Acoustics website at https://www.l-acoustics.com/products/k2/.
