A new sound system is one of the biggest purchases a church makes, and most of the advice online comes from people who sell the equipment. The published stories of South African installs are useful, but they are trade press about large churches, written with the supplier's help.
I have advised one church on its AV system, and I do not sell hardware. These seven questions come from reading those install write-ups and from that one job. Each example is a single church, not a rule. Treat it as a prompt for a question.
1. Can we hear it in our room first?
One Bryanston church called in a supplier to upgrade its sound, and demos and hire were part of the process before the final choice. See the write-up on Pro Audio Central.
Ask the installer whether you can hire the equipment for a few services, or have a demo in your own building. A speaker that sounds good in a showroom can sound different in a hall with a tin roof.
2. Will you be involved in the design, and from when?
At URCSA Atteridgeville, the integrator was brought in early in the design. The report in Fast and Wide describes it. Early involvement lets the installer point out problems with the room before walls and ceilings are finished, when changing them costs little.
Ask who will be drawing the plan, and whether they will visit the site before they quote. Ask whether the same person who sold it will install it.
3. Who will run it on Sunday, and what will they be taught?
Most churches run sound with volunteers. At El Tabernacle, a volunteer-run team needed the system calibrated and the people trained, as this install story says.
Tell the installer who your operators are: their ages, their experience and how many there are. Ask for training for them, in person, on your system. Ask for a one-page "how to start up and shut down" guide and keep a copy at the desk. Ask who they can phone when something goes wrong on a Sunday.
4. Can the processor be locked?
The processor is the box that sets how the speakers behave. A curious volunteer or a visiting band can change it in a minute, and then nobody knows why the room sounds wrong. Ask whether yours can be locked, who holds the code, and where the saved settings are kept.
5. What do we get in writing?
Ask for a written scope: each item, the model, the number of each and what is not included. Ask what the warranty covers and who handles a fault. At handover, ask for drawings of what was actually installed and a copy of the settings file. Ask whether the equipment can be moved if the church moves.
Compare quotes against your own written brief, not against each other. Two quotes can look alike while one leaves out cabling, a rack or the final setup and testing, which installers call commissioning.
6. What happens when the power goes?
A church that streams its service has more to protect than the speakers. The router, the camera, the laptop or streaming box and the mixer all need to stay on, or the stream stops.
South Africa has had no national load-shedding since 16 May 2025, according to a 9 October 2026 update. That source also says load reduction continues in parts of Gauteng and KZN. It is a secondary source, so check what your own municipality is doing.
Ask the installer what stays on if the mains drops mid-service and how long it stays on. Ask what is on backup and what is not. Ask also about the internet link, because a stream needs that as much as it needs power.
7. What will it need after it is installed?
Equipment needs looking after. Ask who will check it, how often, and who you phone first. Ask what is likely to wear out and when. Ask for the login to any app that controls the mixer, and make sure it is in the church's name, not the installer's or a volunteer's.
Ask the last question out loud: "If we had to ask you to leave, could another company look after this system?" A straight answer tells you a lot.
Before you sign
Ask for names of two churches the installer has worked with, then call each and ask what they would change. Listen for what is missing, not only what is praised.
Where I come in
If you would like someone independent to walk the building, write the brief and check the quotes and the finished job against it, that is AV advice. If you want to talk it through first, send me a message.