Places of Worship
Esthetics of the L1 System in places of worship:
The esthetics in places of worship is always an issue to consider. L1 Systems have been used successfully in many churchs; here are a few pieces of advise:
1) They look different. That (unusualness) will always cause comment from some.
2) For some, the idea of ANY speaker (any change) is the real issue. It sometimes helps to point out that the L1 is far less intrusive (in most situations) than convention speakers on a pole plus monitors. Of course, it is bigger than a little "cube" amp -- but you can't compare the sound of the two either.
Another way to approach this second issue is to distinguish between installed sound systems and portable systems. The L1 System is arguably the best-sounding portable system one can get; given that you want really good sound, it is also presently the least visually-intrusive way of getting great portable sound.
If the "portable" sound is not acceptable in the long-run, then an installed system can provide great sound -- if done right. Just keep in mind that many of the "physics" of the design of the L1 column are usually also great features/capability to incorporate into any installed system. -- In other words, I would not recommend replacing portable L1 Systems with a couple of round speakers in the wall or ceiling. It would likely have all the same (or worse) problems that conventional (non-L1) portable systems have.
What the L1 Systems have demonstrated is that "line arrays" (many identical speakers in a row) -- which have known "good" characteristics for amplifying sound -- can be applied to MANY situations, such as churches, for which they might not have been considered in the past.
In some situations, bringing in L1's can be an interesting interim step toward helping folks decided on what changes might need to be done for an installed system (if any). A few more thoughts on this:
(a) An installed system may very well be more expensive than an equivalent set of L1's. Certainly likely to be a lot more work and effort to set up to get a similarly good sound.
(b) It can be important to find someone to help with an installed system with knowledge about line arrays; even better is someone who can "model" the room on a computer and help you find the best choices of components and placements.