Electronic architecture: Issues of use and acceptance in the musical community

Abstract

Electronic architecture has become a mature technology in recent years, particularly through the wide application of digital signal processing to the problem of creating uniform, stable acoustical enhancement. Despite vast improvements in the impact and stability of such systems, a considerable segment of the musical community continues to express reservations about the use of this technology in the concert hall or opera house. It is clear that some musicians and music critics fail to understand how such systems function as well as the capabilities and limitations of the technology. This paper will outline the degree to which current state-of-the-art systems do indeed succeed in producing measurable acoustical improvements and discuss the varying degrees of acceptance such systems are receiving in different parts of the world.