Sound system design for acoustically challenging spaces

Abstract

Sound reinforcement (SR) systems take a critical part in controlling acoustic performance in large venues. Loudspeaker system design including consideration of room acoustics becomes crucial in providing audio information with good intelligibility and natural tonal balance throughout the audience area. There are many elements that can spoil acoustic performance of the sound system in large spaces. Relatively long reverberation time, number of speaker clusters with distances in between, size of each speaker cluster that creates unexpected phase cancellations and so on. Neither the single speaker product nor sound system design based on experiences can provide a perfect solution for these kinds of spaces. On the other hand, an advanced acoustic simulation system including consideration of relative phase between sound sources with capability of listening to the simulated results is now available. By using this technology with academically proven accuracy, speaker array design methodology called bass‐array was produced. Bass‐array allows the sound system designer to control radiation directivity characteristics of low frequency. Design of custom line‐array to suit room configuration of the space is another deliverable of the technology. This technology in association with bass‐array or line‐array has been successfully applied for providing appropriate acoustic solutions in a number of acoustically difficult spaces.