FEATURE: AUDITORIUMS FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR AE
Collectively, line arrays and digital consoles have enacted a paradigm shift in the standard of auditorium audio. But with venues working to enhance their multipurpose credentials, there is a growing interest in the potential of acoustic enhancement (AE) technology. As Yamaha Commercial Audio Europe’s Ron Bakker (pictured) explains, there are in essence two approaches to AE: the in-line systems which use cardioid or super-cardioid microphones as near to the stage as possible to pick up the sound source signal, and then use multiple digital reverberator algorithms to generate a sound-field; and the regenerative systems, which employ many
control options for maximum flexibility. “The iLive family is a top choice for auditoriums, conference halls and corporate facilities thanks to the flexibility of control and unique concept of the MixRack,” says Nicola Beretta, Allen & Heath digital product specialist. “The ability to have a separate, independent mix ‘brain’ gives room for a host of control options, such as a
microphone-speaker combinations that each amplify the existing sound- field by a small amount. The overall result is a significant amplification, and “because all loops are not correlated, the system can be tuned to a stable state using filters”, notes Bakker. Yamaha’s own AFC (Active Field Control) acoustic conditioning system falls into the latter group, mixing four microphones dynamically into four busses using the EMR algorithm. Two types of FIR (finite impulse response) filters and one regular IIR (infinite impulse response) PEQ are used for each bus – sufficient to yield “a stable and good sounding response even with just a few
console in the control room, iPads or iPhones around the hall, wall-plate remote controllers for simple volume control/source selection, or multiple laptops conveniently placed around the building.” “The most recent new demand is tablet remote control,” echoes Andy Trott, VP and general manager, mixers, microphones and headphones, Soundcraft
Midas/Klark Teknik products, which are nearly all now network-compatible, if not networked devices in their own right”. The vast majority of new-
loudspeakers”, says Bakker. Discussions are currently taking place with a view to bringing the new AFC3 processor to countries across the EU. Among others, Bakker envisages deployments that will allow small/mid-sized auditoriums to host classical music performances, and enhance the reverb in churches possessing short RTs.
Studer, adding that the ability to integrate powerful effects, EQ and dynamics into a compact feature-set – and thereby save on seat space – is also regarded as an asset.
Milford Haven’s Torch Theatre opted for a DiGiCo SD9 Picture: Torch Theatre
CONNECTED WORLD The advent of more portable control options was always destined to be a spur to further design evolution. But the same can also be said of audio networking, with an increasing number of solutions able to deliver low- latency audio over IP in a way that augments existing infrastructures. The pace of change here is such that Ferriday suggests that “we will see the last length of copper analogue multicore being pulled into a venue of this type in the very near future, and this can only be a good thing for
builds are being made networking-ready, while most refits also include “either Cat5 or optical or both cabling infrastructure to be installed into the building”, observes Ferriday. It’s a development that is being driven “by cost and convenience. The price of 48- pair analogue multi compared to Cat5 cable is a compelling reason to go the network route. [In addition] the fact that there are so many digital transport protocols which can be transmitted over Cat5 will drive this further.” But with no one networking methodology yet to emerge triumphant, the onus is on allowing customers to implement as wide a variety of technologies as possible. So, for example, Allen & Heath’s iLive and GLD mixing systems, remarks Beretta, offer “extensive MIDI and TCP/IP control protocols and no fewer than six audio networking option cards suitable for a digital split between FOH and monitor, multiple system linking, daisy-chaining and distribution, recording and playback.”
Of course, a multiplicity of options obliges manufacturers, distributors and integrators to explain the advantages of the various solutions as clearly as possible. “How practical these are depends on what the client is trying to achieve, and as a console manufacturer we need to be
able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the different solutions,” says Gordon, who highlights DiGiCo’s support for connectivity/networking options including Optocore, SoundGrid, Dante, EtherSound, Aviom and MADI. Audinate’s Dante is one solution whose profile seems to be growing all the time – not least because its feature- set means that it is perceived by many as a pathway towards full AVB (Audio/Video Bridging) implementation. The AVB project has commanded the support of large swathes of the audio community, its momentum greatly assisted by a comprehensive standards programme and an effective flag-waving organisation in the form of the AVnu Alliance. But with some industry observers sensing a slowness by manufacturers to bring sufficient quantities of AVB- compliant product to market, doubts do remain.
Nonetheless, plenty of people believe that AVB has the capacity to affect the networking landscape for auditoriums. For Beretta, it is set to play an important role in “re-marketing the advantages of audio and video networking. When the first audio-over-Ethernet protocols were launched in the mid-’90s, there were several issues such as latency and synchronisation. Interfacing devices from different brands typically required multiple A-D and D-A conversions, expensive sample rate converters or word clock distribution.” New TCP-IP friendly
34 November 2012
www.installation-international.com
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