Live sound: Enhancing the audio Audio
THERE IS something about enhancing the quality of live sound that has captivated audiences ever since (and probably before) the Greeks built Epidaurus. The theatre, designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC, is renowned for its exceptional acoustics that allow all 15,000 would-be spectators to hear the sound of a match struck at centre-stage without any
Alchemy
When simple stereo won’t suffice, there are a number of technologies currently in use to add extra sparkle – an added dimension, if you will – to the live sound experience and transform it from average to awe-inspiring. Erica Basnicki reveals the magic behind the manipulation…
amplification system whatsoever; a fairly impressive feat even by modern standards. We now know that the sonic quality is derived from the rows of limestone seats that filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and amplify high-frequency sounds from the stage. We’re also a far more sophisticated breed of audio
enthusiast here in the 21st century, and while Epidaurus remains a must-visit tourist attraction for the sonically inclined travelling to Greece, pro-audio manufacturers have invested far more than blocks of limestone into improving live audio.
AUGMENTING ACOUSTICS RCA was one of the first pro- audio companies to experiment with acoustic enhancement at the Philadelphia Academy of Music during the 1930s, using adjacent stairwells to increase the reverberant energy in the main concert space. Today, DSP accounts for the majority of enhancements found in live venues. Yamaha’s Active Field
Yamaha’s first AFC3 installation was in the rehearsal facility for Stockholm’s Royal Opera
Control (AFC) is an acoustic conditioning system that adjusts the acoustic characteristics of a space by
using an acoustic feedback system using microphones and speakers that ‘re-uses’ a room’s natural reverberation in order to extend it. However, a proper acoustic foundation is still key to AFC3’s success. “AFC3 partly relies on its
own convolution samples, but also partly on the existing acoustics. If the existing acoustics are poor, then AFC3
might also sound poor. In general, we think that if a room has acoustic anomalies, they have to be solved first before we apply an AFC3 system,” says Ron Bakker, systems marketing manager at Yamaha Commercial Audio. AFC has been available since the mid ’80s, but its latest incarnation – AFC3 – has only recently been deployed in Europe
Epidaurus’ rows of limestone seats provides the theatre with its renown sonic quality 38 l PSNLIVE 2013
www.psnseurope.com
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