Live sound: Enhancing the audio


They are the robots... Kraftwerk at Tate Modern SURROUND CONCERT SOUND


Meyer Sound’s Constellation system provided “enhanced environments” for Rocky Das Musical


"In the past decade we have seen the introduction of the internet, smart phones and tablets, so even the most pure acoustical-focused classical musician is now used to place his or her trust in electronic devices" Ron Bakker, Yamaha


at a rehearsal and performance space used by the Stockholm Royal Opera House. It was an unusual use of the system as the sound sources and the listeners were the same person – and acoustic enhancement, Bakker says, “was almost a mission impossible up to now”. Acoustic enhancement of


any type was once seen as controversial but, says Bakker, “it’s changing fast. In the past decade we have seen the introduction of the internet, smartphones and tablets, so even the most pure acoustical- focused classical musician is now used to place his or her trust in electronic devices.” Meyer Sound’s Constellation has equally been embraced by the world of classical music, most recently installed at Moscow’s Svetlanov Hall. Unlike Yamaha’s AFC, which enhances a space’s natural


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acoustics, Constellation relies on a patented algorithm, advanced digital processing, and miniature transducer technology combination – and then some. As John McMahon, executive director of operations & digital products, says, Constellation has been developed partly in order to create “sonic environments that are impossible to build in the physical world” – just what certain theatrical spectaculars require, in these days where audiences demand greater and greater thrills. To wit: as reported in PSNEurope March 2013, Constellation was deployed as part of a €15.5 million production of Rocky Das Musical by Germany’s Stage Entertainment, staged in Hamburg’s 1,400-seat TUI Operettenhaus. Sound designer Peter Hylenski used the system


to provide “enhanced ‘environments’ to match specific locales in the story”. Fueling the demand for


flexible acoustic solutions has been the rise of multipurpose venues “because the acoustics that sound best for one type of performance often lead to compromise for another,” says McMahon, and the alternative – mechanical means of acoustic adjustments – can cost a substantial amount more. These factors are what lead


Bakker to predict that in the near future, Yahama’s AFC3 “will be everywhere”, he boldly asserts. “Up to now, the total number of active acoustic enhancement systems built in the past 50 years in the world is just a few hundred, all high-priced systems, installed in high-priced venues. With AFC3, we expect to also become a viable option in the smaller venues, with the total


On 12 May 1967, Pink Floyd astounded its live audience at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall (part of the Southbank Centre) with the first-ever surround-sound concert using a custom-made quadraphonic speaker system. The band was among the earliest innovators to use surround sound, experimenting with a device known as the Azimuth Coordinator (basically, a pan pot for quad sound), which arguably inspired the general public’s interest in multichannel surround audio. So where are today’s quadraphonic (or equivalent) concerts?


“In the time Pink Floyd did that, the PA systems were pretty small, so the surround extension definitely helped a lot,” says Sennheiser’s Gregor Zielinsky. “Today, with those incredibly huge PA systems, played in huge halls or stadiums, you get so many reflections from the rear and there are so many people inside… what are you going to do with the people at the back? They would only hear the


number of installations growing into the thousands fast.” How it’s deployed is also


likely to change, with McMahon citing several “new uses” of Constellation in the recent past: in Miami, for instance, over 160 loudspeakers replicate the sonic experience of the New World Center’s 756-set hall outdoors at the Miami Beach SoundScape. At the Tamalpais Research Institute (TRI Studios) the video streaming venue and recording facility created by Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir Constellation is used for live steaming of concerts on the web. “We believe we’re only


scratching the surface of how Constellation can benefit the audience experience,” concludes McMahon. “Where it goes from here is a question best suited to the talented sound designers and show creators we work with.”


surround channels. It would be pretty difficult I’d think, and very expensive.” And yet, nearly 50 years later and less than a mile away, Kraftwerk held an eight-day residency at the Tate Modern gallery, delighting audiences with a 3D sound and light spectacle using Iosono’s IPC spatial processor. As reported exclusively in PSNEurope (March 2013) there was a determination “to not overload the audience. It had to be a subtle, spatial approach,” said Ralf Zuleeg, head of education at d&b audiotechnik, Kraftwerk’s long-term loudspeaker brand of choice.


In between, American alternative rock band Primus and English new wave synthpop band Heaven 17 are among those who have experimented with bringing immersive audio to the live gig realm, perhaps paving the way for more experiments to come. “I think this is an ongoing process and this is a development that just started,” concludes Iosono’s Katja Lehmann.


3D TO NO D? Just a day prior to Andy Murray’s epic Wimbledon win, which was made available by the BBC in 3D video, the broadcaster announced it was putting the 3D format on hold indefinitely. Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC’s head of 3D, said it has “not taken off” with audiences who find wearing special glasses “quite hassly”. Just as PSNLive went to


press, James Cameron lashed out at Hollywood directors, telling The Guardian that film-makers are ‘not using 3D properly’ and that blockbusters such as “Man of Steel, Iron Man 3 and all those movies should not necessarily be in 3D”. If these recent events are any indication, 3D video’s popularity is on the wane. Conversely, 3D audio has the distinct advantage of requiring nothing more than a good pair


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Photo (c) Kraftwerk (with thanks to Dataton WATCHOUT software)


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