REPORT 041
LEFT: Andrea Bocelli Tour 2010 - line arrays have changed the visual and aural landscape of large concerts. © L-Acoustics BELOW: Careful integration of Intellivox loudspeakers at the Cologne Dome provide excellent clarity in very reverberant spaces. © Duran Audio
a zone of confl ict, and result in a less than satisfactory outcome from either an audio or aesthetic view. The key to solving this is to ensure that the audio system is considered early in the design process. This allows the brief to be understood by everyone and loudspeakers to be built into the aesthetic design as appropriate. As audio professionals, it is important to be approachable yet robust when required and ensuring the audio solution is appropriate visually and acoustically for the building, sometimes the best approach is not the highest audio quality. A good example of this is in shop window displays when a transducer is placed on the glass to create an ‘invisible’ loudspeaker that provides playback as well as a talking point, this was used to great effect in UK designer department store Selfridges’ 2011 Christmas display, among others.
As larger systems are used they inevitably require more electricity, create more heat and weigh more, so the early consideration of the audio system also provides the best chance of coordination with the electrical, mechanical and structural engineers. It is impossible to calculate how much power an audio system will require without knowing what the source material will be. If it is assumed that the system will run at maximum level all of the time, then the cooling and electrical supply allowed is likely to be signifi cantly oversized adding complexity and cost to a project. A sensible calculation must be made considering what the likely source material is, how often the system will be used, and what other systems will be used at the same time. Due to instantaneous peak voltage required, it is normall to electrically allow the amplifi ers to be at a maximum, but the supply to be diversifi ed against other systems. Some product manuals such as the d&b audiotechnik D6 and D12 provide an excellent description of power usage and therefore cooling required of amplifi ers, and how it varies for different crest factors of music, but it is still diffi cult to fi nd out this information for some manufacturers so an educated guess must be made. The construction industry is under increasing scrutiny for power usage and cooling so it is very important that these fi gures are available and can be justifi ed.
AUDIO NETWORKS
Since the mass adoption of the CD, digital audio has been widely accepted. The ad- vantage of digital audio networks in terms of transportation, controllability, scalability and repeatability means that they are utilised in some way for all but the smallest systems. In terms of quality, the point that errors are introduced into a digital audio network is normally in the conversion between digital and analogue signals so it is important to keep these to an absolute minimum. Conceptually this is no different to
converting from acoustic sound to audio signal - you wouldn’t sing into a micro- phone then play it out of a loudspeaker and capture it with another microphone (unless you were in an echo chamber!) so it should be equally obvious that errors will be introduced when converting from analogue audio to digital audio. Once the signal has been converted into a digital signal it is free to be transported around the network with minimum loss. Over the last few years there has been a renewed enthusiasm for using IP-based networks mainly working towards a standardised system compliant with the IEEE’s Audio Visual Bridging (AVB) specifi cation. The great advantage in using IP-based protocols is to take advantage of low cost cabling, IT distribution and tested redundancy and many of the issues regarding latency and compatibility have been resolved by protocols such as Audinate’s Dante. Most systems use a dedicated audiovisual or audio network to avoid any confl icts of confi guration issues with IT systems but a number of high profi le cases have proven it is possible to combine networks even for life safety systems. Anybody now starting in the audio industry would be advised to develop their knowledge of networking alongside traditional areas such as soldering and electronics. The main advantage of any network, IP or otherwise is the fl exibility in routing signals; a single network cable can carry many audio channels as well as control. This dramatically reduces the space required for cabling and leaves fl exibility in the system design for the end-user. For architectural audio systems this means that it is now much simpler to ensure that suitable connectivity is provided and more creative installations can be created reacting to users changing needs with different levels of control as required.
WHAT NEXT? We are now able to create architectural audio systems that are designed, modelled and installed to fi t perfectly in the architectural acoustic design. The challenge is no longer just to provide suitable clarity but also to provide an enjoyable listener experi- ence. The physics of loudspeakers does require them to be large at times, but there are many creative approaches and effi cient cabinets that can be integrated into most aesthetic designs. The developments in digital audio networking mean that is possible to maintain fl exibility in design at low initial costs. The next step is to ensure that architectural audio is always considered holistically as part of the buildings in- frastructure, and integrates with not only the building’s design but also with all users either on an explicit interactive level or with a more subtle fl exible approach.
www.charcoalblue.com www.mondodr.com
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