ADF05_22-30 6/3/08 10:15 AM Page 27
Dancing From the Ceiling
f the television schedules are anything to
go by, the UK is a nation obsessed with its
property: buying it, decorating it,
renovating it and selling it, but as
Iawareness of the issues surrounding
property increases, so our design tastes have
changed. Where once Changing Rooms, with
its cheap makeovers and often eye-watering
colour schemes was the country’s favourite,
now Grand Designs, with its minimalist,
sustainable aesthetic seems more in tune with
the nation’s tastes.
Indeed the last decade has seen the
overwhelming domination of a sleek, pared
down look, whether in new builds or
renovations. This demand for minimalist chic is
not just limited to fixtures, fittings and furniture,
but extends to the technology in the home.
As clients, particularly in the high-end market,
look for superior quality in both design and
technology, architects and designers are
working with acoustics engineers at a much
earlier stage in the project design - specifying a
more discreet approach to A/V systems.
At the same time, music and film enthusiasts
want to create professional quality sound
reproduction in rooms that are not perfectly described as hot at the centre and cold at the 160 and 180 degrees. This means that certain
square. To gain the best possible sound quality, edges, then NXT produces a universally warm cinema effects, such as sound moving from left
traditional cone-speakers need to be precisely sound property. They use a small electric coil to right as a car crosses the screen, are
placed – as does the viewer or listener. to transform the sound input into mechanical reduced – although this can be countered to an
There is, therefore, a growing demand for vibrations that use the gain ratio of the panel’s extent by careful placement.
technology that matches this new mood in material: in effect the panel itself creates the Ceiling panels are just one example of the
both aesthetic and acoustic design. Specifiers sound that we hear. ‘speaker that isn’t a speaker.’ Due to its unique
are turning to the non-domestic environment NXT panels therefore produce an even principles of operation, NXT panels can be
for the solution - flat panel speakers that have coverage of sound, which means that their made of many different materials, so the glass
both the necessary design and sound placement within a room is much less important of a TV screen, a mirror or window could
credentials. These speakers have been used than with cone speakers. become a ‘speaker’. Rather than having a
in schools, conference halls, hospitals and It also means that only one NXT ceiling panel panel embedded in the walls, the plaster itself
hotels for some time, and are usually is needed for every three traditional cone can become a ‘speaker’ with specific flat panel
driver technology to excite it.
NXT ceiling panels are changing the way that architects and
There are already moves to create speakers out
of the roof panels in cars – to lessen their weight
designers approach acoustics in the home. They are making
and improve fuel efficiency. It’s even possible to
cinema quality sound more widely available and lowering the
create disposable speakers made of cardboard.
Ceiling panels are unlikely to replace
costs of top quality sound reproduction in every room in the
traditional speakers in specialist and
house, countering the problems created by uneven,
controlled environments: the local multiplex is
unlikely to abandon its cones any time soon.
asymmetrical spaces.
As our demands for the highest quality goods
and services for our homes increases, ceiling
incorporated into a suspended ceiling speakers. The result is that this kind of ceiling panel speakers can only become more and
alongside standard ceiling tiles. speaker can produce a near enough replication more popular.
183
Of course, most homes have solid ceilings of 5:1 surround sound, approved by Dolby
rather than suspended grids and tiles, but in a Labs, even in the most awkward shaped rooms.
Speaker Technology taking a
domestic setting the panels can also be Of course, NXT panels are not without their
plastered directly into the ceiling so that they lie downsides. They cannot create the masses of step forward by - Morgan
flush with the final structure. Flat copper wire, bass level and sound pressure produced by a
or tape, keeps the cabling equally unobtrusive. standard woofer or sub-woofer, so are unlikely
Sousa, i-ceiling Product
It is NXT that enables speakers to be made to be used in live music or club environments.
Manager, Armstrong World
with the appropriate dimensions, as well as When a panel is placed in the ceiling, some
solving the problems associated with creating form of wadding is required as backing to
Industries and Kevin
ideal acoustics in less than ideal surroundings. prevent sound leaking through to the floor
Sherwood, i-ceilings Product
With cone speakers, the sound quality and above There is also less directional sound
volume lessens the further it is from the source. compared to traditional speaker; NXT ceiling
Manager, CIE Ltd
If the sound quality they produce can be panels have an acoustic dispersion between
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