Surveys among professional musicians and sound engineers reveal that a long reverberation time at low frequencies in halls during concerts of reinforced music is a common cause for an unacceptable sounding event. Mid- and high-frequency sound is seldom a reason for lack of clarity and definition due to a 6 times higher absorption by audience compared to low frequencies, and a higher directivity of speakers at these frequencies. Lower frequency sounds are, within the genre of popular music however, rhythmically very active and loud, and a long reverberation leads to a situation where the various notes and sounds cannot be clearly distinguished. This reverberant bass sound rumble often partially masks even the direct higher pitched sounds. A new technology of inflated, thin plastic membranes seems to solve this challenge of needed low-frequency control. It is equally suitable for multipurpose halls that need to adjust their acoustics by the push of a button and for halls and arenas that only occasionally present amplified music and need to be treated just for the event. This paper presents the authors’ research as well as the technology showing applications in dissimilarly sized venues, including before and after measurements of reverberation time versus frequency.
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