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The opportunity to purposefully add sounds to the urban environment with the intention of improving quality of life is rare - more so, the opportunity to empirically study those effects. We introduce Musikiosk, an interactive music installation and environmental monitoring station, as an exploratory project with these goals. A comprehensive mixed-methods research project, using an approach called soundscapes, accompanies the installation to try and capture measurable immediate and longitudinal impacts, positive and negative, of Musikiosk on the community. Environmental monitoring via a microphone input will provide information about system usage, physical measurements of the acoustic environment, and playback levels. Findings will contribute toward theories on the roles of activity and music in soundscape evaluations and will be among the firsts to observe changes in a manipulated soundscape. Parties that stand to benefit are park users, residents, researchers, and the city for various reasons.
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The earliest manifestation of electronically amplified music performance where made possible by more or less contemporaneous and preceding developments in telephony, radio and sound film. This transectorial innovation is discussed by highlighting the improved directional characteristics of transducers in late 1920s. By applying a theoretical construct based on centrifugal and centripetal forces, the paper goes on to argue that, lacking the requirements of distribution networks further developments of the sector grew up very different to the other electroacoustic industries. In conclusion the paper proposes to, instead of aiming for one history of amplified music with a well established timeline, historians are better of researching the many individual local histories of all the roadies, sound engineers, entrepreneurs and specialized R&D professionals that populate the stories of live sound.
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A review of issues presented and predictions made at the AES 6th International Conference (Sound Reinforcement) and 13th International Conference (Computer-Controlled Sound Systems) is presented. A multi-decade timeline that links AES standards efforts to product releases and commercial developments is reviewed. Technology milestones in remote control, user interfaces and audio transport are presented from the perspective of industry trends and requirements. Information presented is a preface to Part Two which addresses electroacoustic developments over the same time period.
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Information presented is a continuation from Part One. This part addresses electroacoustic issues that were presented, along with predictions made at the AES 6th International Conference (Sound Reinforcement) and 13th International Conference (Computer-Controlled Sound Systems) that helped to create the foundation for the design and development of networked powered loudspeaker arrays with integral DSP and amplification modules, and incorporating beam steering capabilities. Primary system architecture formats are noted. Technology milestones in modular electronics and measurement techniques trends that may influence next-generation systems are discussed.
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A case study of the design and tuning process for a mid-sized single balcony concert hall. The hall was chosen for study because it required a fairly large quantity of fill systems and provides insight into the process of coverage subdivision and the strategies for combination in the field.
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Line source arrays (LSAs) are used for large scale sound reinforcement, aiming at the synthesis of highly spatial aliasing-free sound fields for the whole audio bandwidth. Numerical optimization of the loudspeakers' driving functions can considerably improve the homogeneity of the intended sound field. In this paper we propose enhanced visualization techniques characterizing the array performance. This may lead to a more convenient interpretation of the LSA radiation behavior. By additionally recommended technical quality measures the LSA design and the optimization requirements might be improved. The approach is exemplarily discussed for fictitious LSA models. Based on a least-mean-square error optimization using a loudspeaker weight energy constraint, the driving functions are derived. It is shown by means of the visualizations and measures why this optimization scheme being common practice in sound field synthesis applications is inappropriate for the problem at hand and that spatial aliasing has a large impact on the synthesized sound fields. We recommend to incorporate the proposed quality measures as criteria for future optimization approaches.
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Research shows that too much low frequency reverberation is the primary source of an unpleasant sonic experience perceived by musicians as well as audiences during amplified music concerts. The author has researched acoustics recommended in halls for amplified music, from medium sized venues to the biggest arenas. These results show that it is essential to provide means for additional low frequency absorption in most venues. Typical temporary solution involves an installation of several layers of molton fabric at various distances from reflecting surfaces. However, this method provides a relatively modest absorption coefficient in the important 63 and 125 Hz octave bands, while damping well the high frequencies, which are already absorbed substantially by the audience partly due to the high Q of loud speakers pointed at them at higher frequencies. A new, technology of inflated, ultra thin plastic membranes seems to solve this challenge of low-frequency control and is suitable for multipurpose halls that need to adjust their acoustics at the push of a button. The same applies to 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 successful applications in differently sized venues, including before and after measurements of reverberation time versus frequency.
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Tweeters according to the Air Motion Transformer principle (AMT) have convinced in Studio Monitoring and High Fidelity applications particularly due to their transient behaviour and low distortion and therefore are becoming increasingly popular. The idea to exploit these advantages in live sound can be tempting. However, manufacturers of sound reinforcement systems have been reserved to Air-Motion-Transformers due to the alleged lack of maximum level. Nevertheless, the AMT is in principle perfect for a line array because of its natural properties as a line source. In this investigation, a compact and efficient line array using a newly developed Air Motion Transformer has been developed. The 2 ½ way line array reaches maximum levels at least equal to current systems. Measurements of maximum level capabilities and moderate-level distortion were carried out. We also report on subjective impressions in practical setups. It can be concluded that the desired precision sound of AMT tweeters can be transferred into mid-scale to large-scale live sound applications.
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There has been growing interest in virtual acoustics systems for their capability to adjust the acoustics of a multi-purpose venue to better accommodate unique needs for specific events. It has been known that musicians could perceive the difference among various virtual rooms and sometimes made slight changes in their playing to reflect the characteristics of a specific virtual room in which they performed. In this paper, we ask the question of whether these acoustical differences in virtual rooms could also be communicated to listeners. A listening experiment is reported with twelve sound recording engineers to examine the perception of performances recorded in virtual acoustics in terms of six spatial attributes—naturalness, source distance, room size, clarity, loudness and preference.
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A new active acoustics enhancement system was developed that utilizes measured room impulse responses to generate virtual sound field in a performance space. Three acoustical conditions were prepared to represent distinct room acoustics characteristics including reverb time, clarity, stage support, early lateral energy and inter-aural cross correlation coefficient. Eleven professional string quartets were invited for subjective evaluations where they responded to surveys after performing in each acoustic condition. The results showed a strong preference for the enhanced acoustic conditions over the inherent acoustics of the space. Factor analysis revealed three primary underlying perceptual dimensions: stage support parameters, spatial impressions and tonal balance. Moreover, ‘Quality of reverberation,’ ‘Amount of reverberation,’ ‘Hearing other musicians’ and ‘Height sensation’ were the four salient attributes that were highly correlated with musicians’ preferences.
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