Audio Engineering Society
Chicago
Meeting Review, April 26, 2007
|
4/26/07
Meeting Highlights discuss
the design and construction of the Shure Performance and Listening Center
(PLC). Housed
within Shure�s Technology Annex, the PLC features an evaluation studio for
live performance
and recording, an evaluation control room, and a critical listening theater
for evaluating
recorded material. Mr. Berger touched on two aspects of the PLC design:
challenges involving
control of external noise sources, and the design choices affecting the
internal acoustics of a room. Adequate
isolation from external noise sources was a high priority for the PLC design.
The PLC is
in close proximity not only to the tooling and model shops housed in the same
building, but also
to the railroad tracks which run adjacent to the building. To achieve the
desired isolation, the
PLC structure was designed as a �room within a room,� with floating walls,
ceilings, and floors which are mechanically isolated from each other and the main building structure. The
internal acoustics of the PLC are designed to provide a natural-sounding
acoustic environment
while maintaining visual appeal. Mr. Berger stressed the importance of
several design
parameters which affect the internal acoustics of a room, including
dimensions, volumetric
relations, and surface finishes. Elements of the PLC design such as the
bamboo flooring and glass fiber ceiling panels were chosen for aesthetic as well as acoustic properties. When
asked about his use of objective metrics in designing and fine-tuning a room,
Mr. Berger was
quick to point out that he approaches architectural acoustics as an
�artfully� applied science. Measurements
such as reverberation time don�t always tell the whole story when predicting
how a
room will sound. The characteristics of a room may look good on paper, but
perceived sound quality
always prevails in the end. |
