Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc.
Berkeley, CA 94702
United States
At the 21st International Congress on Acoustics(ICA) in Montreal, Meyer Sound led three technical paper presentations focusing on the latest advances and applications of active acoustics, a field that has garnered widespread interest amongst multipurpose venues and the acoustics community. All three papers are publicly available on the Acoustical Society of America website:asadl.org
"Optimizing Acoustics for Spoken Word Using Active Acoustics" was co-authored by Steve Ellison, Meyer Sound's applications director for digital products, and Pierre Germain, senior acoustic engineer. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical issues involved in designing room acoustics for optimum intelligibility across various uses, and describes an active acoustic system capable of optimizing early reflections in different scenarios.
In addition, "Electronically Variable Room Acoustics—Motivations and Challenges" was written and presented by K. Anthony Hoover, FASA, principal at McKay Conant Hoover Inc. in Westlake Village, Calif., and Ellison. The authors presented a case study including both passive and active acoustic treatment for a proposed renovation of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium that would enable the historic preservation of the venue while supporting a wide range of uses, including conferences, rock and pop shows, and orchestral performances.
Lastly, Roger Schwenke, Ph.D., staff scientist at Meyer Sound, presented his paper at ICA entitled "Active Acoustics and Sound Reinforcement at TUI Operettenhaus, Hamburg." Schwenke's case study examines the unique integration of active acoustics and sound reinforcement system design in a theatrical space. This combination allows the same system components to be utilized for both extension of room reverberation and creative applications of spatial surround effects.
The 2013 ICA was held in June at Montreal's Palais des congrès jointly with the 165th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the 52nd Meeting of the Canadian Acoustical Association.
In addition to the ICA conference, Schwenke and Ellison also presented their paper "Active Acoustics in Physically Variable Spaces" at the International Symposium on Room Acoustics in Toronto, a satellite conference of the ICA. The paper offers an overview of venues that use active acoustic systems as they alter room size or arrangement through subdivisions or other methods. The paper is available in the proceedings document of the conference.
Meyer Sound officially launched its active acoustic system, Constellation, in 2006. Since then, Constellation has been installed in more than 50 sites worldwide, including performing arts centers, concert halls, universities, secondary schools, houses of worship, conference facilities, theatres, and entertainment spectacles.
