How To Choose Sound Equipment For Auditorium Use - Our Pastimes

7/8/23, 2:55 PM How to Choose Sound Equipment for Auditorium Use - Our Pastimes
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How to Choose Sound Equipment for

Auditorium Use
Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
By: Brent Watkins
Whether providing sound support for a high school musical, orchestra or live
music venue, filling a large space with sound can be a challenge. The goal is not
merely whether performers can be heard, but insuring that what the audience
hears is what the performers intend. An effective sound reinforcement
configuration will allow as many of the audience members to hear the same
sound quality as possible. To achieve this, you need to have a basic
understanding of sound design for large venues.
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Things You'll Need:
• Speakers • Audio Mixing Console • Equalizer

• Audio Cables • Microphones • Amplifiers
Take stock of the room. Choices for sound equipment depend not on size alone,
but the interior components of the auditorium. Upholstered seats absorb
acoustical energy, as do drapes, curtains and other kinds of materials. A highly
absorptive smaller auditorium may require more amplification than a large
reflective one. Surfaces that reflect sound include cement or wood floors as well
as metal surfaces.
Choose amplification and speakers appropriate to room size. Small theatres

may require smaller integrated speaker systems that include low, mid and high
frequency drivers. Likewise, these speakers will require less expensive
amplifiers that reproduce the full spectrum of acoustical energy. Very Large
auditoriums may require component speakers where the bass (woofers),
midrange and high end speakers are each in their own enclosures. These
speaker systems require companion amplifiers that likewise divide the audio
spectrum into distinct regions using components referred to as crossovers.
Depending on the size of your auditorium, your amplification system may need
to produce several hundred, or several thousand watts of power to drive the
speakers so that the entire space is filled with sound.
Include equalization components. An equalizer can add to or diminish specific

frequencies in the audio spectrum to compensate for the acoustical properties
of the auditorium. Use of equalizers can also reduce feedback from
microphones. Equalizers may exist as stand-alone devices, or integrated into
the sound mixing console.
Choose a mixing console that affords maximum flexibility for the number of
audio sources required. If live performance is your goal, consider performers
also need to hear themselves. Speakers or headphones available on stage are
referred to as monitors. Your mixer should support ample monitor outputs to
performers. Monitors also require their own amplifiers. Your choice of monitor
again depends on the stage size and acoustical properties of the auditorium.
Some venues may sound better if each performer has their own headphones
instead of an open speaker that could reflect off the back of the stage towards
the audience. Headphones, however, are not always practical for certain
applications
Select microphones that are highly directional. That is, they do not pick up
ambient sounds from the room. Auditoriums may have unpredictable reflective
surfaces that cause feedback, so microphones should be placed as close to the
sound source as possible.
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Speakers Used in Concerts

By: Matt McKay
Updated September 15, 2017
Speakers used in live concerts come in a variety of types and sizes. While there
is no real universal standard speaker, there are standard configurations, chosen
for the type of music and concert venue. The primary function of concert
speakers, also called drivers or loudspeakers, is to allow the audience to enjoy
high-quality sound wherever they are situated in the venue. Performers also
need to hear themselves and other band members and require monitor
speakers to be accurately placed.
Sound Frequency and Reproduction

Sound frequencies produced in a concert environment are identified as: sub-
low, low, midrange, mid-high, and high frequencies. In order to provide
balanced sound, each frequency must be isolated using an electronic crossover
device, set by the sound engineer. Crossovers filter and separate overall
frequencies, and the signals are routed to dedicated amplifiers. The amplified
filtered signal is sent to loudspeakers, designed to reproduce the particular
frequencies efficiently.
Lower frequencies require more amplifier power and larger speakers to

reproduce. As frequencies go from low to high, power and speaker sizes are
reduced proportionately. It is not unusual to find four and five-way crossover
systems in place at large concerts, with separate amplifiers and speakers for
each frequency. Smaller venues use simpler two or three-way crossover
speaker systems, when critical reproduction of all frequencies is not necessary
or warranted.

Sub-Bass Speakers
Sub-bass, or sub-woofer speakers, are usually 18 inches in diameter. Since very
low frequencies are more often felt than heard, sub-bass cabinets are placed on
the floor for maximum effect, and the speakers are often mounted facing the
back of the speaker cabinet, which is tuned to produce enhanced sub-bass
tones. Smaller concert venues may use one or two sub-bass enclosures, while
large concert arenas will use 12 or more. Low frequencies are not overly
directional, making speaker placement in relationship to audience members not
as critical. Sub-bass frequencies are generated by bass guitars, bass drums and
lower range synthesizer keyboard notes.
Bass Speakers
Speakers used to reproduce bass frequencies are normally 15 inches in
diameter, and are ideally placed at chest level of the audience. Bass frequencies
are in the audible range, but are placed physically lower than higher frequency
speakers in an effort to separate the sound in the most efficient and pleasing
manner to the listener. Bass speaker frequencies also are generated by bass
guitars, drums, lower range synthesizer and other keyboard notes, but in a
higher frequency register than sub-bass.
Midrange Speakers
Midrange concert speakers are typically 12 or 10 inches in diameter, and
reproduce sounds in the middle of the frequency spectrum. Speakers are
placed above bass speakers and below high-frequency drivers. Midrange
frequencies are produced by vocals, guitars, keyboards, drums and other
instruments. The dominant sound we hear is in the midrange, since these
frequencies are audible and easily understandable.
High-Frequency Horns
High frequency reproduction requires small speakers with tight diaphragms to
limit bass-inducing air movement. Since these speakers, called drivers,
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diaphragms of 1 to 2 inches in diameter, they will not handle high-wattage

amplifiers. Their inherent design also causes sound levels to be low and must
use an attachment called a "horn" to project sound to audible concert levels.
Horns produce high-midrange and high-frequency sound and are usually
directed at audience head level. Cymbals, guitars, keyboards, vocals and other
instruments produce sound in the high-frequency domain.
Concert Speaker Cabinets

Most of the cabinets used in large concert venues are full-range cabinets,
containing bass speakers, midrange speakers and high frequency horns. These
cabinets are usually suspended by wire rigging, at different angles and
placement arrays. Separate bass and sub-bass cabinets are placed on the floor,
and other full-range cabinets may be placed on the stage, depending on the
venue setup and performance type.
Monitor Speakers
Monitor speakers are placed in front, and sometimes to the side, of performers
to allow them to hear themselves and other band members. Monitors are
connected to separate mixers and amplifiers and allow custom sound mixes for
each performer. Monitors are usually two-way systems, containing a 12- or 15-
inch speaker and high-frequency horn.
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