CHAPTER 7

SOUND REINFORCEMENT
SYSTEMS
P r e p a r e d b y : L o u r d e s M a e A . Te m p r o s a

BS Architecture student
OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA

The pu rpose of soun d re in for cem e nt

sy ste m i s ju st wha t t he n a m e in dic a te s
to re inf orc e th e soun d, wh ic h woul d
oth er wise be i na dequ a te. Th is ide al
sou nd s y st em wi ll gi ve th e lis te ner t he
sa me lou dne ss, qu al ity a dja ce nt t o h im a
dis t an ce of 2 to 3 f t. f or spe ec h a n d
fu r t he r for m usi c de pen din g on th e ty pe
a nd num b er of i ns tr um e nts . Thi s
si tu at ion m u st obta in for e ver y posi ti on
in th e spa c e e xc ep t t ha t a va r ia ti on of ±
2 db f or l oudn es s is t ol era ble . Th e ot her
fa ctors s houl d r em a in c on st an t.
By qua li ty we m e an t ha t f re quen c y
re spons e s houl d be lin ea r so th at
re produ ce d s ound be a rs th e sam e
re lat ion be twee n its f re que nc y
com pon en ts as t he ori g in al s ou nd .

Qua li ty is th en fi e ld a djus te d by
“voic in g ” by “equ al iz at ion”.
D ire ct iv i ty is th e c h ara ct er is tic Gen era lly, s ou nd sy s te m s will be
wh er eb y th e s ou nd ap pea rs t o be req uir ed in spa c es l ar g er th an 50 ,
com in g fr om t he ori g in a tin g 00 0 c u. f t . ( 1 5 00 m ³ ) 3 3 f t . x 50 f t .
sour c e, th at is , t he louds pe aker s or 11 m . x 16 m . x 9 m . I n te rm s of
shou k d be dir ect ion al ly “ inv i si ble ” popul at ion, th is volu m e t ran sl at es
an d t he l ist en er m u st h ave th e as 5 5 0 pe rson s in lec tu re room s
impr es si on of ac tu al ly hea ri ng th e ( 15 f t. Ave ra g e h eig ht an d 6 sq. f t .
sour c e. per pe rs on ) .
In such a room (50,000 sq. ft.) a normal speaking voice can only
maintain a volume of level of 55 to 60 db, depending on room
design and voice strength. With background noise at PNC 55. The
speaker will be heard; at the higher noise levels intelligibility will
suff er.
COMPONENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
A ll s ou nd s y st em s c on si st of th re e ba sic e lem e nt s: Inp ut de vi ce s , a mp li fi e r ( s ) , a nd
l ouds p e aker sy s te ms .

A. Input D e vi ce s

1. M ic roph on e. I f m u lt ipl e m ikes ar e re qui re d, m ixi ng fa ci li ti es m us t be prov id ed .

2. Recor ded m a ter ia l fr om ph on og ra ph, ta pe dec k , c as set te de c k, an d pos si bly

comme rc ia l m us ic sou rc e.

3. Rad io s ou rc e – A M/ FM t un er.

B. Ampl i fi e r a nd Cont r ol s

A m pl ifi er m us t be rat ed t o del ive r su ffi c ie nt p owe r t om p rodu ce i nte ns it y l eve ls of 8 0 db

for sp ee ch, 95 db f or l ig ht m us ic a nd 1 05 db for sy m phon ic m u sic .
• Thi s a ss um e s a m axi m um b ac k g rou nd n oise le vel of 6 0 d b A . Th us , 8 0 d b for s pee ch
in te ns ity wil l be 20 db hi g h er or f ou r ti m es a s lou d a s th e noi se le vel. If nois e le vel is
k nown t o be bel ow 60 db m a xi m um , a m pli fi er a nd l ou dsp ea ke r powe r rat in g s c an be
re du ced a c cor din g ly. Th e a m plifi e r sh ould c a rr y t ec hn ic al s pec s for si g na l- t o- nois e rat io;
li ne ar ity fr om x to y H z- 3 db, a nd low ( - %) dis tor tion . Exac t fi g ure s her e d epe nd on
a ppli ca ti on an d a re le f t to t he a cou sti c spe c ia lis t or s ound e ng i ne er to s up ply.

• In a dd iti on t o t he u su al volum e , tone m ixin g , a nd i nput- ou tp ut s el ec tor c ont rols , t he

a mpli fi e r m ust c onta in s pec ia l equ al iz at ion con trol s f or s ig n al s ha pin g . Th es e a re hig hly
crit ic al fi lte r n etwor ks t ha t a re u se d t o v oi ce per e qua li ze a sy ste m af te r in st al la tion .
Eq ua li za ti on is a s in e qua n on of a g ood sou nd sy s te m , wit hout whi c h, t he s y st em wi ll
howl, soun d r oug h , g i ve in suffi ci ent a nd poorl y dis tr ibu te d g a in a nd sou nd leve l an d
ge nera ll y s ou nd poor. E sse nti a ll y, voic in g ta i lors the sy s te m to th e a cou sti c pr oper ti es of
th e spa ce .
• Another control frequently
required in theater systems is
a delay mechanism or circuit
that can introduce a time
delay into a signal being fed
to a loudspeaker.
The fi gure below shows a sound system that covers a majority of an auditorium
from a central - loudspeaker cl uster.
The underbalcony seating areas are hidden from the central cluster and
receive the reinforced sound from distributed loudspeakers in the
underbalcony soffi t to provide directional realism, the signal to the
underbalcony loudspeakers must be delayed to allow the weaker signal
from the central speakers to arrive fi rst. Delay is necessary since
electrical signals travel at the speed of light whereas sound is much
slower (one millionth the speed, approximately). With the arrangement
sound will seem to come from the source, and the directivity for
necessary to realism is maintained.
C. Lo u d s p e a ke r s

T h e s e a r e t h e h e a r t o f a ny s o u n d s y s t e m a n d o b v i o u s l y m u s t b e o f t h e s a m e h i gh q u a l i ty
a s t h e r e m ai n d e r o f t h e s ys t e m . I n d e e d , s y s t e m e co n o m i cs w i l l s h o w u p m u c h m o r e q u i ck l y i n
l o u d s p e a ke r p er f o r m a n c e t h a n i n a ny o t h e r c o m p o n e n t . S e l e c t i o n o f s p e a k e r s i s a co m p l e x,
t e c h n i c a l t a s k n o t w i t h i n o u r s c o p e. N e v e r t h e l e s s , a f e w ge n e ra l r e m a rk s a r e i n o rd e r.

T h e b e s t s ys t e m s u s e c e n t ra l – s p e a ke r a r rays c o n s i s t i ng o f h i g h q u a l i ty, s e c t i o na l (m ul t i ce l l ) ,
d i r e c t i o n a l , h i g h - f r e q u e n c y h o r n s a n d l a r g e c o n e w o o f e r s . T h e s e a s s e m b l i es a r e ve r y l a r ge ,
a n d t h e a r c h i t e c t s h o u l d b e a wa r e o f t h e d i m e n s i o n s t h at m u s t b e a c co m m o d a t e d . U n i t s 6 f t .
w i d e , 8 f t . h i gh a n d 3 f t . d e e p ( 1 .8 0 m x 2 . 4 0 m x 0 .9 0 m ), w i t h a w e i g h t o f 10 0 0 + l b s a r e
common in large lecture hall or small t h ea t r e . This size is n e c es s i t a t e d by the l a r ge
wave l e n gt h o f l o w f r e q u e n c y s o u nd . ( s e e fi g u r e b e l o w )
Smaller units using folded horns can
be used, at a s a c r i fi c e in low-
frequency response, if speech only is
to be reproduced these will perform
adequately distributed systems use
(4-12 inch diameter) low level
s p e a k e r s , c e i l i n g m o u n t e d , a n d fi r i n g
directly down to give adequate
response these units must be mounted
in atleast a 2 cu.ft. enclosure. Smaller
enclosures will usually seriously
compromise performance.
LOUDSPEAKERS C ONSIDERATIONS

Loud s pe a ke r – sy s te m de si g n an d
pla cem e nt m us t be coord ina te d wi th t he
a rchit ec tu ral de si g n. Th e two pr in ci pal
ty pes of loud spe aker s y st em s a re
c en t ra l an d d is t ri b u te d . The
l o u dsp ea ker s i n a c e n tral s y s te m ar e
car efu ll y de si g n ed a rray of d ire c tion al
hi gh- fr equ en cy un its com bi ne d wit h les s
dir ect iona l low fr eq uen c y u nit s, pla ce d
a bove a nd sl ig h tl y i nf ront of th e pri m ar y
spe a ki ng pos iti on. In m ost t hea te rs , th is
locat ion wou ld be ju st a bov e t he
pr os ce ni um o n t he c ent er lin e of the
room.
The distributed loudspeaker system consists of series of low- level
loudspeakers located overhead throughout the space. Each loudspeaker
covers a small area, in a manner similar to downlights. This type of
system is used in low- ceilinged areas where a central speaker cluster
could not provide proper coverage. It also can be used for public
address functions if directional realism is not essential, in spaces as
exhibition areas, airlines terminals, and offi ces. In addition, distributed
loudspeaker systems provide fl exibility for use in spaces where source
and listener locations vary accordingly to the use of the space, since
loudspeakers can easily be switched to provide proper coverage.
Combination loudspeaker systems that utilize both central and
distributed units are used to solve special problems as discussed earlier
and illustrated in the fi gure section of (amplifi er and controls). In
general, a listening position should receive sound from only one
loudspeaker. System that cover seating areas with signals from several
scattered loudspeakers usually increase the loudness of the sound but
tend to produce garbled speech. This rule is the principal reason that
the arrangements shown in the fi gure below will guarantee a bad job.
The common practice of placing one loudspeaker on either side of
proscenium opening fi gure (a) or rows of speakers on or both sides a
room fi gure (b) is particularly to be deplored.
Essential parameters for
location and design of the
control position create problems
for the architect. The sound
system operator must be within
the coverage pattern of the
loudspeakers. For proper
operation, he or she should be
able to hear the sound as it is
heard by the audience seating
pattern (see fi g. below)
- oth er pl ac e cont rol r oom with a
c om p let el y op en wal l or a lar g e
win dow at th e r ea r of t he a ud it or iu m .
M onit or lou dspe aker s an d e a rph on es
ar e i na deq ua te s ubs ti tut es f or ac tu al
li ste ni ng wi th in th e a udi tor iu m . In
c hur ch es th e sim p le con trol e qu ipm e nt
c an be loc at ed at th e re ar of the
c on g re g a ti on a re a.
To understand selection and positioni ng of a hi gh- level directional loudspeaker,
it is necessary fi rst to understand its action in a space. Refer to fi gure below.
for Q = 5, whic h is a c om m on fi g u re f or m u lti ce l l d ire ct iona l sp ea ke rs . Not e th e r es ult .

Fi rs t th e le vel i n th e ne ar fi e ld a nd f ree fi e ld a rea s h ave be en ra is ed 7 db. Se c on d, th e

crit ical di sta nc e ( Dc ) ha s b een doub led , t ha t i s, in cr ea se d fr om 1 7 t o 3 5 f t. Cr i ti ca l
di sta n c e is defi n ed a s th e poin t a t whic h t he d is ta nc e be twee n th e as y m pt ot e a nd ac tu al
cur ve is 3 db. At th a t po i n t t h e d i re c t a n d r ev er b era n t c o m po n en t s a r e e q u al . B eyond
th at poi nt th e rev erbe ra nt fi el d pr ed om i na te s.

We h ave a lr ea dy st at ed t ha t t o m ai nt ain g ood di re cti v i ty a nd cl ar it y th e di re ct c om pone nt

sh ould pr edom in at e or at le as t c ons ti tut e a l ar g e p or ti on of t he s ou nd. It i s wid ely
a ccept ed t ha t m axim u m dis ta nc e fr om l ouds pea ke r to li ste ne r sh ould not exce ed f ou r it em s
th e cr it ic al di st an ce for g ood qua li ty re produ ct ion a nd c om pr eh ens ion ( p ref era bl y l es s) .
Note the on the fi gure (a) lower and higher curve, that with Dc at 35
ft. the maximum distance becomes 140 ft. since the room is only 120
ft. long a single high- level directional array is satisfactory. If the room
were longer, the rear portions would require additional coverage.

Alternatively room characteristics could be charged by adding

absorption to reduce reverberance, C7 is more highly directive
loudspeaker could be used. If it is not possible to use a central system,
distributed speakers will perform adequately but without directivity.
(see table below). These decisions are the province of the acoustics
expert, w/o whose expert advice complex or expensive installations
should not be designed.