28 AV FOCUS Audio
improved, so has the willingness to spend money on sound installations. Tighter integration between the various systems has also proven to be highly advantageous. “The integration of object-based audio with both video and lighting systems is becoming more advanced and commonplace,” says Van Munster. “There has been the notion for many years that, in so-called AVL systems, the video and lighting tend to get more attention than the audio. [But] the growth of 3D sound is helping to create a more balanced environment in which AVL systems work in harmony for spectacular results.” According to Van Munster, easing the incorporation of object-based and other immersive audio systems into AV installations is their ability “to support communications with a wide range of third-party products and their integration with common control platforms such as Crestron, AMX, TouchDesigner and many others”.
There is no doubt that the advent of integrated solutions – often based around single hardware products – has played a crucial role, as they make immersive audio more easily deployable. For example, Astro Spatial Audio offers the opportunity to implement an object-based design via a single, rack-mountable hardware unit, which hosts the SARA II premium rendering engine. Another prominent solution, Meyer Sound’s Constellation acoustic system, has been developed to be inherently scalable. A wide range of products that can be deployed within the Constellation architecture allow it to be applied to environments ranging from relatively conventional concert halls to large-scale artistic exhibitions and planetariums. As well as flexibility, aesthetic discretion is another important consideration in any immersive audio installation, especially when 30 or more speakers can be involved. “Exhibits and spaces in museums need to
THE GROWTH OF 3D SOUND IS HELPING TO CREATE AMORE BALANCED ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH AVL SYSTEMS WORK IN HARMONY FOR SPECTACULAR RESULTS
be creative, flexible, easy to operate and trouble-free,” says Steve Ellison, director of Spatial Sound at Meyer Sound. “Products such as the Meyer Sound MM-4XP, UP-4slim and MM-10XP subwoofer can all fit into very tight spaces, be colour- matched and provide great sonic impact.” Among a cluster of recent major projects in the museum and exhibition space, Ellison points to a deployment at the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, situated within the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. “The planetarium uses more than 30 discrete loudspeaker channels controlled with D-Mitri digital audio processing to create custom immersive soundtracks with dynamic spatial mixing using SpaceMap,” he says. WOWING AUDIENCES Being able to surround and wow audiences with sound is one very obvious benefit
feedzine feed.zine feedmagazine.tv
Powered by FlippingBook