AV Technology - March 2008 - (Page 46)

casestudy education Concert Hall Acoustics on a High School Budget overly reverberant sound quality with unbalanced frequency content, says Seth Waltz, principal consultant with AVL Designs, a Penfield, NY-based full-service theatrical consulting firm. In other words, the old space had poor acoustics and sounded “muddy,” Waltz says. Good room acoustics provide articulate, yet blended, sound for larger ensembles. In contrast, rooms with poor acoustics can accentuate one instrument group over another, rendering a performance unbalanced. The former auditorium’s 15-year-old loudspeaker system sounded harsh and didn’t The Yamaha AFC system uses special loudspeakers suspended from the ceiling and custom signal processing to create the effect of different acoustical environments. VICTOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL’S ACOUSTIC ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM PERFORMS IN A VARIETY OF ACOUSTICAL ENVIRONMENTS . by Amy Fischbach P rofessional venues can change the acoustics of a room with movable partitions and high-end wall finishes and ceiling tiles. High schools, however, often don’t have the luxury of pouring millions of dollars into these features. As a cost-effective alternative, Victor Senior High School in Victor, NY opted for Yamaha’s Active Field Control (AFC) reverberation enhancement system, which allows staff members to change the reverberence, loudness, and perception of spaciousness in the auditorium electronically. The top-ranked high school invested $26 million in the renovation of their 925-seat auditorium. As part of the project, the construction team spent a year-and-a-half improving the acoustics and lighting, building a fly loft, increasing the stage space, and adding more seating, says Matthew Abate, project manager for Rochester, NY-based Stantec Architecture, which hired AV experts to design and install the system. The AFC system, which cost $125,000 to install, gives students the opportunity to experience what they would sound like in a professional live concert hall versus a traditional high school auditorium, says Aaron Isaacs, the audiovisual coordinator for the Victor Central Schools. “People have been blown away,” says Isaacs, who handles the lighting, video, and sound for the four auditoriums on the campus. “They can’t believe how good the acoustics are in that house. When you turn that system on, it changes the brightness of the whole room.” Before the renovation, the room had an The Yamaha AFC sound system is separate from the auditorium’s main sound reinforcement system (left rack), with its own set of electronics shown on the right rack. blend the sounds, he says. Katherine Dupra, vocal music director at the high school, says before the renovation, the music staff didn’t have the ability to amplify or alter the sound. Now, if you have a small ensemble on the stage, the sound projects throughout the auditorium, and audience members hear sound with the correct balance throughout the room. www.avtechnologyonline.com 46 | AVTECHNOLOGY | march 2008 http://www.avtechnologyonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - March 2008

AV Technology - March 2008 Contents Precedent Corporate: Whose Job Is It Anyway? Education: There’s No Business Like Show Business Government: Technology and the New World Order Buying a Videoconference System They Will Actually Use AV After Hours The Sound of HD Conferencing Assembling the Design Team Concert Hall Acoustics on a High School Budget Audio Architecture Keeping a Watchful Eye Product Spotlight Tech Horizons Product Review New Products AV MO

AV Technology - March 2008

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