Sound system engineering design

Sound reinforcement belongs to the application of acoustics, whether indoor or outdoor sound reinforcement can not be separated from the use of sound reinforcement in the acoustic environment (or sound field), so the basis of sound reinforcement system planning is an acoustic problem. Taking theatre amplification as an example, auditorium amplification system planning, the primary consideration is the auditorium with the sound amplification system planning is closely related to the use of objects, construction methods, architectural planning, stage equipment and performing art methods and requirements. After fully understanding these basic conditions and requirements, then is the selection and equipment of sound reinforcement system equipment.

The ultimate function of auditorium sound reinforcement is the expression of the inductive effect of building sound and electroacoustics. It completes the analysis and calculation of sound reinforcement field on the basis of building sound. Therefore, the fundamental problem of sound reinforcement system planning is acoustics. The planning of sound reinforcement system should begin with the sound reinforcement field, that is, the layout of the loudspeaker system (spatial orientation), product selection (including combination) and the power to be fed, etc. It can analyze and compare various plans by means of the computer-aided acoustic programming software, and thus give the relevant data of the acoustic characteristics of the sound reinforcement system. On this basis, the final composition and equipment of the sound reinforcement system.

Sound amplifying sound field planning is the foundation of sound reinforcement system planning. Whether indoor or outdoor sound reinforcement, its sound reinforcement field is more or less dry and, this is inevitable. The existence of sound drying and amplification field will affect the language and music clarity of amplification, and damage the sound quality of amplification playback.

Modern sound reinforcement planning is no longer "satisfied" with the general sense of sound pressure level and non-uniformity of sound field, but attaches great importance to sound dryness and the problem of sound field, in the planning should strive to minimize sound dryness and to obtain a "clean" sound field, which is the key point of modern sound reinforcement planning.

In recent years, EASE, MAPP and BOSE software have been widely used to simulate the sound reinforcement field in the planning of indoor and outdoor sound reinforcement systems. EASE is a general-purpose software which covers the speaker database of dozens of well-known speaker manufacturers in the world; BOSE software is a database which only contains BOSE speakers developed by the company itself, so it can only plan and calculate the BOSE loudspeakers, and the software also promotes audible sound field imitation; MAPP software is Meyer Sound of the United States. Companies develop software for their products. It is said that Meyer thinks that the simulation and calculation errors of reverberation field are too large for practical significance, so the software only imitates and calculates the direct sound field, and the software has higher accuracy in setting up a more detailed scale. So how should we correctly master the use of these planning softwares? Next, let's talk about EASE software.

(1) the brief process of.EASE software

For example, in the mid-1980s, computer-aided sound reinforcement system planning (CAD) did not reach the practical stage. At that time, the sound reinforcement field planning was usually completed by classical formulas or geometric sound line mapping. Most of these methods were budget-only. The practical software of computer aided planning for acoustic characteristics of sound reinforcement system originated from the mid-1980s in the United States. In the future, well-known international companies have announced that they can be used to the CAD software of different brand loudspeaker databases, and constantly improve the accounting methods and results. At that time, the most representative ones were:

JBL's CADP-2, Philips'THE PHD PROGRAM, BOSE's THE BOSE SPEAKER, MARK VI's ACOUSTA CAD software and so on. Most of the pre-design software for acoustic characteristic accounting of sound reinforcement system are DOS version and special loudspeaker database (such as JBL, BOSE, etc.). The German ADA Acoustic Planning Company developed EASE 2.0 software in the early 1990s, which is a commercial software registered in many countries. Comparing with the former software, the software is more and more abundant and perfect in accounting content. The loudspeaker database of the software is open and contains the databases of dozens of well-known international brands of loudspeakers. Since the 1990s, the software has been widely used at home and abroad.

In the late 1990s, ADA was promoted to EASE 2.0 (DOS version) and announced EASE 3.0, a software that runs on Windows. Obviously, the Windows interface, windows and so on have got the abundant performance in EASE 3.0, regarding the acoustic model establishment, the more cluttered graphics (the larger memory demand) accounting, the graphics display and the screen printing and so on are superior to the DOS version EASE 2.0 accounting software, but in terms of the basic accounting content, the two are not very different, only in Some accounting formulas have been added to the mathematical model, and some accounting contents have been added accordingly.

In August 2002, ADA launched the EASE 4.0 edition again. EASE 4.0 continued all the features of EASE 3.0 and made many improvements. The main improvements are: humanized user interface, more convenient model import and export, more abundant speaker database, especially the database of line array speaker system. In other words, EASE 4.0 can calculate the sound reinforcement data of linear array loudspeaker system, which is not complete in EASE 3.0 version and so on. At present, the EASE software is widely used to imitate the sound amplifying sound field at home and abroad.

(2) acoustic characteristics of sound amplifying system; accuracy of CAD accounting system

With the help of computer, the acoustic characteristics of the sound reinforcement system can be planned not only as a whole, but also as detailed data of auditorium acoustic characteristics. The quantitative planning and accounting can also save a lot of work time. Through CAD, we can see the expected results of the acoustic characteristics of the planned sound amplification system, which is of great guiding significance to practical engineering. However, we should be soberly aware that whether EASE software or BOSE, MAPP software has certain limitations in accounting accuracy and accuracy, and its simulation results can only be consulted.

(3) accounting software is a good thing.

Nowadays, in the planning of sound reinforcement system, EASE software is widely used at home and abroad to imitate the sound amplifying sound field. The CAD accounting system for acoustic characteristics of sound reinforcement system provides a new method and fast operation for acoustic operators in engineering planning, which saves a lot of working time. The accounting software mainly studies the sound field for the acoustics operator, compares the selection and layout of the sound box repeatedly in the same acoustics environment, and provides assistance by comparing different plans to show the direction of the sound amplification field, and can not overdo the "superstition" and rely on the results of these software accounting. It should also be pointed out that the accounting system can only be operated by "following" instructions, it can not replace the planner's profound understanding of construction and art; it can not replace the planner's acoustical, systematic common sense and rich experience. Anyway, the acoustical simulation software and accounting system can not replace the acoustical operator's planning work, it is only a very good thing.

The theatre amplification system serves the stage performing arts, and provides a channel for high quality sound reproduction for the performing arts. The sound reinforcement should be based on the functional orientation of the theatre, and give a targeted system planning to customize the use of different performing arts. In recent years, the sound reinforcement system planning of the theatre has a trend of "modelling" and some misleading phenomena.

The selection and layout of loudspeaker systems in theatre auditoriums are varied, and most of them are "personalized" planning, especially for professional theatres (such as opera houses) and commercial theatres, which closely focus on the performance scenarios and artistic needs to plan the sound system. In the end, we must show the best performance of stage art to the utmost and the most accurately.

On the issue of "stereo reinforcement" in auditorium of Theatre

Recently, some people have over-emphasized the so-called "stereo amplification" in the sound reinforcement system planning, that is, the use of left, middle and right (LCR) three channel settings, each channel of the speaker system for the auditorium amplification to cover up the whole audience, which is called "stereo amplification". In this arrangement, even if the recorded "stereo" music program is replayed, after quantitative analysis of the sound amplification field in the auditorium seat really has stereo effect in the central position of the auditorium, accounting for only about a quarter of all seats. The on-site sound reinforcement used in practical performances can not be called stereo sound reinforcement, only the left, middle and right (LCR) three channel sound reinforcement. Excessive emphasis on stereophonic reinforcement will lead to misleading.