Archives of Acoustics, 37, 3, pp. 323–329, 2012

Multi-Channel System for Sound Creation in Open Areas

Andrzej GOŁAŚ
AGH University of Science and Technology

Katarzyna SUDER-DĘBSKA
AGH University of Science and Technology

There are typically two systems in use for sound reinforcement in open areas: the central, “wall of
sound” system with speakers localized at the sides of the stage, and the zone system, in which additional
speakers are introduced to obtain a uniform sound pressure level throughout the area of listening. In
the past two decades the line array systems gained great popularity. The main purpose of their use is to
obtain a uniformly distributed sound level throughout the listening area in order to achieve good speech
intelligibility. The present paper aims to present an alternative and original method of sound reinforcement
in open areas which is in contrast to the above solutions. This new method allows achieving a uniformly
distributed sound pressure and good speech intelligibility in the area of interest, and also allows to gain
spatial sound impression that accompanies sound reproduction in concert halls. Another advantage of
the proposed system is the reduction of the sound level outside the area of interest, i.e. reduction of the
noise level outside the area of listening.
Keywords: sound creation system; open area; spatial impression; noise; geometrical method; inverse image source method
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