Even in the smallest or most cash-strapped venues, a properly delayed sound system makes a world of difference, especially in long, reverberant spaces. It effectively halves the reverberation. Think about it: if only one sound wave front is reflected from the rear and side walls, only one echo will be produced. Now imagine six speakers, paired in sets of two and spaced six metres apart. In essence, you’ll have three separate wave fronts (I know this oversimplifies the problem – but the principle holds)

colliding and reflecting from the rear wall with each movement of the speaker cones. That’s three distinct, differently timed signals or echoes returning to the artist, audience, or original speaker.

Now, if we can, by some miracle, time-align all these speakers so that all three pairs – still separated by six metres in real life – hit the rear wall at exactly the same time, we create only a single echo or reverberation. This makes the resulting echo three times less pronounced.

Accurate, delayed sound systems are neither new nor difficult to implement – but for some reason, very few designers or installers make the effort to incorporate them.

Talk to us about custom Studio Sound Absorption Panels, Live Sound in Highly Reverberant Venues, Vocal and Speech Sound in reverberant spaces – or just sound in general. We are Production Wise – www.productionwise.co.za – 0027 (0)82 2254 860 – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.