Sound Engineering & Electroacoustics

When music or speech is to be presented to a larger audience, a sound reinforcement system must be employed. Larger sound systems can be extremely complex and require careful advance planning, coordinated measurement-supported commissioning and, where applicable, ongoing operational monitoring. Kramer Schalltechnik GmbH offers a comprehensive range of services in this field:

Planning and Simulation:

Planning of sound reinforcement systems (centralised and decentralised)
Prediction of sound pressure level distribution
Prediction of frequency responses
Prediction of speech intelligibility, STI (DIN EN 60268-16)
Prediction of immission levels (e.g. forecast for regulatory approval of events)
Design and optimisation of cluster and line-array directivity for large sound systems
Design and optimisation of bass arrays for directional bass radiation in large sound systems
Calculation of delays and levels for decentralised sound systems

Measurement and Commissioning:

Measurement of speech intelligibility, STI (DIN EN 60268-16)
Commissioning measurements for public address and emergency warning systems (DIN EN 60849, DIN VDE 0833, DIN EN 60268-16)
Alignment of phases and levels between system components
Alignment of delays for decentralised sound systems
Alignment of array filters for directional sound radiation
Frequency response equalisation
Limiting to protect against overload
Limiting to comply with immission guide values
Commissioning / setup / optimisation of permanently installed sound systems

Operational Monitoring:

Monitoring of indoor sound levels (DIN 15905-5)
Acoustic accompaniment through measurement of immission levels at relevant receptor locations, e.g. to comply with regulatory requirements at events
Event accompaniment (system engineering): dynamic adjustment of the sound system to situational conditions and the needs of performers

Combined Room and Electroacoustic Optimisation

When sound systems are deployed in enclosed spaces, intelligibility and speech comprehension are determined both by the room acoustics themselves and by the characteristics and orientation of the sound reinforcement system. Both factors are closely interrelated and should not be considered in isolation.

We produce a catalogue of measures for room acoustic optimisation and design a matching sound reinforcement concept to achieve a balanced sound pressure distribution, a well-balanced sound and good speech intelligibility.

Acoustically Sensitive Rooms and Monitoring Systems

In the control rooms of recording studios or outside broadcast vehicles, combined room-acoustic and electroacoustic problems frequently arise that make objective assessment of the mix very difficult for the sound engineer. We carry out the optimisation of acoustically demanding and sensitive listening environments. Applicable reference guidelines include EBU Tech. 3276, EBU Tech. Supplement 1 and AES Technical Document 1001.0.01-05.

Kramer Schalltechnik GmbH accompanies the optimisation of the listening situation from room-acoustic measures (absorbers, resonators, diffusers) through to high-precision equalisation of the monitoring system. Optionally, we offer the design of Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters to simultaneously equalise both the specific room and the existing monitoring system in a phase-linear manner.

Room-acoustic optimisation of recording and broadcast control rooms
Equalisation of the monitoring system
Optional design of combined FIR filter sets for simultaneous equalisation of room acoustics and monitoring system
Level-setting and calibration of the monitoring system (multi-channel, surround)