Carnegie Museum of Art upgrades audio

By Roger Maycock
One of the crown jewels of greater Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Museum of Art offers a distinguished collection of contemporary works that includes film and video, American art from the late nineteenth century, French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, and European and American decorative arts from the late seventeenth century.

At the entrance to the multilevel facility is a very impressive grand foyer. Measuring 150 x 60 x 55 (length, width, height), the foyer features marble pillars and floors, plus an ornate metal balcony and a parabolic ceiling–creating a stunning entrance. These materials create an equally stunning challenge for anyone tasked with upgrading the area’s sound reinforcement system–as was the case for Albany, NY-based IPLogic, Inc.

The quest for improved sound began during a speech given by Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan. A client of IPLogic who is also a museum benefactor was attending the event and, discouraged by what he described as "some of the most garbled, unintelligible sound" he had encountered, decided there must be a solution. Hence, a dialog with museum officials to rectify the situation ensued.

According to Peter Grosskopf, Sales Support Engineer for IPLogic, "We were confronted with a 5.6 second delay time, compounded by an antiquated sound system utilizing a single feed with wide dispersion speakers firing at 360 degrees into the foyer. From one step to the next, you were either in or out of phase with the audio. Adding to the challenge was the fact that no new holes could be drilled, no wires could be shown, and only existing channel paths could be utilized for the upgraded system." After considerable research, the decision was made to implement a 70-volt distributed audio system consisting of Factor 5 and Factor 9T surface mount loudspeakers from the DAS Audio catalog.

To help stem the lengthy reverb time in the space, the IPLogic design team recommended drapes or limited amounts of carpet be installed. Museum officials declined for aesthetic reasons, and recognized sacrifices would result. "While management discourages use of the room because of its sub par acoustics," notes Grosskopf, "it still gets booked roughly 300 dates a year because it is such a magnificent area. In addition to lectures and exhibits, they even have the occasional small music ensemble performances."

Initiated in June 2006 and completed one month later at a cost of $40K, the IPLogic team installed eighteen DAS Audio Factor 9T loudspeakers, with nine units on each side of the lower grand foyer at a height of 15 feet and spaced 15 feet apart. Each group of three loudspeakers was configured as an individual zone so that control over the delay, phasing, and EQ could be precisely defined. Twenty-four Factor 5 loudspeakers were positioned along the ceiling area and aimed down at the balcony. These are used solely for low level background music.

Power for the system is provided by three Inter-M QD-4690 amplifiers outfitted with QT-4690 70-volt output transformers. A Rane MLM 103 mic/line mixer handles input chores for microphones and a Denon DNT625 combo CD/tape deck, while a Rane RPM 26z programmable multiprocessor and an MRS 4 memory recall switch calls pre-programmed setups for the area.

The Rane MRS 4 is the key to simplified operation of the system. Interfacing directly with the multiprocessor, the unit’s four buttons are labeled statue end, fireplace end, center, and balcony. These settings are pre-configured to the four primary areas where events occur. The museum’s staff simply presses the button corresponding to the zone where the activity is to take place, and the system automatically delays the appropriate speakers so one’s attention is directed to that area of the room.

Grosskopf reports that because of concerns about altering the room’s appearance, museum officials expressed reservation over the size of the loudspeakers. "It took some effort to convince them the speakers we were recommending could blend unobtrusively into the environment," acknowledged Grosskopf, "so after placing them, we had to wait while management determined whether or not they could live with them. Because of their low profile appearance, the speakers blend in surprisingly well."

After several months of operation, the new sound reinforcement system is gaining rave reviews from all who use it. "We knew at the onset of this project there were problems with the room, and we were perfectly honest about that with the museum’s management. We made it very clear some sacrifices would be made in the name of aesthetics. There is still a huge delay, but by removing the various phasing and delay issues created by the original system and carefully tuning the new system to the room’s characteristics, we were able to make a dramatic improvement to speech intelligibility. The DAS Audio loudspeakers and the Rane processing do a remarkable job with an extremely challenging environment. Best of, we have another happy client."


Sound Audio Systems is a division of Signature Ventures