Stage 2.0: New sound system inaugurated

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Acoustic system enables optimum sound in concert halls

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Here is an excerpt from a report by NDR-Kultur from January 21, 2020 (author Joachim Hagen):

Since the construction of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg, it has been clear how important acoustics are for a concert hall. There has been a long debate about how such a hall should sound. In the context of this discussion, it became clear that the acoustics in many smaller concert halls and multi-genre theaters in Germany do not meet today's standards. On January 16, a sound system was presented in the Forum of the HfMT with which such problems can be solved.

The new acoustic system works through a combination of microphones and loudspeakers. The microphones record the sound on stage and in the hall. The whole thing is then processed and reproduced via loudspeakers. In this way, reflections and reverberation, which would normally be generated by the room itself, can be generated and influenced via the system. A total of almost 50 microphones and 140 loudspeakers are distributed all over the stage and in the auditorium.
The purpose is to be able to change the acoustics of a room at the touch of a button and thus create the right acoustics for different events: from dry acoustics for speech at readings to a large-volume sound for orchestral concerts, Schenke continues.

On January 16, the audience was able to experience just how quickly this can be done during a performance by a piano duo. A moment ago they were sitting in a cathedral, now the two concert grand pianos sound as if they are standing on the stage of a wood-paneled concert hall.

HfMT professor Georg Hajdu had the idea to install the new acoustic system. As part of the nationwide call for proposals for the "Innovative University", he and his team also raised the necessary money from a federal funding pot.
Georg Hajdu hopes that the new acoustic system will also serve as a model for other universities and multi-genre theaters that want to improve the acoustics of their stages but do not have the money for major renovations. In any case, the audience was fascinated by the new sound possibilities after the performance.

Source: NDR