Sound System Design Project Report Evaluation · PDF fileSound System Design Project Report Evaluation ... Abstract 1.0 Engineering ... The Galileo Loudspeaker Management system is

ECE 40020 Sound Reinforcement System Design Spring 2014

Sound System Design Project Report Evaluation

Group Members Time Spent* Initials Score**

Matt Jordan 29 MJ

Rahul Sarma 55 RS

Ishaan Kohli 17 IK

*documented in Activity Log Sheet for each team member, included as Appendix A **may be different for each team member, based on amount of effort proportionally invested

CRITERION SCORE WGT. PTS.

Engineering design process 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2

System design constraint analysis 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2

Design constraint satisfaction 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2

Component selection 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2

Technical content / creativity 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1

Writing style / professionalism 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1

TOTAL

Instructor comments: ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract

1.0 Engineering Design Process 1

2.0 Design Constraint Analysis 3

3.0 Design Constraint Satisfaction 6

4.0 Equipment Selection 8

4.1 Power Amplifier Requirements and Selection 8

4.2 Signal Processing Requirements and Selection 9

4.3 Mixing Console Requirements and Selection 10

4.4 Microphone Requirements and Selection 11

4.5 Rack Requirements and Design 12

4.6 Cabling and Wiring Requirements 13

5.0 Summary and Recommendations 14

6.0 References 15

Appendix A: Activity Logs 16

Appendix B: Venue Illustrations 20

Appendix C: Loudspeaker Placement and EASE Simulation Results 22

Appendix D: Signal Path Wiring Diagram 27

Appendix E: Rack Design and Power Sequencing/Distribution 29

Appendix F: System Component List and Street Price Cost Estimate 32

Appendix G: Manufacturer Data Sheets 34



Abstract This report documents the design of a complete sound reinforcement system tailored for a generic,

4000-seat fan-shaped multi-purpose auditorium, with (approximately) 3000 seats on the main floor

and 1000 seats on the first (and only) balcony. Room dimensions and configuration should be chosen

based on the specified seating capacity.

The primary system design constraints are as follows:

▪ minimum SPL of 105 dB at back row of seating

▪ no more than ±5 dB variation in SPL over the entire seating space for the 1 KHz, 2 KHz, 4

KHz, and 8 KHz frequency bands

▪ frequency response of 40 – 16,000 Hz ± 5 dB

▪ %ALCONS no greater than 10% over entire seating space

▪ minimum 48-channel mixing console

▪ minimum of 4 separate monitor mixes (and corresponding monitor loudspeaker systems – may

choose an in-ear monitoring system as an alternative)

▪ support for a minimum of 20 compatible wireless microphone channels (include

transmitters/receivers for at least 20 channels)

▪ good assortment of general-purpose wired and wireless microphone systems for speaking,

individual vocalists, a variety of musical instruments, choral performances

▪ digital media recording/playback capability

▪ all equipment mounted in rack cabinet(s)

▪ budget of $500,000


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1. Engineering Design Process

The biggest advantage of designing an auditorium from scratch is that the venue can be

designed around the sound reinforcement system in order to extract the best possible

performance out of the selected equipment. The horizontal coverage angle of the speakers as

well as the coverage depth were factored into the overall venue dimensions. The venue was

constantly modified and altered throughout the design process in order to fit the system requirements

and work well together with the sound reinforcement system. Although the first iteration of our venue

had a length greater than 55 meters, it soon became quite apparent that a longer venue would need

multiple delay systems to provide even coverage. This increased spectral variance throughout the

venue to more than ± 5 dB over the entire operating range, which was not ideal. Shortening the length

of the venue to under 45 meters worked wonders for the loudspeaker coverage, allowing us to use 2

flying arrays above the stage to effectively cover the entire audience area with only the help of front

fills.

After this, the venue dimensions were continually tweaked in order to get sufficient under-

balcony coverage. For this reason, the depth of the balcony was reduced and the entire balcony was

moved higher in order to prevent any interference from the edge of the balcony. In order to reduce the

length of the venue and still meet the seating requirements of the venue, the width was increased

considerably. The wide, fan shaped design had another advantage, which was that it allowed each

array sufficient horizontal coverage without them interacting with each other and causing undesirable

lobes. The center aisle was made as wide as possible in order to minimize the speaker overlap in the

center of the venue. Care was take to ensure that there were no parallel surfaces in the entire hall,

which will prevent standing waves from adversely affecting the sound reinforcement system. In

particular, flutter echoes, which normally occur between spaced parallel walls, will be minimized due

to this venue design.

Initially, all of the surface materials where highly absorptive, which resulted in an ALCONS

(Articulation loss of consonance) level of 3.4%. Such a low ALCONS level had the potential to

sound unnatural, since the ideal recommended ALCONS level for live system reinforcement is


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between 4 -7%. Another important consideration we had to take into account is that the highly

absorbent materials drastically reduced the high frequency coverage of the system. Since a single

array was being used to cover the entire audience area, it was critical for the surface materials to

support good high frequency coverage and compensate for losses due to pink shift. For this reason,

materials towards the back of the auditorium were modified to allow a bit more high frequency

reflection. Acoustic tiling on the ceiling was replaced with a wooden slotted ceiling that diffuses

sound without absorbing it, increasing the “liveness” of the venue.

Seats at the back of the auditorium under the balcony were chosen to be made of wood as

opposed to the leather seats in other audience areas. This allowed for even speech intelligibility

across the venue, with high frequencies being absorbed near the stage but gently reflected at the back

of the hall. The back walls were made out of engineered concrete blocks that are both absorbers and

diffusers. This was important to prevent direct sound from reflecting straight back onto the stage and

affecting performers and also audience members, to whom the delay between direct and reflected

sound will be painfully apparent. The front of the balcony was lined with Auralex bass traps in order

to prevent undesired low frequency interactions. This was a more practical approach than using split

mains to cover the venue, which would have required extra mounting hardware`The floor between

audience areas was concrete with carpet, and the side walls were concrete with thin drapes, this

prevented too much absorption while still preventing the ALCONS level from becoming too high.

The final obtained ALCONS level was a desirable 6.8%, which meets the design requirements but

also strikes the balance between live and dead sound.

The biggest issue we faced in this system design was the availability of EASE data from

loudspeaker manufacturers. There is no standardized resolution between manufacturers, nor does

every manufacturer have EASE data for all of their products. Also, modifying the EASE

preconfigured auditorium was a challenge; there was a point when the changes made the venue

completely unrecognizable, and the limitations of EASE 3D extrusion modeling became quite

apparent. It was finally decided to build a new venue from scratch to accommodate the new

architectural constraints that we had discovered during the design phase.


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Rahul was in charge of the venue design, loudspeaker selection and placement and EASE

simulations. It was important for all of those tasks to be coherent, which is why it made sense for one

person to do all of them. To overcome the EASE resolution compatibility issue, Rahul chose all the

speakers from the same manufacturer (JBL) so that the resolution of all speakers modeled in the

venue are consistent. He also modified the venue to suit the speaker system, and then worked with

gain tapering, adjusting splay angles and equalization of the individual array elements to get the most

even coverage. His task also included selecting and modifying all the materials in order to go hand in

hand with the venue and the sound reinforcement system. It was clear early on that Matt undertook

the challenging task of fully understanding the components and processes involved in using a fully

digital networking based system. This involved detailed research into Cobranet and other digital

protocols. He identified the power conditioning and sequencing requirements of the system based on

which he designed the racks. He also created the signal flow diagrams for this report, to show the

power sequencing application as well as the overall signal flow of the sound reinforcement system.

Ishaan picked out and researched suitable mixing consoles as well as microphones for the right

applications. He worked to find a reliable console for live sound mixing that would be compatible

with Cobranet and reduce the overall latency of the system. The remaining tasks were worked on

together as a group.

2. Design Constraint Analysis

The Meyer Sound LYON system was initially chosen to be the loudspeaker system for our

venue. The Galileo Loudspeaker Management system is widely considered to be one of the best

systems for DSP and array management, and we decided very early on to use it along with the Meyer

Sound family of speakers to create desirable sound reinforcement for our venue. Unfortunately,

Meyer sound does not have EASE data for all their loudspeakers, and we were forced to abandon the

LYON system. This was extremely disappointing, especially since we had designed our initial venue

around the coverage patterns of LYON. We then switched to the M series of speakers with the MILO

high power curvilinear speakers for the main arrays. However, in the room designed for LYON, the

power output of MILO was too low and we were unable to get reliable coverage above 100 dB at all

listening positions. Modifying the venue did not help much, since we still had to make sure we had a

minimum seating space of 4000 seats. Introducing multiple MILO arrays as side fills and under


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balcony fills created a new problem. The spectral variance across seating areas varies considerably

with the addition of more sound sources. As a result we were forced to discard Meyer Sound

altogether and instead try out other, more powerful line array systems from JBL, EV and QSC.

Eventually, despite its lower resolution EASE data, we chose to use the JBL VerTec series array due

to its high SPL outputs. Since we were able to consistently simulate Total SPL levels greater than 120

dB at the back rows of the auditorium, we were able to manage without delay systems other than

front fills.

Initially, we had placed the more compact MILO arrays closer to and above the stage.

However, this was not a possibility with the large VerTec Array; its larger and more conspicuous

presence would certainly be undesirable in the middle of the stage. In fact, we widened the stage and

moved the arrays to the corners of the stage in order to prevent the arrays from ruining the aesthetics

of the venue. While aware that this does affect the horizontal localization of sources on stage, it was a

necessary compromise in order to preserve the functionality of the venue. Despite being a heavier

array, the J.B.L. VerTec series come with integrated mounting hardware for the patented J.B.L.

S.A.F.E. mounting mechanism, which has multiple features to ensure safety. For example, mounting

line array elements require the use of quick release pins to connect them together that will not

unfasten until an element has been loaded and fully secured in the array.

By selecting a fully powered speaker system with networked audio capabilities, we were able

to make this an extremely economical system to wire and configure. Running multiple channels of

audio over single ethernet cables dramatically reduces the overall number of points of susceptibility

in the system. Each line array element also features a completely modular I/O back panel which

basically future-proofs the loudspeaker system. JBL constantly offer updates and improvements to

hardware and software, allowing their products to be upgraded and kept up to modern standards.

Although the current networked system provided in this report passes audio over a single network

cable and does not have built in redundancy, it will not be very expensive to upgrade the network

architecture to include redundancies. One possibility is the creation of a mesh/self-healing network

that will automatically switch to working network paths. The mixing console was chosen due to its

Cobranet compatibility, this will allow it full network control without any issues of latency that non

compatible devices that operate using different protocols like AES will face. By using digital audio,


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the signal is less susceptible to noise and interference as well as signal degradation over distance. An

I/O stage rack is provided so that long XLR snakes will not have to be run over the length of the

auditorium.

Microphones were chosen based on their suitability and durability for live applications. Shure

SM 57 and SM 58 microphones are solid, reliable and great sounding dynamic microphones that will

serve as long term instrument and vocal amplification requirements. Although drums can be

amplified with regular instrument microphones, we felt that it would be useful to have microphones

that are designed specifically for this purpose would be a big advantage. Normally, drum miking is a

complicated process that requires careful consideration regarding mic pickup patterns, phase

differences and appropriate acoustic separation. A Heil HDK 8 piece drum microphone kit will

reduce the difficulty of matching microphones to individual drum elements and lower the required

proficiency level of the sound board operator.

Electrical safety has to be given priority; despite cutting down on cabling requirements and

cost, there are many components in the system that need AC power and will have to be addressed.

For this reason, a few basic safety points need to be considered (Center for Safety in the Arts, 1997).

All AC circuits must be grounded, and circuits from portable switchboards need to have over current

protection. All electrical outlets should be recessed, and back feeding of circuits should not be

allowed. Following these few basic rules in the system implementation and operation will prevent

any untoward incidents that compromise the safety of all individuals involved. Appropriate power

sequencing and conditioning is also important in a system with a great deal of expensive pro-audio

equipment. This has been addressed in the rack design, with appropriate power conditioning and

sequencing from Furman built in to the system.

3. Design Constraint Satisfaction

With the large VerTec Array, its conspicuous form would certainly be undesirable in the

middle of the stage. As a result, we widened the stage and moved the arrays to the corners in order to

prevent the arrays from ruining the aesthetics of the venue. Each array is placed 15 meters from the

floor level and spaced 16 meters apart. They are angled 15 degrees away from the horizontal (away


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from each other). The topmost element in the array is pointed 3 degrees up to cover the entire balcony

seating area.

The JBL VerTec 4889 ADP-CN was chosen to be the main array element due to its high

power output. The VerTec 4888 DP-CN was used for frontfill sound reinforcement due to its smaller

enclosure but similar coverage patter to the 4889 ADP-CN. The JBL VerTec 4880 ADP-CN powered

subwoofer was chosen as it is the same size as the VerTec 4889 and works with the same rigging and

support structures. This selection of loudspeakers has a much higher SPL output than the Meyer

Sound MILO speakers that were initially considered; they were not able to consistently provide an

SPL level above 105 at all seating positions.

Despite being a heavier array, the J.B.L. VerTec series come with integrated mounting

hardware for the patented J.B.L. S.A.F.E. mounting mechanism, which has multiple features to

ensure safety. For example, it features quick release pins that connect between each array element,

and they will not release until an element has been loaded and fully secured in the array.

All S.A.F.E. hardware is designed, engineered, and certified with a 6:1 Safety Ratio, which means the

that the support structure must be capable of supporting 6 times the weight of the array. The preferred

way for flying array elements to be connected to each other include connecting the top truss of one

element to another using 2 connecting bars on each side attached with a quick release pin. For curved

arrays, as is the case here, a Locking Steel Caribiner (ASF-LSC) will also be required to allow high

splay angles.

The support structure for the J arrays had to take into account safety, usability and venue

aesthetics. Using a pair of line array towers and a truss that goes across the front of the stage is a

common option at multipurpose venues, since the truss can also be used for lighting requirements.

(Craig Leerman) However, venue aesthetics were a big consideration and hence this method was

ruled out. Construction lifts are often used to fly loudspeakers at outdoor venues where rigging has to

be done in a limited mount of time. We decided that the venue required a more permanent solution,

one that would be aesthetically pleasing in the venue. Since the venue is being designed and built

from scratch, we can incorporate a permanent installation of the sound reinforcement system. For this

reason, the J arrays will be “dead hang flown”, which means that the J array will be connected to a


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structural ceiling beam without a motor or lift. However, it is important that the structural integrity of

these beams are designed and evaluated by an experienced civil engineer before arrays are mounted.

Access to the arrays can be through personnel lifts or scaffolding.

In order to satisfy the design constraints, the splay angle between speakers had to be adjusted

and each individual array element required equalization. This was especially true for the speakers that

were higher up in the array that required high frequency reinforcement for the longer travelling sound

waves. For the the top 5 array elements, frequencies above 2kHz were boosted between 3 and 6 dB to

compensate for pink shift loss. Splay angle was also kept to a minimum for this reason. As you can

see from the EASE simulation - the painstaking venue design, speaker selection, positioning, and

equalization resulted in very even coverage over the 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, and 8kHz frequency bands.

The venue has a total of 4200 seats, and all of the design constraints are met, including minimum

SPL, spectral variance and %ALCONS level. There was a noticeable amount of acoustic power

addition in the center of the venue, and although this increases the overall system efficiency, it

resulted in slightly uneven SPL coverage of the venue. For this reason, the aisle was designed to be in

the center of the venue and 4 meters wide. This means that maximum acoustic power addition will

occur in the aisles and allow the audience areas to be covered evenly, resulting in a total SPL

coverage of ±2 dB SPL across all seating areas. This is well within the system design requirement of

±5 dB SPL. This is especially impressive as the venue is being covered only with 2 main arrays and

front fills.

4. Equipment Selection

1.1. Power Amplifier Requirements and Selection

Selecting the amplifiers for this design was a very short process. We chose to utilize an

entirely active system which means that the amplification and digital signal processing were

completed within each individual speaker. All of the alternatives considered were actively amplified

as well. By selecting actively powered speakers the amplifier requirements are sure to be met because


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the manufacturer obviously designed the amplifier and speaker to be paired together. The only

requirement for us to consider then is the AC power demands.

The included amplifiers are JBL Drivepack DP-3 amplifiers. They employ a highly efficient

class I amplifier topology that allows it to be run at higher levels with less energy use because the

reactive energy is used again instead of dissipating it as heat. This also keeps the speakers much

cooler. For the front fill and our main arrays the DP-3 at load outputs 6000W Peak and 3000W

Continuous, while when used in the subwoofers the DP-3 outputs 6900W Peak and 3500W

Continuous. Electrical wattage calculations are not necessary as the amplifiers are integrated with the

speaker.

The AC requirements are not overly strenuous for the system. The VT4888 and VT4889, used

for front fill and mains respectively, only require 6A while the VT4880, used for subs, require 15A as

the bass bumps draw the heavy power. There are 10 units in each of the two main arrays, 6 units in

each of the two sub arrays, and 3 front fills calling for a total of 318A to be distributed. We are

assuming a US location so this is based off of the provided specifications for 120V operation. Power

distribution, sequencing, and conditioning will be covered in section 4.5.

1.2. Signal Processing Requirements and Selection

Since we are already utilizing the active amplification of the JBL DP-3 module, it was only

logical to use the internal digital signal processing as well. This allows each speaker to have its own

dedicated DSP on the fly, all controlled from the front of house via a CobraNet system. CobraNet is a

digital audio over Ethernet system and makes the decentralized DSP easy, efficient and possible.

The DP-3 offers a wide range of digital sign processing functions. These include a delay of up

to 2 seconds, equalization, level control, limiting, and included signal generation functionality (JBL

2010). All of the functions are remotely controllable via HiQnet System Architect over the CobraNet

network. The compatible software is available for personal computers as well as tablets so the


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operator can adjust the DSP functionality from anywhere in the venue. Up to 50 presets can be stored

so the venue can be quickly adjusted to meet the requirements of multiple acts.

Overall we decided to to implement the on board DSP over more traditional methods for

several reasons. First, we are paying for the functionality regardless since it is included in the same

system providing the active amplification. Second, the DP-3 provides all of the required functionality

and more all while being connected through CobraNet. The CobraNet compatibility is the huge

selling point, however. The ability to control each speaker individually and remotely using only 1

wire to transmit everything is a huge convenience factor that should not be over looked. A signal path

wiring diagram is included in Appendix D.

1.3. Mixing Console Requirements and Selection

The mixing console was primarily based on our needs of connectivity with CobraNet. Since

we chose to have a digital environment for our connectivity between speakers with CobraNet, we

needed a mixer which would support it.

Initially, for our first venue without CobraNet connectivity we chose the Allen and Heath

Ilive-R72 as our mixing console. It was later discovered that this console doesn’t support CobraNet.

Thus, we had to switch our mixing console to something that could support our digitized

environment. The ILIVE-R72 had 12 faders, audio and control over single CAT5 and 8 audio in and

out ports. This console met all the constraints set for the project but it didn’t fulfill our needs.


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After doing a little more research after finalizing our venue and connectivity design, we chose

the Yamaha M7CL mixing console as our final console. This console has 56 inputs and 64 outputs

which satisfy the minimum requirements of at least 48 channel mixing console as specified in the

abstract. This console can be connected to iPads, Laptops for control. Anyone in FOH can monitor

the speakers through the console and adjust the DSP and even record audio using a laptop or an iPad.

The best feature about this console was the CobraNet connectivity to create a digitize

environment for speakers and reduce wiring by a huge amount. We can install 3MY16 CobraNet

cards in the mixers 16 channels, each for 48 digital channels, reducing the wiring significantly. This

mixer also features the HA gain which means that it can adjust the gain of the console’s input

channels head amplifiers over a 72-dB range if needed. The Direct EQ control feature allows the user

control any of the 31 bands on the graphic EQ via the trademark centralogic faders from Yamaha.

The M7CL mixer can be properly placed on a workstation whenever required. The

input/output connectivity is one of the best things for the mixer due to which it was chosen in our

final design

1.4. Microphone Requirements and Selection

Microphone selection was mostly based on the constraints provided and the fact that many

different types of instruments could benefit from various types of microphones. We took in to

account the frequency response, impedance, directionality of the mics etc. For eg: If the mics used for

drums are omnidirectional, that might lead to bleeding in the sound. After looking at the above

specifications, we chose the following microphones for our design:

■ (1) Heil HDK - 8

■ (1) DPA Mic 4099P

■ (10) Shure - SM57

■ (10) Shure - SM58


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The Heil HDK – 8 is a 8 piece drum mic set specifically made for drum sets. This mic set is

perfectly placed in front of the pieces of the drums and aligns perfectly to the height of the pieces.

The DPA mic 4099P is a perfect match for pianos. This microphone has a built in windscreen

and shock mount. It can also be magnetically mounted on the piano frame. It has a supposedly flat

frequency response, high gain before feedback and excellent phase characteristic.

For general musical instruments such as Guitar, Trumpets etc, we chose the ever reliable

Shure SM57’s. These mics has extremely good reputation and a long history to prove it reliability.

We chose to get the Shure SM57 package which includes the mount so that it can be perfectly

mounted. We plan to use the SM57’s for all the other musical instruments that may be present during

the performance.

Finally we chose the Shure SM58 for general vocals and speaking as again they are extremely

reliable. The frequency response for this mic is tailored for vocals with brightened midrange and bass

roll off which makes it perfect for the vocals. Another good feature is the the Pneumatic shock-mount

system which cuts down the handling noise. The frequency response ranges from 50 to 15,000 Hz.

We chose to get 10 of these wonderful mics for vocals and speaking as there is no other contender in

this category to win over the SM 58’s.

We used the Shure in-ear monitors after comparing it with the Clear-Com single ear headset

(XLR-4F). The Shure PSM-1000 system allows up to 20 wireless in ear monitors at once which

vastly surpasses the design requirements.

1.5. Rack Requirements and Design

Like the rest of the design, the rack specifications were quite minimalist. The design does not

call for much hardware due to the active speaker selection with integrated digital signal processing.

This meant that most of the space required came from the power sequencing and conditioning units.

We went with Middle Atlantic racks because they have a good reputation and have high quality units


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available. The BGR-25 and BGR-19 racks that we selected are “furniture grade” according to the

manufacturer. This means that externally they are very aesthetically pleasing so there is no need to try

and hide them away from sight.

Two racks were included with this design. The first rack is stationed in the front of house and

contains 19u’s of space. It will contain a drawers for storage (1u/2u/4u), a 16 port rack mountable

network switch (1u), an EtherCON panel to change EtherCON to unlocked Ethernet cords (1u), and a

Furman PS8R-II power conditioner and sequencer (1u). This rack has 9 empty slots for expansion.

The amount of slots also makes it tall enough for useful desk space in the front of house area All

audio recording and playback functionality is done through the laptop.

The second rack is located back stage and has 25u’s of space available. Inside the rack are 4

Furman ASD-120s for power conditioning and sequencing of the speakers (2u’s each), 1 PS8R-II for

power conditioning and sequencing of the electronics (1u), the PSM-1000 in ear monitor system (1u),

3 microphone pre-amps (1u), a network bridge (1u), a network switch (1u), an EtherCON panel (1u),

and drawers for mic/monitor storage (2u’s each), and a general storage drawer (4u). This is a total of

21u’s occupied with 4u’s of space left that will be used for separation to enhance cooling.

The power sequencers will likely generate the most heat so they will be placed near the top.

After the sequencers there will be a blank space for cooling followed by the wireless monitor

controller. The microphone pre-amps will follow after another blank space for cooling. Under the

pre-amps will be the 2 storage drawers. Lastly the network bridge, network switch, and the

EtherCON panel. This order was chosen to maximize cooling efficiency and to keep the most used

items within reach of a comfortable standing height.

1.6. Cabling and Wiring Requirements


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For this design we tried to make the cabling as condensed as possible. We achieved this goal

through the CobraNet system to transfer audio and control signals over Ethernet instead of using

standard analog cables. With CobraNet it is possible to transfer up to 64 channels of high quality

audio simultaneously on a single wire. The system allows every speaker to be controlled remotely

while only sending 1 line to the front of house.

On the stage we have the ability to capture audio from up to 24 microphones at once and

transmit audio to a max of 20 wireless in ear monitors. The audio at these points is analog and

connects via balanced XLR cables to multiple Yamaha AD8HR where the signals are converted in to

digital audio. The XLR cables were purchased in a variety of lengths (10’/25’/50’) and are run through

under stage multi channel snakes when needed to minimize the tripping hazard. The balanced and

high quality cables will help ensure that sound quality is upheld. From the Yamaha AD8HR the

signals and digitally transferred over to a Yamaha NHB32-C Network Bridge on D-Sub 25 pin

AES/EBU cables. The network bridge takes all of the channels and puts them out on a single Ethernet

cable in full duplex utilizing the CobraNet system.

The CobraNet system connects everything in the auditorium seamlessly. A 16 port network

switch housed stage side is used as the main hub to connect all of the traffic. The network bridge,

mixing table, front of house laptop, and several other switches for the speakers are all connected to

this main hub. There is a star topology of five more 16-port switches connected to the main hub to get

the digital audio to the speakers. Each group of speakers has it’s own switch; the left/right main

arrays, left/right sub arrays, and the front fills. Limiting the number of cables that traverse long

distances is prioritized over utilizing every port in the switches, therefore the switches were placed

near the arrays. This also minimizes the total amount of cabling need.

In general, normal CAT5 Ethernet cables with RJ-45 connectors are used. In some cases, such

as from the main hub to the front of house, there might be tripping hazards which could cause a

normal Ethernet cord to come unplugged. To prevent this from happening we used EtherCON

connections to properly secure the cables in place. EtherCON is a standard Ethernet cable but uses


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the same locking mechanisms at the terminations that XLR cables use to make sure they don’t come

unplugged.

5. Summary and Recommendations

As discussed in the report, we used top of the line powered line array elements from the JBL

VerTec series as our speakers of choice. The venue has been intelligently designed to allow even SPL

coverage and low spectral variance with only 2 main speaker arrays and front fills. Six front fill

speakers were used for the first 10-15 rows to provide even coverage even at the front of the hall. The

overall ALCONS level of 6.8% is extremely good and falls well within the system requirement of

<10% ALCONS.

The Yamaha M7CL mixing console was chosen due to the excellent connectivity with

CobraNet to make it a digitized environment. We also have on board DSP and Amplification. Shure

In-ear monitoring system was used to monitor the sound in the entire venue. An assortment of wired

and wireless microphones for various types of equipment and vocals were chosen while keeping the

constraints in mind. This includes a specific drum microphone kit as well as a number of vocal and

instrument microphones that will be necessary in a multi-purpose auditorium.

Extra money can be used to expand and upgrade the mixing console. The money could also be

invested in the design of scalable and reliable network architecture.To future-proof the system from

future changes in technology, we selected line array elements with modular panels on the back. We

recommend that extra money also be used to regularly upgrade the system without an overhaul of the

entire system. Audio over network cabling is the way of the future, and our upgradable and scalable

system design allows this multipurpose venue to be on the cutting edge of technology for many years

to come.

6. References


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Cobranet HOME | CobraNet HOME. (n.d.).CobraNet. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from

http://www.cobranet.info/

JBL Professional. (2010). DPDA Input Module [PDF]. Retrieved from www.jblpro.com.

JBL Professional. (2008). VT4880ADP [PDF]. Retrieved from www.jblpro.com.

JBL Professional. (2008) VT4888DP [PDF]. Retrieved from www.jblpro.com.

JBL Professional (2008). VT4889ADP [PDF]. Retrieved from www.jblpro.com.

Center for Safety in the Arts. "THEATER SAFETY." University of Illinois at Chicago -

UIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

Craig Leerman. "Live Sound: Defying Gravity…Safely: Approaches And Best Practices In

Flying Loudspeakers." Pro Sound Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

Appendix A:


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Activity Logs


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Activity Log for: Matt Jordan Role: Wiring, DSP, Amplification, Racks, Power,

Flow Charts

Activity Date Start Time End Time Time Spent

EASE Tutorial 22 April 9:45 11:45 2 Hr

Venue Design 23 April 8:00 11:00 3 Hrs

Poster 28 April 7:00 8:00 1 Hr

Design Showcase 2 May 4:00 5:00 1 Hr

Power sequencing and conditioning 6 May 8:00 11:00 4 Hrs

Team meeting 7 May 7:30 8:30 1 Hr

CobraNet 7-8 May 9:00 2:00 6 Hrs

Presentation preparation 8 May 9:00 11:00 2 Hrs

Work on final report 9 May 12:30 9:30 9 Hrs


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Activity Log for: Rahul Sarma Role: Venue design, Speaker selection & placement, EASE simulations


EASE Tutorial 22 April 9:45 11:45 2 Hr

Venue Design 24 April 11:00 2:00 15Hrs


Loudspeaker selection 2 May 8:00 16:00 8Hrs

Loudspeaker placement/EASE simulation 6 May 8:00 23:00 15 Hrs

Team meeting 7 May 7:30 8:30 1 Hr





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Activity Log for: Ishaan Kohli Role: Microphones and Mixing console



Microphones 1 May 7:30 8:30 4 Hr

Mixing console 2 May 8:00 16:00 4 Hrs

Team meeting 7 May 7:30 9:30 2 Hrs




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Appendix B:

Venue Illustrations


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Appendix C:

Loudspeaker Placement and EASE Simulation Results


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-25-


-26-


-27-


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Appendix D:

Signal Path Wiring Diagram


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-30-

Appendix E:

Rack Design and Power Sequencing/Distribution


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-32-


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Appendix F:

System Component List and

Street Price Estimate


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D-Link DGS-1016D 16-Port Switch $127.99 6 $767.94

Netgear XSM7224S 24-Port Managed Switch $7,299.95 1 $7,299.95

Yamaha AD8HR A/D Mic Preamp $2,315.99 3 $6,947.97

Yamaha NHB32-C Network Bridge $3,524.95 1 $3,524.95

Yamaha MY16-CII CobraNet Card $764.95 1 $764.95

Shure PSM-1000 In-Ear Wireless Monitors $5,105.00 2 $10,210.00

Furman ASD-120 Power Sequence/Condition $699.95 4 $2,799.80

Furman PS8R II Power Sequence/Condition $269.95 2 $539.90

Middle Atlantic BGR-25 25u Rack $2,038.60 1 $2,038.60

Middle Atlantic BGR-19 19u Rack $1,939.14 1 $1,939.14

Cable Whole Sale 10X6-002SH Cat5e Ethernet Cable $104.63 2 $209.26

Aviom 20-EC-EC EtherCON Rack Panel $175.00 2 $350.00

Kopel 25' XLR $20.00 20 $400.00

Kopel 10' XLR $16.00 20 $320.00

Whirlwind 12 Channel Snake $270.00 2 $540.00

Whirlwind 6 Channel Snake $180.00 2 $360.00

JBL Pro VT4889ADP Main Array Speakers $12,211.00 20 $244,220.00

JBL Pro VT4888DP Front Fill Speakers $9,560.00 6 $57,360.00

JBL Pro VT4880ADP Subwoofer Array Speakers $8,449.00 8 $67,592.00

JBL Pro Frame and rigging $4,300.00 1 $4,300.00

Yamaha M7CL Digital Mixer $11,500.00 1 $11,500.00

Yamaha MY16C-II CobraNet Card $764.95 3 $2,294.85

Heil HDK-8 8 piece drum mic set $1,652.00 1 $1,652.00

DPA 4099P Piano mic set $1,099.00 1 $1,099.00

Shure SM58 Vocal mics $100.00 10 $1,000.00

Shure SM57 Instrument mics $100.00 4 $400.00

TOTAL $430,700.3


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Appendix G:

Manufacturer Data Sheets


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https://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/ary_safe.pdf http://www.jblpro.com/ProductAttachments/JBL_VT4880ADP.v8.pdf http://www.jblpro.com/ProductAttachments/DPDA_InputModule_SpecSheet.pdf http://www.jblpro.com/ProductAttachments/JBL_VT4889ADP.v7.pdf http://www.jblpro.com/ProductAttachments/DOC_1089.pdf http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/GSM5212P/ProSafe_CLI%209-0-2.pdf http://cdn.shure.com/specification_sheet/upload/162/PSM_1000_Spec_Sheet.pdf http://download.yamaha.com/api/asset/file/?language=en&site=ae.yamaha.com&asset_id=46698 http://download.yamaha.com/api/asset/file/?language=en&site=ae.yamaha.com&asset_id=46638 http://www.furmansound.com/pdf/datasheets/ASD-120_datasheet.pdf http://www.furmansound.com/pdf/datasheets/PS-8R_II_datasheet.pdf

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