Primacoustic Broadway – Acoustic Panels
Primacoustic Broadway is a range of high performance fabric covered acoustic panels designed for use in applications where superior acoustic performance is desired and safety is of utmost concern.
Made from high density 6lb per cubic foot (96 kg/m³) glass wool, Broadway panels have up to six times greater density than typical foam panels for balanced absorption throughout the audio listening range. Each panel is fully encapsulated with micromesh and edges are resin hardened to assure safe handling during installation. Panels are then covered in a tough yet acoustically transparent fabric and offered in three ‘architecturally neutral’ colors with choice of square or bevelled edges. Panels may alternately be re-covered with any breathable fabric to suit those with greater artistic flare.
Description
The problem with communicating in a house of worship
People attend a house of worship to be inspired, supported and provide answers to their life questions. In a traditional choral based, non-amplified setting, the demands on the acoustical performance of a space can be at odds with each other. While the music requires a lush, reverberant treatment, the spoken word can often be lost in a wash of echo. As congregants grow older and the use of hearing assist products becomes more prevalent, these contrasting needs are intensified. Sound bouncing from hard stone, gypsum, and marble surfaces competes with the echo and reverberant field, smearing the audio making speech intelligibility a challenge for the congregation. The message is lost. Increasing the volume by turning up the PA system only serves to worsen the situation. The room becomes over excited without an escape hatch for the acoustic energy.
How can Primacoustic help you?
In simple terms, you want to remove the excess problem energy from the room while retaining some of the natural ambiance. Applying 2” thick (5cm) acoustic panels to 12-17% of the available wall surface area provides sufficient control to ensure that the spoken word is articulate and precise while retaining the richness of the room’s natural reverberation – an attribute that is fundamental to the environment. As the amount of reverberant energy is decreased, congregants wearing hearing assist devices will no longer be plagued by the compression circuitry that boosts all sounds to the same level causing confusion and lack of comprehension. Broadway panels are affixed to the wall surfaces using Primacoustic Impalers™ and installation is as easy as putting up a picture. Placement is not critical as the reverberant field is omnipresent. If wall space is limited, baffles or clouds may be discreetly suspended from the ceiling using eyehooks and adjustable wires. Improving intelligibility enables the congregants to understand every nuance of a carefully worded sermon while the natural reverberation preserves and enhances the natural sound of acoustic instruments and voices whether soloists or in ensembles.
Executive Summary
- Improves speech intelligibility while preserving the all-important natural reverberation
- More controlled acoustical environment allows greater control over PA system
- Delivers better sound quality to all pews and congregants
- Passive technology is never obsolete and never requires service
- Addresses the causes of poor sound-not the symptoms