Most auditoriums have only limited acoustic flexibility. Audience and artists have become increasingly more demanding and require a first rate acoustic quality to do justice to the performance of a concert or conference.

This was the reason for a team of acoustic experts to develop a technology which resulted in a fully variable acoustic for auditoriums and other public spaces. Using the very latest electronic developments, the acoustic adjustment of the auditoriums achieved without any compromise to the performance quality of the auditorium. The resulting system is called SIAP (System for Improved Acoustic Performance). Each auditorium has its own unique characteristics.

The SIAP system modifies the hall’s acoustic in a natural way by filling in the missing reflections from each surface and can even, electronically, move those surfaces to acoustically more desirable positions. SIAP offers complete control over the acoustic parameters of the room, offering the most subtle adjustments.

A technology is only of interest if it offers audible as well as measurable improvement for its users. The SIAP system can provide as little change as the improvement of clarity of speech and as much as the acoustic of a cathedral, providing audible as well as measurable improvement for the users of the auditorium. Here are the details of how your auditorium too can become really acoustically multipurpose.

Almost Invisible
The SIAP system, developed by SIAP B.V. at Uden, the Netherlands, consists of three principal elements:

— Microphones to capture the sound on stage and in the auditorium

— Loudspeakers discretely positioned around the auditorium to reproduce the missing reflections and reverberation

— Central equipment comprising an advanced digital processor, amplifiers, and a control panel for selection of the acoustic settings and other functions such as line input and line output

Once installed and tuned, these three elements will provide a significant yet subtle improvement of the acoustics by influencing both the early and late sound energy in the room. The result is astounding — the sound remains natural and the auditorium takes on a new and much more satisfying dimension for artists and audience.

Abstract
From ®The History of Electronic Architecture and Variable Acoustics” by

Wim Prinssen, SIAP B.V.
Uden, The Netherlands

and

Dr. Peter D’Antonio
RPG Diffusor Systems, Inc.
Upper Marlboro, MD, USA

In this brief history of electronic architecture, we attempt to apprise the reader of the various developments that have led to the System for Improved Acoustic Performance. We describe three paradigm shifts which have taken place in the almost 50 years of electronic architecture development. The shifts from "single purpose" to "multipurpose facilities", from "acoustic feedback systems" to "discrete reflection generation systems" and from a superimposed "complete acoustics approach" to a complementary "optimized performance approach". We begin with a description of how our society is moving from "single purpose" toward "multipurpose" facilities and how the needs for variable acoustics are best met through DSP based electronic architecture approaches. The advantages and disadvantages of three generations of electronic architecture systems are presented. We describe a shift in philosophy from acoustic feedback systems to a new digital DSP based system which simulates reflected sound the way natural reflections and reverberations are generated in a real room. We then describe the last paradigm shift where the goal is to analyze a room's deficiencies and improve performance by supplying the missing directional reflections and reverberation rather than superimposing the sound signature of another room. We conclude with a detailed description of the SIAP system. It is our hope that this review puts present day systems into perspective and informs the reader about the features and benefits of the SIAP approach.

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The Most Powerful Electronic Architecture Enhancement System from the Acoustical Industry’s Leading Innovator

The following PDF documents are available for download. To view these files, please download Adobe Acrobat Reader. SIAP MKIV Product Information (191Kb) Application of an acoustic enhancement system for outdoor venues (252kb) The History of Electronic Architecture and Variable Acoustics (10.8Mb) Using Acoustic Enhancement to Improve Speech Intelligibility (1.24Mb)