NIRO™-NON-CUBOID ITERATIVE ROOM OPTIMIZER
Acoustical solutions for acoustical problems.
"If you can't take the room out of the mix, you can't take the mix out of the room"
THE THREE A'S: ARCHITECTURE, ACOUSTICS AND AUDIO
The NIRO program addresses the integration of Architecture, Acoustics and Audio.
The Architecture addresses the aesthetic preferences, as well as the constraints that affect the accessible locations for the speakers and listeners, as well as the volume and shape of the room.
The Acoustics iteratively optimizes the room’s geometry and locations for speakers and listeners, within the constraints of the Architecture. Once this interaction is optimized a report is generated as the deliverable.
The Audio optimizes the audio system in an ideal layout to suit the client's preferences without being hindered by the room.
Broad bandwidth auralization capability allows the aural evaluation of the design at each step.
ARCHITECTURE: KICKOFF MEETING
To begin the optimization, we have to learn as much as possible about the project. This includes:
- The maximum and minimum dimensions of the room. This is best described by the client providing a maximum and minimum box on a detailed drawing of the room in any format available.
- A description of the speaker system used. Is it a full-range speaker with integrated subs, if so, will there be an LFE moveable sub? Is the main speaker crossed over to a moveable sub or subs? Will the speakers be free-standing or flush-mounted in a baffle?
- What is the volume within which the speakers can be located?
- What is the area within which the listener(s) can be located, how many listeners will there be and what are their respective importance in the optimization?
The Geometry Module searches through hundreds of possibilities within the constrained accessible areas for the geometry and positions for loudspeakers and listeners, arriving at the best possible result within the architectural constraints.
The optimal response does not contain any major dips in the frequency response and the room modes are well distributed across the low-frequency spectra.
ARCHITECTURE: CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
If desired, REDI Acoustics can also provide the location and specification of acoustic treatments to further improve and damp the low-frequency content in the room.
In order to do that, a concept of the room is defined with the client along with the location of building elements like windows, doors and HVAC. This will determine the accessible areas inside the room for low-frequency treatments.
These treatments, or Acoustical Parametric EQualizers (APEQs), are designed specifically for each room to achieve an optimal performance in any situal.
The frequency, bandwidth and efficiency are determined by the location and bandwidth of peaks in the frequency response which exceed allowable thresholds.
These thresholds are based both in human hearing and time decay.
The frequency response is key to evaluate the balance of the sound inside the room and identify problematic frequencies that will color the human perception of the sound, meaning that the room is not a clean slate for the artist to paint with.
Critical listening environments require an extra level of precision to ensure that the room isn't adding any changes to the spectra in a harmful way.
Hidden in the time domain, the temporal decay of the sound is as important as the frequency response to the human perception of sound.
The application of APEQs is also intended to provide a uniform temporal decay across the modal frequency region, which is fundamental for a tight bass response.
This is evidenced by the reduction in time and uniformity of the temporal decay across frequencies.
ACOUSTICS: REFLECTION MODULE
Reflection Free Zone & Diffuse Field Zone
At this stage, we have optimized the modal response up to the transition frequency between wave and geometrical acoustics (referred to as the Schroeder frequency). If you would like to optimize the frequency range above the transition frequency, we offer the Specular Reflection Module.
This module optimizes the two design criteria proposed by Dr. Peter D’Antonio, three decades ago, which have withstood the test of time. This is referred to as the RFZ/DFZ design.
The Reflection Free Zone (RFZ) refers to the time between the direct sound and the first arrival from the rear of the room, and it is ideally between 20 and 30 dB below the direct sound. Treatments applied to control the first order interfering reflections are positioned to satisfy this criterion. It ideally extends from the highest frequency all the way down to 125 Hz, but it depends on the broad bandwidth absorption control of the employed treatments for mid and high frequencies and the splaying and length of the front side walls for lower frequencies. The RFZ is essential to create a real stereo image.
The Diffuse Field Zone (DFZ) begins at the arrival of the rear wall reflection and is characterized by being a zone of high temporal density, typically created with reflection phase gratings diffusors. The DFZ typically extends down to 500 Hz and can be extended below that if a modulated fractal design is employed in the application of the diffusors. The DFZ is essential to create envelopment at the listening positions.
To ensure the RFZ/DFZ, this module utilizes image-sources and ray-tracing to identify the locations and the amplitude of interfering reflections.
With this information we can access the exact amount of absorption and diffusion that is needed for each case.
This ensures a good stereo imaging with excellent envelopment.
ARCHITECTURE & AUDIO
We conclude the optimization by reviewing the client's final design to determine if any acoustical modifications are necessary.
Following this step, REDI Acoustics provides a final report as the deliverable. The report is your guide to optimal acoustical performance without altering the direct sound.
It enables the reproduction system to be tuned to preference without being hindered by any acoustical issues that will prevent it from operating with its full potential.
Hear what true precision sounds like.