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Renkus-Heinz to Introduce Digitally Controlled Column Loudspeakers at Frankfurt
The new Digitally Controlled Column loudspeakers from Renkus-Heinz, which will make their European début at Frankfurt Pro Light+Sound 2005, are designed to provide intelligible speech and musical sound in highly reverberant environments. The new loudspeakers, which use digitally steerable array technology, will be on display on Stand D40 in Hall 4.1.
Their slender “thin stick” vertical profile blends easily with both classical and contemporary architecture. The advanced technologies inside provide a powerful new solution for consultants, contractors and architects who need precisely controlled acoustic energy for intelligible, musical sound in houses of worship, transportation terminals and similar venues.
The basic building block, the DCC16, is an array of 16 compact full range transducers. Just 5.25 inches deep, 7 inches wide and 78 inches tall, DCC16 modules mount inconspicuously on walls or large pillars. Advanced DSP software and true digital amplification enables the designer or operator to define the shape and aiming of the vertical beam without moving the DCC modules from their flush mounting positions.
The DCC16 delivers constant SPL over large distances (300 ft / 92 metres plus). Coverage is both controllable and consistent at 500 Hz and above, especially on the sides of the coverage area. This is due to advanced DSP algorithms that create vertically narrow beams without side lobes. Developed by the late Johann van der Werff, the software is licensed by Renkus-Heinz from Peutz Associates. Despite the complexity of the algorithms, the user interface is simple. Windows®-based Renkus-Heinz Lobeselector software displays the pattern and aiming angle selected in the vertical plane. Beams can be symmetrical, asymmetrical or dual and can be custom shaped to fit specific applications. Horizontal dispersion is fixed at a nominal 150° between -6 dB points. A DLL is available for EASE 4.1 so that Focus Series systems can be modeled and the optimum coverage pattern selected. Additional DCC8 modules can easily be added to the basic DCC16 system to extend Focus Series’ vertical pattern control to even lower frequencies. For front and side fill applications, a single DCC8 module (half of a DCC16) can be used to control acoustic energy above 1 kHz.
Each driver is driven by an individually processed signal, delivered by an 8-channel processor/amplifier module specially developed for this purpose by D2 Audio. The D2 Audio design not only performs the complex digital signal processing required for controlled coverage, but it also converts a standard PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) input to eight PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signals that drive the amplifiers. This eliminates the need to convert PCM to analog and analog to PWM, which would be required with ordinary Class D amplifiers. For seamless integration of the DCC8 into a complete digital solution, CobraNet® connectivity can be specified as an option.
“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to develop a new loudspeaker design that can deliver the benefits of adaptable coverage through precisely controlled interference,” says Renkus-Heinz vice president Ralph Heinz. “The advanced software that we’ve integrated into the Digitally Controlled Column Series, together with the next-generation hardware that transmits the proper signals to each driver entirely in the digital domain, delivers a new level of accuracy and precision.”
9th March 2005
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