The University of Birmingham is planning to upgrade 15 lecture theatres across its campus with Renkus-Heinz loudspeaker systems following the installation of an Iconyx beam-steering solution in its 450-seat Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre.
The Medical School venue had been identified for improvement after poor speech intelligibility and uneven coverage began affecting the listening experience for students and lecturers.
The room presents two distinct acoustic conditions, with a reflective semi-circular stage at the front and a more absorptive tiered seating area extending towards the rear.
Distributor CUK supported the project from the early consultation stage through to implementation, carrying out acoustic modelling and an in-room demonstration of the Renkus-Heinz Iconyx system before the final specification was agreed.
Mark Bromfield, director of system solution sales at CUK, said: “The stage was highly reflective, largely due to its hard wooden flooring and projection screen, while the seating area incorporated more absorptive finishes, meaning both areas presented very different conditions within the same space.”
The previous system combined wall-mounted and ceiling loudspeakers operating as a single line without time alignment. This resulted in listeners hearing sound from multiple directions with audible delays between loudspeakers.
Following the acoustic modelling and in-room demonstration by CUK, the university specified four Renkus-Heinz Iconyx beam-steering arrays. GVAV was appointed to install the system.
The theatre was divided into two audio zones to address the different acoustic conditions.
At the front of the room, two IC16 digitally steerable column arrays were mounted on either side of the projection screen. Each array provides eight independently steerable beams, allowing coverage to be shaped around the room while reducing acoustic energy directed towards unwanted areas.
Two more compact IC8 steerable line arrays were installed behind panels further into the room to extend controlled coverage to the rear seating.
Adjustable DSP delay was used to time-align the IC8 arrays with the IC16s and avoid audible delays between loudspeaker positions.
“During information-packed lectures, it is critical for students to hear every word,” Bromfield said. “By directing audio precisely where it’s needed, the Iconyx system now ensures every seat receives the same clear, intelligible audio.”
According to the university, the upgrade also reduced the amount of infrastructure required compared with the previous system.
James Ball, AV designer and project lead at the University of Birmingham, said: “The improved audio quality was a guaranteed win, but what really helped drive wider adoption was the economics. By reducing labour and infrastructure requirements, we were able to invest in better technology while stretching available budgets further, allowing us to upgrade more teaching spaces across the campus.”
CUK subsequently assessed a further 11 teaching spaces, selecting loudspeaker configurations according to individual room dimensions, acoustics and coverage requirements.
The university’s longer-term plan is to upgrade 15 lecture theatres using products from Renkus-Heinz’s Iconyx Gen5, UBX and CX ranges.