Sonova, a Swiss provider of hearing care technology, has created a Sound Demo Shelter powered by Genelec loudspeakers to deliver an immersive sound experience.
With their minds set on accurately replicating the experience of being hard of hearing, Sonova’s Hearing Performance Engineer, Fabian Hohl and his team set out to create a demonstration that would allow unimpaired listeners to understand the impact of hearing care systems. “We previously tried to build a sound demo to simulate the experience, but it proved overly complicated,” says Hohl. “The stress of an event like EUHA is always high, so working night shifts every time to set up the live sound demo only added more pressure. We knew there had to be a better way — and that’s when the idea for the Sound Demo Shelter was born.”
Purchased second-hand from the German army, a communications container allowed Sonova to put everything needed for a successful demo in one mobile space. “Once we had the container, our focus turned to audio,” Hohl continues. “When showcasing the features of hearing instruments, the quality of the sound is crucial. I was looking for a PoE solution that would be visually discreet and without lots of messy cables. If you look at the loudspeaker market, the only truly professional brand who offers this solution is Genelec with their Smart IP range.”
To guarantee they were choosing the right loudspeakers for such a demanding project, Sonova contacted Genelec’s Swiss distributor, Arocom to provide a demo of Genelec’s Smart IP models. ‘After testing both the compact 4410 and the larger 4420 model, we opted for sixteen 4420 loudspeakers,” he states. “They were arranged inside the Sound Demo Shelter in two overhead circles of eight, mounted on the ceiling above two GRAS KEMAR mannequins, with a single 7360 subwoofer in the centre.”
The two KEMARs are set up to highlight different features of the hearing aids, with visitors outside the container able to switch their headphones between the two in order to compare the audible benefit of each feature. “The two circles of 8x 4420s enable us to create an authentic 3D sound,” Hohl explains. “It’s powerful for showcasing how cutting-edge hearing aids handle real-world, spatially complex listening situations. The setup allows us to simulate experiences such as sound coming from multiple directions or group conversations."
