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Sound Systems: The Importance of a Good Sound System
Almost every school needs a sound system of some sort. Basic needs can be as simple as using the sound system for a cassette or CD recording or providing a personal hearing assistance system for those who have difficulty hearing. In a large gymnasium or auditorium, a loudspeaker system is needed to provide amplification for speech. If you consider music requirements, systems can get more complex as the musicians request more and more equipment to help them perform. The simple fact is that most schools can't get along without a sound system. Unfortunately, most of us can easily think of a school sound system with very poor quality. Today's system design technology and equipment can almost guarantee a good system for any size gymnasium or auditorium! It is important to have a good sound system. Let's take a look at what makes one good... 
"The young especially have grown up with high quality sound…"
NATURAL SOUND It is very important for a sound system to sound natural. Natural sound has become a standard for people. The young especially have grown up with high quality stereo systems in their homes and cars. They know good sound. They also expect to hear that same quality in their school. If the reproduced sound is not natural, students and parents may become frustrated and distracted.
Natural sound is achieved when the loudspeaker system has amplified the talker or singer's voice and the tonal quality remains the same as the unamplified voice. Try this experiment to see if your system sounds natural.
Turn the system off and have someone read aloud for a while. You should stand about eight feet away. Listen carefully and imprint the live, unamplified sound in your memory. Now, move to the rear of the room and turn up the sound system. While the same person reads, answer these questions: 1. Does your sound system reproduce the same voice tone and quality? 2. Does the sound appear to come from the reader? 4. Can you understand what the reader is saying without straining? If you answer no to any of the previous questions, your system may need improvement or adjustment.
INTELLIGIBILITY TEST Intelligibility is vital for good communication. When instructions are given over the sound system, it is important that students understand what was said. For example, following a special event in the gymnasium, students may be given instructions about which room to report to next. If the sound system doesn't have good intelligibility, they may report to the wrong room.
To test your system for intelligibility, place many listeners in various seats around your auditorium. Have some sit in the front, on the sides, and in the rear. Be sure to have some individuals sit in areas where people have complained about the sound system in the past. Turn on the sound system and have someone with a good clear voice speak into a microphone. Adjust the volume to a comfortable level. Using the word list in Figure 1, the reader should say, "Write the word ( ) now," and insert one of the words from Figure 1 into the blank. Instruct the reader to neither repeat the word nor to use the word in a sentence. In response, the listeners should write the word they hear. After the test, have the listeners score their word lists. Spelling doesn't count nor do words that are spelled different but sound the same, such as hear and here. If you find listeners with more than 15% wrong, you should be concerned about the intelligibility of your sound system. 
| | | Figure 1 | | | | List 1 | | List 2 | | 1 cane
2 there
3 dish
4 hid
5 heap
6 pants
7 hunt
8 no
9 bar
10 pan
11 fuss
12 creed
13 box
14 strife
15 dike
16 not
17 ford
18 end
19 then
20 bask
21 fraud
22 smile
23 death
24 are
25 bad | 26 pest
27 slip
28 rub
29 feast
30 dead
31 cleanse
32 folk
33 nook
34 mange
35 such
36 use (yews)
37 crash
38 ride
39 pile
40 rat
41 rag
42 is
43 wheat
44 rise
45 hive
46 grove
47 tow
48 plush
49 clove
50 fern | | 1 tang
2 fate
3 suck
4 else
5 pit
6 gill
7 charge
8 brought
9 cloud
10 mute
11 bean
12 scythe
13 vast
14 rib
15 pick
16 hock
17 our
18 hit
19 job
20 wish
21 nut
22 dab
23 frog
24 log
25 snuff | 26 blush
27 nab
28 bait
29 bud
30 rap
31 moose
32 trash
33 gloss
34 perk
35 vamp
36 start
37 earl
38 corpse
39 sludge
40 tan
41 ways
42 bounce
43 niece
44 awe
45 them
46 need
47 quart
48 five
49 hire
50 shoe |
From American Standard Method for Measurement of monosyllabic Word Intelligibility, 53.2
Review the results of each of the tests. If the sound is natural and intelligible throughout the seating area, congratulations! by Ron Huisinga © 1996 Internet Sound Institute (www.soundinstitute.com). This article is for personal use only. Any commercial reproduction is not permitted without permission. To obtain permission, contact ISI at hopi@soundinstitute.com
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