Sonex Panels Keep Broadcast Facilities at WSS Media Acoustically Sound
When acoustic products work well, no one comments or complains about them.
That's how Steve Levens, director of engineering at Minneapolis' Worldwide Shopping Source (WSS) Media, knows the Sonex Classic Colortec foam panels he installed are working.
"No news is goods news when it comes to acoustics in a broadcast studio," Levens says.
Application Introduction
WSS Media is an extensive home shopping network which broadcasts live via the Internet and cable television 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The network moved into it's new facility in February 2005. The facilities' shells already existed, but the space had not yet been acoustically treated for broadcast. A challenge was to improve the live-end /dead-end characteristics of each of the various rooms while staying on a budget.
"My goal was to reduce reverberation to an unnoticeable level, I had used Sonex acoustical foam previously in broadcast facilities and had been happy with it," says Levens. Knowing they needed a Class A fire rated foam they could install themselves, WSS Media contacted Acoustical Solutions, Inc. to discuss their options.
Treatment Provided
Acoustical Solutions recommended the Sonex Classic Colortec because it met WSS Media's desired acoustical rating, desired fire ratings and was available in the desired color, charcoal.
The WSS studios include a modern, sleek set with wood floors and painted CMU block walls. The Sonex Classic Colortec acoustical foam panels were placed behind the scenes to absorb reflected sound as well as background noise emanating from equipment and people around the set. The main problem was that the sound reverberating off all of these hard surfaces in the main control room and audio control rooms, combined with the buzzing from equipment, challenged the technician's concentration.
Quantitative Results
Treatment of these spaces with the Sonex acoustical foam resulted in less slap back echo, reduced reverberation and near field reflections for greater focus during live feeds.
"After the Sonex product was installed in WSS Media broadcast facilities, we noticed a huge improvement," Levens said. "Going live around the world, we wanted everything to sound just right."
The Sonex acoustical foam is available in natural, painted, HPC or colortec finishes. The advantage of using the colortec finish is that the foam is class A fire rated and the charcoal or light grey color is actually dyed throughout the entire thickness of the foam panel, creating a consistent look even when the panels are cut to fit around obstacles.
For more information on this application, contact our sales department.
