Lambeth Palace

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In the Great Hall of Lambeth Palace, London we were approached by the resident architect to provide a solution for sound reinforcement that required good quality sound for conferences every time the system was switched on.

Lambeth Palace

Although conversant with sound equipment, the Palace operational staff really wanted a solution that sounded good every time the microphones were set up. Annoying feedback had always been an issue, and the old analogue delivery system suffered only average sound quality.

In order to save the Palace money, we utilised the existing distributed speaker system, (which was quite serviceable) and introduced a digital signal processor (DSP) from Bi-Amp systems.

The signal wiring is all done within the box. This has the benefit of no analogue cabling, soldering, connectors or wires to deteriorate over time. There is simply no loss of signal quality, and separate processing units are not required making the system very cost-effective.

DSP Wiring Plan

With the introduction of the DSP, we can now send a more accurate signal to each speaker from the microphones, and adjust the EQ (the ‘pitch’) of the system resulting in detailed sound, with no echo, higher gain before feedback, and better sound quality.

We reduced the annoying microphone ‘howl’ by filtering and automatic feedback suppression. We then went on to give the client better microphone management by gating each microphone when the talker had finished. Result, less unwanted artifacts, and no unwanted microphones left ‘open’.

All this from within the DSP, and set up on a laptop PC.

Bi-Amp Control Panel

You might ask, is it complex to control? Not at all. The only control is a simple pad like this one, which offers the flexibility of overall level, and different switch settings for different acoustics, such as small intimate meetings, and large scale conferences. The entire acoustic of the Great Hall can be changed to suit the situation at the touch of a button, it really is that flexible.