30-06-2012, 04:28 PM
Audio Spotlight Sound System Research Report
[attachment=26345]
I must thank Arts and Sciences and the Vice
President for Research and Graduate Studies for
funding this area of research. Upon receiving the letter
stating the funding, I immediately ordered the device.
However, it took longer than expected to arrive. I did
not have the pleasure of working with the system until
my return to the University at the beginning of the fall
semester. As part of my original proposal, I was
searching for a way to send sound to specific areas
rather than general ones. Conventional speakers are
typically designed for maximum dispersion of sound, in order to cover large areas.
My first trial with the instrument was surprising. I had never
heard sound delivered in this way. While holding the
transducer and pointing it toward a distant wall, the reflection
of the sound from the wall was louder than the source of the
sound. With conventional speakers, the wide dispersion angle
causes the listener to hear more of the original source than
reflections off of distant objects. After this discovery, I began
pointing it at different surfaces in order to hear the results. As
suspected, softer surfaces provided little to no reflection and
hard ones such as cinder blocks and metal provided a distinct
reflection.
[attachment=26345]
I must thank Arts and Sciences and the Vice
President for Research and Graduate Studies for
funding this area of research. Upon receiving the letter
stating the funding, I immediately ordered the device.
However, it took longer than expected to arrive. I did
not have the pleasure of working with the system until
my return to the University at the beginning of the fall
semester. As part of my original proposal, I was
searching for a way to send sound to specific areas
rather than general ones. Conventional speakers are
typically designed for maximum dispersion of sound, in order to cover large areas.
My first trial with the instrument was surprising. I had never
heard sound delivered in this way. While holding the
transducer and pointing it toward a distant wall, the reflection
of the sound from the wall was louder than the source of the
sound. With conventional speakers, the wide dispersion angle
causes the listener to hear more of the original source than
reflections off of distant objects. After this discovery, I began
pointing it at different surfaces in order to hear the results. As
suspected, softer surfaces provided little to no reflection and
hard ones such as cinder blocks and metal provided a distinct
reflection.