Archive for category Press Release
“If a tree were to fall … and there was no one to hear it, would there be any sound?”
Posted by Acoustics First in Articles, Press Release on April 1, 2022
The philosophical thought experiment of “does something need to be perceived to exist,” has been around since the beginning of time. This allows for human extrapolation into concepts such as quantum mechanics (Schrödinger’s cat) and advanced Artificial Intelligence principals. Albert Einstein was effectively “unfriended” for asking the question of his colleague, Abraham Pais,
“Do you really believe that the moon only exists if you look at it?”
Albert Einstein to Abraham Pais
Pais prescribing to “the majority view of the quantum mechanics community then (and arguably to this day) that existence in the absence of an observer is at best a conjecture, a conclusion that can neither be proven nor disproven.”
But the question still exists. “If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?”
The eminently interesting, Dr. Irving Lirpa asked the burning question…
“If observation is proof, can we calculate the Amplification Coefficient of Human Perception upon something that is ‘likely’ into ‘truth’ versus the amplification of ‘hogwash’ – which will always remain ‘hogwash?’ Because if something is able to be perceived, it must exist in some degree, as amplifying the perception of the non-existent is akin to multiplying by zero.”
Dr. I. Lirpa further posited that: “while the observation of sound proves its existence, the lack of observation does not disprove it… it merely has not been amplified by the scrutiny of human perception.”
He further affirmed that the tree would indeed create sound, but with a much lower intensity due to the Human Perception Amplification Coefficient… henceforth, there would still be sound because it exists – but it would fail to be amplified by human perception.
This seminal work calculated a Maximum Reverb Time of only 0.04 @ 1000 Hz “Without Audience” in a full-leafed, deciduous biome common to the vernal mid-temperate zone. Further calculations found that the Human Perception Amplification Coefficient is equivalent to the reverb time being amplified by 42 TIMES per frequency band upon being observed – which coincides exactly with the calculation made by the supercomputer DEEP THOUGHT on the “Ultimate Question.”
Coincidence? We think not.
TL:DR
“If a tree was to fall in the forest and there was no one there to hear it, would there be any sound?”
“Yes, but there would be 42 Times more sound if there was someone there to hear it.”
Sonora® LFC – Low-Frequency Control Panel
Posted by Acoustics First in Absorption, Auditorium, Home Entertainment, Home Theater, Multipurpose Rooms, Music Rehearsal Spaces, Music Tracking Room, Press Release, Product Applications, Products, Recording Facilities, Recording Studio, Studio Control Room, Theater, Uncategorized, Vocal Booth, Voice Over, Worship Facilities on May 24, 2021
Bass frequencies are difficult to control… and there is sometimes a tendency to overuse standard, broadband panels to try to absorb everything in order to get rid of that bass. However, this method is unbalanced and has the side-effect of leaving a room sounding muffled and boomy.
Why?
Physics! High frequencies are easier to absorb than low frequencies. So, when you ONLY use broadband absorbers, they easily remove the high frequencies and leave more of the lows. Overusing broadband absorption in a large performance space can be a disaster – leaving an environment lacking energy and feel – many describe this condition as a room sounding “dead.” (Not good!)
So how can you treat the boomy bass without killing your rooms with too much broadband absorption? Can you just take out the bass? Unfortunately, it is impossible to ONLY absorb the bass, but we can LIMIT the amount of high frequency energy that we absorb to balance out the response.
Acoustics First® presents… the Sonora® LFC – Low-Frequency control panel.
The Sonora® LFC looks like a standard Sonora® Wall panel, but looks can be deceiving! At 4-1/8″ thick, it is virtually indistinguishable from a High-Impact Sonora® panel – however the interior structure of the LFC is optimized to attack the bass frequencies and smoothly roll off the high frequencies. Let’s take a closer look at the performance difference between the Sonora® LFC and the standard Sonora® panel.
When you look at the performance charts, you will notice that the standard 4″ Sonora® panel starts to “roll-off” in the lower frequencies below 125 Hz – it still absorbs them, just to a lesser degree. We designed the Sonora® LFC panel to focus on those frequencies below 125 Hz – while allowing the other treatments to handle the rest! This allows you to use fewer broadband panels, and still have some high-frequency energy for diffusers to spread around – thus creating a more balanced acoustic environment.
The Sonora® LFC is an engineered solution using the same high-performance materials as our other products, but combining them in a way that optimizes them for Low-Frequency Control – hence Sonora® LFC! The magic is in the way those materials are used.
All of the materials used in an acoustic environment have a function – “Diffusers,” “Absorbers,” and “Bass Traps” are all general descriptors of product functions. Some diffusers are also Bass Traps. Some bass traps are also broadband absorbers. Some diffusers use absorption for amplitude grating. By combining a dampened, resonant trap with multi-density fiberglass, the Sonora® LFC focuses on making acoustic spaces more balanced. For controlling the bass without sucking the life out of a room, the LFC Panel is an outstanding tool for refined Low-Frequency Control!
The HiPer® Panel and Ken Fritz’s Dream
Posted by Acoustics First in Absorption, Diffusion, DIY, Home Entertainment, Home Theater, Media Room, Mentions, Press Release, Products on April 13, 2021
There are many home theaters of note, but rarely is one created (at this scale) by the singular dream and dedication of one man. Ken Fritz involved Acoustics First® early in the project to perform acoustic measurements of the space, and his theater became the first large-scale installation of our newly developed HiPer® Panel. From beginning to end, Ken says that he spent more than 25 years on the realization of his dream – and others have taken notice.
There have been numerous write-ups of Ken’s theater, which was constructed (from the ground up) specifically for this purpose. The walls are hurricane grade block construction, the roof-line is constructed to improve the acoustics, the walls are clad in HiPer® Panels, the bass emanates effortlessly from in-wall enclosures – and just look at those custom built arrays that Ken designed and constructed by hand! This project is more than just a labor of love, it is an obsession with excellence.
This obsession covers every aspect of the room and the system, with everything being either built by hand, customized to his specifications, or simply the best you can get! If there is a “home theater mountain,” Ken built a skyscraper at the summit – but don’t take our word for it…
You can watch the one-hour documentary telling the story behind the dream – in Ken’s own words.
ASA 2020 – Acoustics Virtually Everywhere
Posted by Acoustics First in Press Release, Uncategorized on December 4, 2020
ASA Acoustics Virtually Everywhere Meeting 2020.
December 7-11, 2020: The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is running their first fully-virtual meeting, Acoustics Virtually Everywhere (AVE). The format is just like a real-life convention with a few interesting twists. If you’ve ever had a scheduling conflict and needed to choose one presentation over another – you don’t necessarily have to! Many of the sessions are prerecorded, so you can watch the presentations when you have time, and if you have questions you can reach out before, during, or after their allotted time!
There will be poster sessions where you can meet the presenters, and there are chat and social platforms for networking as well! Jim DeGrandis from Acoustics First® will be in attendance.
So… if you are an ASA member and were wondering about how this virtual meeting is going to work… check out the “Acoustics Virtually Everywhere” overview here
https://acousticalsociety.org/overview-ave/
If you aren’t an ASA member, you can find out more about the benefits of becoming a member here.
https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-membership/
We look forward to seeing you there… Virtually.
3 Years of the Aeolian® Sound Diffuser
Posted by Acoustics First in Press Release, Products, Uncategorized on July 23, 2020
3 Years of the Aeolian®
It may seem a lifetime ago, but we are celebrating the 3rd Anniversary of the release of the patented Aeolian® Sound diffuser. During development, our team ran numerous models and simulations, revising the design, and optimizing the performance to create the iteration we have today.
The development workflow of the design included computer optimized geometry, performance simulation, rapid prototyping, and full acoustic performance and validation testing. This was one of the first uses of this completed workflow, and while we are always refining our development processes, this was a huge leap forward.
We now look back at the release of the Aeolian® as a milestone in our history, where we developed something more than a product… we developed a better way to design a product.
Here was the original blog post about the Aeolian®.
Happy birthday.
Acoustics First BLOG 
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