Renkus-Heinz improves audio clarity and coverage at the University of Birmingham with its Iconyx Series.

The University of Birmingham's Medical School, which welcomes more than 400 students each year, is one of the largest in Europe. As a leading centre for medical education, AV technology plays a key role in its practical learning methods. Following a review of its audiovisual approach, several facilities were identified as needing an upgrade, including the 450-seat Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre.

Audio quality was one of the main concerns, as poor speech intelligibility and limited coverage affected the listening experience for students and lecturers. A Renkus-Heinz beam-steering solution would provide the answer for delivering clearer, more consistent audio.

The Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre features two distinct acoustic areas: a semi-circular stage at the front of the room and a tiered seating area extending to the rear of the theatre.

The acoustics at each end of the room presented several challenges. The stage was highly reflective, largely due to its wooden flooring and projection screen, while the seating area incorporated more absorptive finishes, meaning both areas presented very different conditions within the same space, explains Mark Bromfield, Director of System Solution Sales for CUK, the distribution company that supported the project from the initial discussions through to implementation.

The existing system combined wall-mounted and ceiling loudspeakers and operated as a single line without time alignment. “Listeners could hear sound coming from multiple directions, with noticeable delays between the loudspeakers”, explains Bromfield. “This compromised intelligibility and contributed to listener fatigue, prompting the University of Birmingham to explore options for a new sound system. The university's technical team approached us after seeing a Renkus-Heinz demonstration at an industry event and wanted to find out whether its products could address the challenges in the lecture theatre”.

To determine the most suitable sound solution for the Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre, CUK conducted acoustic modelling followed by a live demonstration of the Iconyx system in the venue itself. “The university's AV team was very impressed by the precise directionality and consistency offered by the Iconyx Series, which led to the selection of four of these beam-steering arrays”, continues Bromfield.

GVAV, an AV integrator with extensive experience in installations for the education sector, was tasked with installing the new system. To manage the different acoustic conditions of the stage and seating area, the theatre was treated as two separate zones. “At the front of the room, two IC16 digitally steerable column arrays were wall-mounted to the left and right of the projection screen”, describes Bromfield. Architecturally discreet, they blend in with the theatre's white walls while directing sound straight towards the seating area. Each array features eight individually steerable beams that can be configured according to the precise dimensions of the room while minimising acoustic energy in unwanted areas.

For the second half of the room, two more compact IC8 steerable line arrays were installed behind panels on each side, providing controlled coverage all the way to the rear of the theatre.

The system's adjustable DSP delay allowed the IC8 arrays to be accurately time-aligned with the IC16s to prevent audible delays between the loudspeakers. During information-packed lectures, it is essential for students to hear every word. By directing audio precisely where it is needed, the Iconyx system now ensures that the seats receive the same clear, intelligible audio, adds Bromfield.

Once the installation was complete, the new system delivered an immediate improvement in speech intelligibility and the overall listening experience. “The system provided controlled, focused coverage using significantly fewer loudspeakers than the previous system”, says Bromfield. “Pleased with the system's performance and the way it addressed the previous challenges, the university's AV department began looking at other areas of the campus that could benefit from a similar upgrade”.

“Improved audio quality was a guaranteed result, but what helped drive wider adoption was the economics”, says James Ball, AV Designer and Project Lead for the university. “By reducing labour and infrastructure requirements, we were able to invest in better technology and make the available budgets go further, allowing us to upgrade more teaching spaces across the campus”.

During its first visit, CUK assessed eleven teaching spaces in addition to the Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre. Achieving the required coverage with fewer loudspeakers reduced the cabling and amplifier channels typically required by a high-quality solution. This helped establish a more cost-effective approach to upgrading audio across the campus. “We assessed each room individually and selected loudspeakers based on its dimensions, acoustics and coverage requirements”, explains Bromfield. “Thanks to the breadth of the Renkus-Heinz portfolio, we were able to select the most appropriate solution for each room”.

The University of Birmingham's long-term plan is to upgrade fifteen lecture theatres across the campus using different products from Renkus-Heinz's Iconyx Gen5, UBX and CX Series.

The Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre demonstrates what Renkus-Heinz beam-steering technology can achieve in spaces with challenging acoustic conditions. It enabled the university to overcome the clarity and coverage issues that had affected the experience of students and lecturers, creating an improved learning environment with significantly less infrastructure and at a lower cost than other solutions. With a broad range of solutions available for different room sizes and acoustic conditions, the same approach can now be extended across the campus, says Bromfield.