EASE 5 Third Edition Redefines Sound Reinforcement Planning with Acousteer Real-Time Simulation Engine

Discreetly introduced at the end of 2024 by Berlin-based AFMG Technologies, the Third Edition of EASE 5 updates this universal planning tool for loudspeaker systems with a real-time simulation engine called Acousteer. The new processing architecture allows users to calculate audience area mappings in milliseconds, with real-time adjustments, shifting the process from iterative to a dynamic exploration. The EASE 5 Third Edition suite not only empowers users to design sound systems with unprecedented accuracy, but also introduces the possibility to calibrate models accurately and collaborate live with other users and stakeholders.

NTi Audio continues to expand the possibilities of its XL3 handheld acoustic analyzer and sound level meter. The XL3 now supports speech intelligibility measurements according to the IEC60268-16 STIPA international standard. Together with NTi's TalkBox (acoustic) and MR-PRO (electrical) signal sources, the XL3 is now an ideal tool for efficient and reliable STIPA measurement tasks, allowing the measured values to be conveniently visualized in a report.

The inclusion of Holoplot products in the latest EASE 5 update, will allow users to investigate the possibilities and impact of using Matrix Arrays in any venue. Users of the popular electro- and room acoustic simulation software can now model Matrix Arrays and Beam Optimizations in the company's Plan system design software to view sound pressure level simulations. The resulting array configurations can now be exported to EASE 5 for further analysis based on closed-room simulation.

Following up on the two Communication articles published in audioXpress October 2020, Hans W. Gierlich, from HEAD acoustics GmbH, a top expert in his field, contributed this great overview article. With most company employees working from home and the trend toward decentralized organizations and remote collaborations, where webinar and conferencing services are the new way of communication, this a timely topic. This article was originally published in audioXpress, November 2020.

HEAD acoustics announced open enrollment for their new series of complimentary educational voice quality web based seminars. These one hour sessions are designed to provide short but focused information on voice quality topics that are normally not taught in college level classes. Anyone interested in learning more about the fundamentals of voice quality testing is invited to attend.

Loudspeaker modeling files are most often used with acoustical modeling programs such as EASE, Focus, CATT-Acoustic, and others to help determine how well the loudspeakers cover the audience areas and how much “spill” there is on the room’s surfaces. It is important to have accurate data about the characteristics of the loudspeakers that are used in the models. In this article, we will detail some of the requirements to help assure good measurement data for use with loudspeaker modeling. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2017.

Audio Precision announced the introduction of their Speech Transmission Index (STI) plug-in for APx500 audio test software. Created for engineers developing public safety (police, fire, emergency) communications and public address systems, as well as flight recorder devices, the APx STI plug-in provides measurement capabilities conforming to international standard IEC 60268-16 (2011).

Public address systems in public spaces have to clearly inform persons in danger about escape information and directions in case of an emergency. NTi Audio’s XL2 Acoustic Analyzer reliably measures the Speech Transmission Index (STI) and the results can be imported into the STI Reporting Tool which now also assigns the same ambient noise spectrum to multiple speech intelligibility measurement results.