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University of Birmingham upgrades with Renkus-Heinz Iconyx

Welcoming a cohort of more than 400 students each year, the University of Birmingham’s Medical School is one of the largest in Europe, with AV technology being a major part of its practical learning methods. After a review of its approach to AV, some facilities were deemed in need of an upgrade, including the 450-seat Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre.

The Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre features two distinct acoustic areas: a semi-circular stage at the front of the room, and the tiered seating area that extends to the rear of the theater. “The acoustics at each end of the room presented several challenges”, says Mark Bromfield, Director of System Solution Sales for CUK, the distribution company supporting the project from early conversations through to implementation. “The stage was highly reflective, largely due to its hard wooden flooring and projection screen, while the seating area incorporated more absorptive finishes, meaning both areas presented very different conditions within the same space.”

Combining wall-mounted and ceiling loudspeakers, the existing system operated as a single line without time alignment. “Listeners could hear sound coming from multiple directions with noticeable delays between loudspeakers”, continues Bromfield. “This compromised intelligibility and contributed to listener fatigue, prompting the University of Birmingham to assess options for a new sound system. We were approached by the university’s technical team, who had seen a Renkus-Heinz demo at an industry event, and wanted to explore whether its products could address the challenges in the lecture theater.”

To determine the ideal sound solution for the Leonard Deacon Lecture Theatre, CUK conducted acoustic modeling, followed by a live demonstration of the Renkus-Heinz Iconyx system in the venue, which led to the specification of four of these beam-steering arrays. GVAV, an AV integrator with extensive experience in education-based deployments, was tasked with installing the new system. To manage the distinct acoustic conditions of the stage and the seating area, the theater was treated as two separate zones.

“At the front of the room, two IC16 digitally steerable column arrays are wall-mounted on the left and right of the projection screen”, explains Bromfield. They blend in with the theater’s white walls, while delivering sound directly to the seating section. Each array features eight individually steerable beams that can be shaped around the precise measurements of the room while minimizing acoustic energy in unwanted areas.

For the second half of the room, two of the more compact IC8 steerable line arrays were installed behind panels on each side to provide controlled coverage all the way to the back 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”, says Bromfield. “The system provides controlled, focused coverage from a significantly smaller number of loudspeakers compared to the previous system. Delighted by the performance of the system and how it addressed previous challenges, the university’s AV department began looking at other areas of campus that would benefit from a similar upgrade.”

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 cabling and amplifier channels. “We assessed each room individually, selecting loudspeakers based on dimensions, acoustics, and coverage requirements”, explains Bromfield. “With the breadth of the Renkus-Heinz portfolio, we could select the most appropriate solution for each room.”

The University of Birmingham’s long-term plan is to upgrade fifteen lecture theaters across its campus using a range of products from Renkus-Heinz’s Iconyx Gen5, UBX series, and CX series.

(Photos: Renkus-Heinz)

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