20 years after the first Constellation acoustic system debuted at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, Meyer Sound is marking the milestone with the Constellation Acoustic Suite, which recognises the system’s multiple capabilities with seven named applications drawn from two decades of real-world use in settings from concert halls to classrooms, arenas, and restaurants.
Constellation, which electronically adjusts a room’s acoustic signature, now counts over 175 systems in 31 countries, from The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center to the Grand Theater at Shanghai’s Bank of Communications New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center (pictured above).
At the heart
of Constellation is the patented VRA (Variable Room Acoustic) System algorithm, created by New Zealand acoustician Dr. Mark Poletti and licensed by Level Control Systems (LCS), which Meyer Sound acquired in 2006. In a Constellation system, microphones, digital signal processing, and distributed loudspeakers work together
to shape a room’s reverberant character.
“From the start, this technology was about giving venues acoustic flexibility that architecture alone couldn’t provide,” says Meyer Sound COO John McMahon, who was CEO of LCS at the time of the acquisition. “Twenty years later, it’s remarkable to see
how many kinds of spaces have embraced it.” Constellation installations now span the globe, from Germany’s King Culture and Congress Hall to Monash University’s Alexander Theatre in Melbourne and Hanoi’s Ho Guom Opera.
The Constellation Acoustic Suite presents Constellation as a family of applications, each focused
on a clear outcome that can be used individually or in combination. “Over 20 years of development, Constellation has taken on roles well beyond the concert hall,” Owens says. “Giving each of those applications a name makes it easier for venues and consultants to see
what Constellation can do for them.”
The suite builds on the framework Meyer Sound uses to describe Constellation: four paths of communication in a room, from performer to audience, audience to performer, performer to performer, and audience to audience. Within that framework, the suite defines seven
applications.
- Constellation Perform adapts a music venue’s natural acoustics for everything from chamber music to orchestral and amplified performance.
- Constellation Stage improves musicians’ experience onstage by improving communication and timing, serving in place of or alongside a physical orchestra shell, or as a standalone
onstage system.
- Constellation Elevate provides natural voice lift that helps speech carry in lecture halls, government meeting halls, and houses of worship.
- Constellation Unite strengthens the acoustic connection of audience members, from congregational call and response to laughter and applause in television studios.
- Constellation Focus brings localised clarity and sound masking to boardrooms, classrooms, and hospitality spaces.
- Constellation Ignite reinforces crowd energy in sports arenas and large-scale entertainment venues.
- Constellation Create enables drama theatres, recording studios, scoring stages, and post-production facilities to shape and transform their acoustics as part of the creative process.