Aural-Environments (A-E) met with the Cascades renovation committee and HOA Board representatives and a preliminary study of the problem was initiated. Initial review found the ballroom the subject of repeated unsuccessful attempts by various AV contractors to improve amplified speech.  Additionally, with even a modest crowd in the room, high ambient noise levels made conversions very challenging. The most obvious issue was excessive room reverberation time, the only sound treatment in the space being a partially carpeted floor. Also observed was incorrect alignment of the 2-meter loudspeaker line arrays to stage left and right, with near-field response patterns firing over audience members heads and directly onto the ballroom’s untreated rear wall. Additionally obsolete analog sound mixer hardware located in a room adjacent to the stage was noted, making for limited and awkward operation by the resident volunteer sound team.  As the A-E study progressed, HOA Board members made it very clear all acoustical treatments would need to fully compliment the just-completed remodeling. 

Before completing the design and simulation work, summarized in the charts below, A-E further explored the room’s other functions: in-house and hired bands with amplified music, a range of acoustical musical ensembles e.g. brass sextets, string quartets, and jazz ensembles, as well as community events with chorus and audience singing.