Sound-Amplification System for Philharmonic Hall, New York
David L. Klepper · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1962
The highly reverberant “music acoustics” design for Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, necessitated a carefully engineered speech-reinforcement system to assure satisfactory intelligibility for speech events. Two alternate and competitive “central” loudspeaker systems, having similar directional characteristics, were recommended, one employing direct-expansion radial high-frequency horns, and the other employing multicellular high-frequency horns. Also, alternate constructions were allowed for the low-frequency horns, the choice depending upon the visual requirements of the architect. The sound-reflecting panels in the hall interfere somewhat with the performance of the sound system at low frequencies. However, the system has met its design goals. Frequency-response and word-articulation tests are presented.