Old Parliament House, Canberra

The Senate and the House of Representatives used to meet there. Nowadays, students and tourists learn about Australian democracy. However, problems occurred during the many guided tours through the Museum of Australian History – it was difficult to understand the guides in the large reverberant rooms. That is why the Acoustic Consultant Luis Miranda was commissioned to integrate a new sound system – this is the man who said to AV Technology Magazine: “I just love solving problems”. Appropriately, he chose a Fohhn system because we feel the same way.

Three rooms were equipped with new technology: the King’s Hall as well as the former chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The challenge in all rooms was to get to grips with the difficult acoustics while, at the same time, maintaining the appearance of the heritage-listed building as much as possible. Another objective was for the systems to be adaptable to different sound situations.

The King’s Hall is the entrance and simultaneously the heart of the building. After a manufacturer comparison, Miranda chose DLI-130 line source speakers with Fohhn Beam Steering Technology for this area. On three sides of the hall, there are two line source speakers each so the audience is always provided with sound from the front, depending on where the guide is standing. Using media control, it is possible to choose which loudspeaker pair is activated at any given time, and an AM-40 Airea Master distributes the audio and DSP control signals to the loudspeaker systems.

Thanks to Fohhn Beam Steering Technology, it was possible to install the DLI loudspeakers high up, right on the wall, so they are barely visible. The sound dispersion behaviour was electronically tilted downwards and precisely aimed at the audience area to reduce the acoustic effects of the ceiling and walls, and to inhibit reflections.

In the two chambers as well, the idea was for the new loudspeaker system to provide balanced sound for the seats, while preventing reflections from the ceiling and walls. Two DLI-230 line source speakers each with Fohhn Beam Steering Technology were chosen. Depending on whether the gallery is being used at the time, the line source speakers can generate a second beam that only targets this area. Two XS-30 subwoofers are hidden behind the gallery’s balustrade in each room.

For further information about the whole media technology installation, please read the article by Derek Powell in AV Technology: https://av.technology/projects/order-in-the-house

We would like to thank Auditoria and Sound Advice for implementing this project!