Steen Mertz, director of communications technology at Jyske Bank, partnered with Anders Jørgensen, project manager for Copenhagen-based integrator Stouenborg, with the aim to create a welcoming space that encourages free-flowing conversations.
"Our goal was to optimize the space and improve communications within the bank, as well as with international business partners during videoconferences," says Mertz. "With the adaptability and surprisingly natural acoustical qualities of Constellation, we have achieved this goal to a remarkable degree."
The Constellation system has four presets customized for the bank's range of business uses. These settings take advantage of Constellation's voice lift feature, which generates precisely articulated and directed early reflections to greatly enhance intelligibility.
In Presentation mode, the system picks up the signals near the presenter and reproduces them in the audience area, while in Debate mode, the gain is raised throughout the room so all may participate in a discussion and be heard easily, with no need for microphones or raised voices. In Conference Table mode, the system focuses on the sounds from the centre of the room, and Small Groups mode uses subtle reverberation effects to provide acoustical isolation between adjacent groups.
For external videoconferencing, Constellation seamlessly picks up all voices, with no need for individual microphones. "We've already had compliments from other companieswe work with," reports Mertz. "They say it's very easy to hear what everyone in the room is saying, and this is mainly due to Constellation."
Constellation also avoids the communication hazards that individual tabletop microphones present in conference applications. "With tabletop mics, if you look up and down or side to side, the level changes," says J°rgensen. "But with Constellation you can turn in any direction, even stand up and move around, and everyone in the room still hears you clearly."
In addition, the system includes special presets with long reverberation times of up to four seconds for musical applications. These long settings are appreciated by the bank's in-house choir, which now uses the space for weekly rehearsals.
"The system sounds completely natural, as if you were changing wall materials, or moving walls closer or further away on demand," adds Jørgensen.
The Constellation system comprises 36 MM-4XPD and 22 MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers, two UP-4XP 48 V loudspeakers, four Stella-8C installation loudspeakers, eight MM-10XP 48 V subwoofers, and 25 discreetly mounted miniature condenser microphones. A D-Mitri digital audio platform running on Constellation's patented VRAS acoustical algorithm is at the core of the system.
(Jim Evans)
