In retirement community function areas, it is paramount that the residents have the best sound possible since many of them are hearing challenged. To provide them a poor quality system can only serve to frustrate and create negative dialog.

It is important for your residents to hear well and it is great marketing for those considering your retirement community.

Blakehurst is a lovely facility located in Towson, MD. The Director of Resident Services, Joanne Kokie, gave us a call upon hearing of the work we did at Ginger Cove in Annapolis. In our initial meeting with Mrs. Kokie, she shared how the residents were having difficulty hearing in the back and center of their auditorium. She went on to explain that the auditorium was a very important room since it is where many of their functions are held and with the residents having difficulty hearing, it made the room, well, less functional.

Unfortunately, Blakehurst is a typical example of how a contractor did not take the time to consider the audience or the overall sound of the room. Two reasonable quality speakers were installed in the front of the room and that was it.

The standard means for quantifying (identifying) sound levels (Sound Pressure Levels or SPL) is with the measurement unit - the decibel, or dB. The bar graph on the side of each model shows the SPL range that can be expected in the room. The more solidly the room is colored, the room will sound more even. Note the two bold yellow spots where the original speakers were installed in the first graph - this shows the hot spots and the rest of the picture shows the cold spots Blakehurst was experiencing. Notice the relative evenness of the AV/COM model across from it.

• In the left column, we have acoustically modeled the original installation as it was before we started.
• In the right column, we show the results of how AV/COM used computer modeling to identify the correct speaker and placement to provide a system capable of smooth and adequate level to accommodate a clear spoken word for the message and a powerful sound for the Praise Team.

Due to the image size, the graphs are not fully readable. The following data has been extracted from the results:

The significance of the AV/COM column versus the before column is the narrower average of minimum and maximum Total SPL showing exactly why the original system experienced hot and cold spots and the AV/COM system offers accurate and much more even sound to every seat in the auditorium. In order for the residents in the rear of the room to hear, the residents in the front of the room were getting blasted with sound or the front of the room residents could have a comfortable sound level while those in the back could not hear.

In a room with a level ceiling, we are used to seeing extremely level SPL from the AV/COM design; however, combining the short ceiling and the fact that there are four ceiling trays at a different height then the main ceiling, it would have required almost twice the number of speakers to make this room perfectly even. Given the budget considerations, Blakehurst was very pleased with the final result.

In addition, the installed equipment is run by the residents themselves. The original system was confusing for the residents to operate. We installed a system that requires about two minutes of training for a novice to make it work beautifully.

Let us evaluate your systems and make sure they are appropriate for your facility and your clientele.