Imagine entering a room where every note and word sounds as clear and pure as if you were standing at the centre of the sound source. That was exactly the challenge with the donation-financed sound system for a special mosque – a project that required not only technical skills, but also a deep understanding of architecture, acoustics and tradition. In this fascinating journey through the world of sound system technology we discover how innovative solutions and creative approaches come together to transform a traditional building into a place where sound and silence are in perfect harmony. We met for coffee with Florian Welzbacher, Key Account Manager for MONACOR International.
Hello! A particular challenge with this mosque was that it was still under construction when our customer got in contact. The building was still just a shell when the first site meeting took place.
Yes, which also has its advantages. We were still able to propose cable routes and speaker positions relatively freely. On the other hand, we could only estimate the acoustics very roughly because some structural components were still missing. Likewise, the carpets, which are acoustically important, were not yet fitted.
Different approaches that can be used to assess acoustic situations. For example, we can measure the reverberation time. But we can also create a basis for the concept based on simulations.
In the case of the mosque, the personal impressions gathered on site were nevertheless crucial.
The listening quality you get in the space
... in combination with knowledge about the sound of our speakers
... and the structural options for speaker positioning.
The ground rules for the sound concept was quickly established based on what the client expected from the resulting sound. We worked with a very experienced and established installer, which also helped.
The listening quality you get in the space
... in combination with knowledge about the sound of our speakers
... and the structural options for speaker positioning.
The ground rules for the sound concept was quickly established based on what the client expected from the resulting sound. We worked with a very experienced and established installer, which also helped.
Architecture always plays an important role when considering sound concepts – especially in the installation. This is a particularly important point in a mosque as well as in a church. After all, the technology must not interfere with the architectural features.
In buildings like these, we have to find a winning balance between visually unobtrusive technology and the fulfilment of acoustic requirements. This is the same in all sacred spaces.
Sacred buildings usually comprise elongated rooms with very high ceilings and stone surfaces. This creates an extremely long reverberation time. If we then talk about high speech intelligibility as a goal, that is a special task. The current mosque has a rather square floor plan, with a wide front. The floor is carpeted. The walls are plastered. This means that the topic of reverberation is less relevant in this case. In fact, the components of a mosque are always fundamentally similar, as the geometric shape in most of them is usually similar, just with variations in dimension. No matter how big the space, the sound has to be good everywhere.
Our goal was to achieve as homogeneous a sound as possible with good speech intelligibility. To do this, we installed the speakers in a total of eight positions in the prayer room. We also used column speakers that have a horizontally wide and vertically flat angle of radiation as well as a high level of stability over longer distances. This means that the sound is directed to where it is needed and unwanted reflections are avoided as far as possible.
Two things are crucial: design and, as already mentioned, positioning. In the case of the mosque, we chose the white version of the speakers because they are very inconspicuous in that particular environment. The placement of the speakers on the pillars beneath and on the gallery was also important.
"The final result was really impressive – I attended prayers in a mosque for the first time in my life for the photos at the end of the project."
The longevity and ease of maintenance of the technology are two very important aspects. Maintenance is often time-consuming and either expensive for the eventual client or not economically viable for our installation partners. Our installation partners often choose our products because they are largely maintenance-free and have a very long service life. In particular, our installation technology in the 100 volt range lasts an impressively long time.
Time and again I come across construction projects where MONACOR products have already been installed and in some cases have been operating faultlessly for over 20 or 30 years.
Beam steering technology is certainly one of the technologies of the future for these applications. To put it in a nutshell: this technology lets you direct sound. This makes it possible to eliminate disturbing reflections as much as possible, especially in acoustically difficult sacred buildings. This is the key to speech intelligibility. The technology is already being used successfully today and is currently proving its mettle. I believe that people will turn to it even more in future and exploit its benefits. However, it will not replace “conventional” technology, which works very well in most applications and is significantly cheaper.
Would you like to find out more about our projects? You'll find more references, from restaurants to churches, here.
