Well-Planned Acoustics Won’t Awaken The Echoes Notable Sound Improvements Will Make Concerts Worth Hearing

What a concept: an arena where you can actually hear the music.

Spokane concert-goers accustomed to that vast echo chamber called the old Spokane Coliseum should be pleasantly surprised by the Spokane Arena.

This is a building designed with acoustics in mind.

“We were brought in very early on in the design stage,” said Michael Yantis of the Seattle acoustical design firm Michael R. Yantis and Associates. “The acoustics were a high priority in this building from the beginning, and we were given the needed budget to make it work.”

The work is almost over, and the last baffle has been hung. Yantis has already run some tests and “mathematical models” which he said has given him “a strong sense of confidence” that they have a winner on their hands.

“The sound should be great,” said Yantis. “We have speakers designed so that it will provide a greater sense of intimacy than what might be typical. We’re looking forward to hearing it for the first time.”

In a building of this size, the interior shape is fairly standard. The architectural design is not intended to enhance the sound, as it is in a small concert hall. Instead of shaping the hall, the acoustical designer’s goal is to absorb all of the unwanted sound.

The idea is to convert a big booming echo chamber into a relatively “dead” chamber; i.e., a chamber without echoes. The room must be “dead” for the music to sound alive.

The ceiling is the biggest sound-absorbing space, and Yantis and his firm have draped much of it with “lapendaries,” which are big vinyl absorptive baffles, hung horizontally in wave shapes. Toward the edges of the ceiling, vertical baffles have been hung.

In addition, perforated metal panels are installed at certain points around the walls to prevent sound reflection.

The system of speakers was then designed to direct the sound at the audience, so it won’t bounce off of reflective surfaces.

“With modern rock concerts, you want absorption,” said Yantis. “You want to take the room out of it as much as possible. And for sports, what we’re trying to do is make the sound system clear and audible, so you can hear the announcer.”

And finally, there is one last element in an acoustical design: people.

“The people are absorptive,” said Yantis. “The place will perform differently when people are there than when it is empty.”

Which is why, even after all of the planning and all of the computer models, the real test comes on Sept. 16 when the first guitar chord kerrangs out of the speakers and either does, or does not, bounce around the arena.

“I’m sure I’ll be there for it,” said Yantis. “And a couple of times after that, too.”

Listening, tinkering, and stamping out any stray echoes.

, DataTimes