What is Beam Steering?
Every room or environment has its own unique acoustics. In spaces with reverberant materials like glass walls, lofty ceilings or wooden pews, the sound pressure waves bounce off of these surfaces, gradually losing energy over time. The end result? Muddied sound and poor intelligibility.
Enter beam steering.
Think of the focused, targeted beam of a flashlight. Now imagine that beam of light as a beam of sound. Essentially, beam-steering technology allows all our ICONYX family loudspeakers to tightly control sound and put it right where it’s needed: on the audience. By keeping sound away from other surfaces that may cause echoes and reverberation, our steerable loudspeakers ensure pristine, crystal-clear speech and music reproduction for an unforgettable audio experience. Intelligibility is the key, and our mission at Renkus-Heinz is to give every listener the best sound possible.
How Does It Work?
Our RHAON II System Manager and BeamWare software offer a simple, intuitive interface to control a complicated mathematical process. Our technology enables sound system designers to create multiple beams of sound, perfectly tailored to the room in question. Powerful FIR coefficients are calculated and downloaded into the loudspeaker’s amplifier module, turning the designed beams into reality. Inside the loudspeaker amplifier module, each driver has its own amplifier and DSP channel which, when loaded with the FIR filters, EQ and Delay, create the steerable beams.
To find out how it works in more detail, here’s our Iconyx Whitepaper explaining the concept, the mathematics and the practical applications of ICONYX beam-steering technology.
The Benefits
Clear, Intelligible Sound for Any Space
From complex environments to everyday spaces, every room is unique. Your sound solution should be, too.
Every space, whether it’s a reverberant 12th century cathedral or a staid company boardroom, has its own acoustic environment and challenges. Our powerful technology creates custom-tailored sound and coverage dialed into the exact geometry of every space for the best audio experience possible. From the crack of a bat to the last note of a symphony, every note and every word for every listener comes through crystal-clear with our steerable technology.
Minimal Architectural Intrusion
Of course, designing a sound system isn’t only about acoustics but also about aesthetics. As we’re steering the sound, not the loudspeaker, our ICONYX columns can all be mounted plumb to the wall with no vertical angling. Add this to their tall, thin size and custom paint color options, and you get incredible speakers that blend seamlessly into the background for clear sightlines and an uncompromised atmosphere.
Beam steering is a flexible, powerful solution that meets the needs of sound system designers and architects alike. Now you never need to compromise between sound quality and visual appeal.
A Cost-Effective Solution
Another great benefit of beam steering is the ability to cover multiple audience areas from a single loudspeaker. For example, loudspeakers mounted in the back of a church nave could have some beams directed at the choir in the balcony while other beams focus on the congregation. This capability also has a positive impact on installation since there are fewer cables to run and, of course, fewer loudspeakers to mount or maintain.
Easy, Intuitive, and Hassle-Free
While other beam steering solutions in the industry may have a reputation for being a bit esoteric or tricky to use, Renkus-Heinz is known for having the most intuitive and easy-to-use steering software in the industry – especially with the launch of our all-new, award-winning OmniBeam software. Housed within our RHAON II System Manager, our algorithmized OmniBeam is the culmination of decades of industry-leading expertise in steerable technology. Just enter in your audience data and the position of the loudspeaker, then hit the “Snap to Audience” button – et voilà! Instant, custom-tailored coverage precisely dialed into the exact geometry of any space.
With OmniBeam, our driving philosophy was to give consultants and integrators back their time. Now anyone, no matter their level of expertise, can achieve phenomenal results in minimal time, every time. We’re renowned for our beam steering, but OmniBeam is as simple to deploy as point and shoot – no steering required!
