CHENNAI: The words — network beam steerable loudspeakers or an open baffle system — might sound Greek to most of us. But to 53-year-old Roshan K Thomas, dealing with audio equipment and electronic devices has been the passion and profession for the past 20 years. Although a commerce graduate, he has been a part of the Audio Engineering Society — a worldwide platform for professionals and students involved in the audio industry. His latest project involved developing a natural sounding audio for the newly opened MS Subbulakshmi auditorium at the campus of Asian College of Journalism.
The device uses advanced digital signal processing to deliver the natural sound of a live acoustic performance. “The concept was to help us get the feel of a natural sound of a live performance. For speeches and performances, microphones are not needed. Even the most feeble voice will be audible until the end of the hall. The diffusers and reflectors built in will carry the sound up to the back without echoes. Everything is integrated in such a way that people cannot recognise the speakers and only hear the uncoloured sound,” tells Roshan who is a part of Orange Pale brand, originally founded by his mentor and inspiration David Santwan in 1988.
The idea of having natural acoustics was conceptualised arouCHENNAI: nd three years back. In an effort to prevent echoes and reflection of sounds, the 342-seater space is designed with their custom built Orange Pale audio system featuring 12 channels of amplification, digital signal processors and a three-way Dsp line array speakers. “The electronic section was handled by David, myself and a bunch of craftsmen who worked for us. It is a team effort which includes Sashi Kumar, chairman of the college who envisioned the concept; Tara Murali who was the architect and Ramani Ramakrishnan who was the principal designer of natural acoustics. The electronic and sound department got involved with work only last December,” says Roshan.
It was inaugurated in October with performances of renowned Carnatic musicians Aruna Sairam and Ramakrishna Murthy. The venue is an addition to the existing kutcheri circuit in the city.
To the advantage of having natural acoustics, we can expect a calm musical experience after getting rid of the clamor among the audience. “When you use amplification, sounds are prone to echoes. The challenge was to design an audio system that closely delivers the same natural sound like a live performance for those occasions where amplification was must as video screenings. Musicians had to get used to performing without electronic mediators, feedback systems and microphones. Each instrument will be treated individualistic and heard separately. Even the slightest of comments passed among audience can be heard,” tells Roshan who also makes furniture for audio devices and loves experimenting cutting-edge technology.
Most of the technologies used are developed in-house. “I believe this is a story that must be told to prove that India can make ultra-high-quality products for a global market and to reveal to the world the genius of David Santwan, who was always ahead of his time,” shares Roshan.
Famous works
David Santwan has designed studios of KJ Yesudas, A R Rahman among other celebrities. The team under David has re-engineered acoustics for Music Academy, designed Ramoji Film City Studio and the sound system for Indian Navy Missile Demo Centre.