Introduction
Sound Reinforcement systems make live or pre-recorded sounds louder to distribute the sound to a larger or more distant audience. A sound reinforcement system may be as simple as a single microphone connected to a self-powered loudspeaker, or as complex as hundreds of microphones paired to sophisticated mixing, routing and signal processing which outputs to thousands of watts of amplification driving sophisticated loudspeaker arrays.

SymNet Sound Reinforcement systems are fully capable of handling all audio processing required for venues such as Houses of Worship, Theaters, Night Clubs, and more. External devices such as mixers, microphones and other media sources connect to SymNet hardware where processing such as EQ, Compression, Delay, etc. can be applied to the signal preparing it for the amplifiers and speakers. SymNet makes system tuning easier by combining the most commonly used filters and delay into one module, known as the Loudspeaker Management Module. Smaart™-compatible versions of these modules can be directly controlled with computers running Smaart™ sound system measurement software for even greater speed, accuracy and simplicity.

Overview
One of the most common aspects of a sound reinforcement system is known as back-end speaker management. We often refer to sound reinforcement systems as back-end processing systems because their processing happens at the end of the signal chain just before audio is sent to the amplifiers and speakers. In contrast, some of the other types of systems we have identified such as Automixing, Conferencing, and Audio Distribution are considered front-end systems. Typically a front-end audio system feeds a back-end sound reinforcement (speaker management) system. Traditional analog and digital mixing consoles are also examples of front-end audio systems.

Every speaker has its own audio characteristics and once installed into a space, the acoustic properties of the room also contribute to the way that speaker will sound. However, this contribution is not always desirable. The interaction between the speaker and room can cause certain frequencies to be louder or softer than other frequencies requiring corrective EQ. In addition, high frequencies travel faster than low frequencies and arrive at the ear first. Thus time alignment, using precision delays, is required to maximize sound quality.

Both loudspeaker design and room acoustics present challenges for a sound system engineer. Loudspeaker Management is the audio processing technology used to combat sound system or room acoustic anomalies. To varying degrees, every audio system requires some loudspeaker management. SymNet contains these tools and more to shape and align the audio throughout a facility.

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