Sound reinforcement and production for Royal Festival Hall

The construction of the hall and the considerations governing the positioning and arrangement of the loudspeakers for bin-aural reinforcement is described and illustrated by a photograph of the interior and a cross-section of the elevation. The sound control operator sits in a small cubicle half-way up one side of the auditorium so that the results can be heard directly. The cubicle shape demanded a special design of control console which is illustrated together with a block schematic of all the control equipment. About 15% of the seats are fitted with deaf aid. An additional announcing system is provided which can also accept signals from two gramophone pick-ups. A feature is a special 440 c/s gong the vibrations of which are picked up electro-magnetically and reproduced over the system to warn the audience at the end of an interval.