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 binaural 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 halfway 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 electromagnetically and reproduced over the system to warn the audience at the end of an interval. See also following abstracts.