ADVANCE PRO’S WORK AT MOSAIC STADIUM IN REGINA, SK
Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Regi-
na, SK’s Mosaic Stadium.
Ted Parnell joined the company in 2002
and now heads its pro audio division. “I’ve
been exposed to every kind of commercial
audio, sound masking, and live sound system
environment you can imagine,” Parnell says.
“The consumer world has had an impact on
the pro world, mostly in the sense of expec-
tations – and those aren’t always 100 per cent
realistic; sometimes, what’s marketed in the
consumer world leads people to believe any-
thing is possible and everything is easy.”
It isn’t, but stretching the limits of possi-
bility and making consumer/end-user expe-
riences straightforward is Advance Pro’s goal
across the board.
“Some developments in the consumer
world that have trickled into the pro audio/
commercial world, however, have actually
made that more difficult,” says Peter Bernatsky,
a managing partner with the firm. “The av-
erage person’s direct experience with audio
systems is a home stereo or something similar.
Also, shopping online leads people to believe
they can fill a shopping cart with components
and end up with a [professional] system, which
they can’t. Our challenge is to promote the
value of experience and our ability to design
systems, which starts by steering clients to-
wards thinking about design/functionality and
away from thinking about bits and pieces.
“We’ve seen a drop in certain catego-
ries of market verticals,” Bernatsky continues.
“Restaurants, clubs, and bars, for instance, they
want a fantastic audio experience, but don’t
necessarily see value in purchasing quality
equipment and integration services.” In special-
40 PROFESSIONAL SOUND
ized spaces like museums, stadiums, and tran-
sit hubs where audio intelligibility is critical for
both entertainment and emergency systems,
there’s typically more value placed on a pur-
pose-built PA system. “But even in the design/
engineering community itself, some people
just dust off old specs, thinking ‘that’s good
enough,’” adds Bernatsky. “But it isn’t.”
While the cost of utilizing sophisticated
audio gear with powerful zoning and EQing
functions to tailor sound to accommodate
a specific acoustical environment can be a
barrier, it’s critical to success – particularly in
“exciting, interesting spaces, which, from an
audio perspective – if there are multiple ceiling
heights and reflective finishes – make it chal-
lenging to just install distributed speakers on
one level throughout the room,” he notes.
That said, Parnell puts in: “Sound masking,
creating spaces where people have privacy,
is becoming more important as collaborative
workspaces and open office areas are promot-
ed. People want to collaborate, but not against
their will.”
The more complex and multi-functional
the space, the more variables there are – the
number of people in the room at different
times, the need for ambient volume sensors,
digital scheduling devices, multiple loudspeak-
er types, as well as, obviously, intelligibility,
coverage, and aesthetics. All add to the price
tag and design complexity.
Still, AV and wireless control systems typ-
ically associated with higher-end projects are
finding their way into food courts and other
spaces where audio was once an afterthought.
“There are exciting developments on that end,”
Parnell says.
“In the corporate AV
market, for boardrooms,
conference rooms, and
classrooms, we’re also
seeing a resurgence in the
importance of audio and
speech intelligibility for
meetings,” Bernatsky adds.
Audio manufactur-
ers are stepping up their
game to speak to expecta-
tions of quality, clarity, and
aesthetics in such spaces,
notably with steerable,
highly-configurable micro-
phone and speaker arrays
that virtually disappear
once installed. “People
always want things to be
invisible,” Bernatsky says,
chuckling, “which was
harder in the old days.
So that’s an example of
a breakthrough digital
technology for us, and for
architects and interior designers.”
Again, although there’s a cost, technolo-
gy of that ilk meets growing expectations and
saves money down the line. “Take a lawyer’s
office where, previously, we’d be cutting into
custom millwork or installing pipe in a con-
crete floor for wiring,” offers Bernatsky. “Now,
there’s a return on investment to being more
cutting-edge.”
Conversely, consumer grade products
– video or audio – are unlikely to translate
seamlessly to professional applications, but
the workflows and learning curves associated
with them are increasingly expected to.
The greatest expectation – and potential
barrier to adoption – is ease of use. Bernatsky
elaborates: “They don’t want a system only
one person knows how to use; they want to
push a button that turns on the projector and
audio system and switches to the right input
and a predetermined level.”
“It should be transparent and not stand
in the way of the intent,” Parnell adds. “Any-
thing that distracts participants interferes with
the experience. The goal is making things
transparent, not just increasing functionality,
and tech seems to be headed in this direction.”
Of course, meeting the expectations of clients
is integral to the success of architects like
Jennifer Mallard, a principal with Diamond
Schmitt Architects.
Over the past three decades, Mallard
has worked on dozens of different facilities.
Since joining DSAI – a Toronto-based practice
with a decidedly global reach – in 2000, those
include Shakespeare Theatre Company’s