The intimate 199-seat Manhattan studio from which the show is broadcast live recently received a high-end audio upgrade courtesy of Yonkers-based Sound Associates. Sound Associates sound designer Timothy Mazur specified a unique and highly focused system featuring multiple zones using a total of 26 Meyer Sound M1D ultra-compact curvilinear array loudspeakers and 17 MM-4 miniature wide-range loudspeakers.
Mazur points out that sound for live television is an art form very different from others he's pursued, presenting a singular set of challenges. "Traditionally, audio in the studio has been a secondary consideration in TV productions," he observes. "It's very different from theatre sound, where we're accustomed to the audio being one of the most important aspects of the presentation. One of the cardinal rules of TV is that you cannot affect how the mix sounds on air, and that limits the amount of level we can put through the system."
Mazur's experience in designing theatrical sound led him to create a system based on a number of very small, localized zones, using several M1D arrays of two and three cabinets each. One of the key elements of TV sound is making the audience feel close to the action, Mazur explains. "In theatre, we try to make it sound like there are no speakers and all of the energy is coming from the stage," he says. "In TV, there's less thought toward system transparency, per se, and more of an effort to make it sound very intimate, so that anywhere you sit, the presence is right there."
The M1D's exceptional directivity provided the tight pattern control Mazur needed for the hall's intimate design. "We effectively created 19 separate delay zones in order to have the highest degree of individualized zone control. By getting smaller groups of speakers closer to the audience, we cut down on reflectivity and create very focused, intimate coverage zones. That's exactly the reason we went with the M1D: it's got a tight, laser-direct coverage pattern. That's the object of the whole design - to throw sound where you want it, and only where you want it."
Another issue unique to the TV studio was that of frequency range. "Intelligibility is key," Mazur explains. "It's very important that the jokes get out there, because the show really feeds off of the audience reaction. To that end, we took pains to avoid any build-up in the low-midrange frequencies that would start to color both the studio audience mics and the host mics." In what he describes as essentially a "pre-emptive strike," Mazur and Sound Associates Executive Vice President Domonic Sack, with the assistance of Bob "the Builder" Hanlon, used the SIM 3 audio analyzer to intentionally overcompensate in the attenuation of the low-mid frequency range. "The sound in the room is not as flat as we would have it in the theatre," he observes, "but it's exceptionally intelligible, and is exactly what's needed in that environment."
(Lee Baldock)
