Renkus-Heinz recently provided an audio solution for the challenging acoustics at The University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall, a historic venue with a unique circular design. Imagined by prominent architects Darling and Pearson and completed in 1907, it has become a university landmark, hosting the annual convocation ceremonies and serving as the primary venue for academic and social functions due to its seating capacity of over 1,700.
But the hall has been plagued by challenging acoustics as its reflective surfaces introduced significant complications, particularly for speech intelligibility. The previous sound system in Convocation Hall, an ageing column array, was no longer effective – lacking the clarity needed for speech reinforcement in such a large, reverberant space.
Global USS, the project’s integrator, identified Renkus-Heinz solutions, particularly the Iconyx line of loudspeakers with their advanced beam-steering technology, as a good choice. One feature of the Iconyx IC32 is its ability to create multiple beams of sound, each targeting a specific vertical plane of seating. This was particularly useful in Convocation Hall, which features a gently sloped main floor and two levels of balconies. Two Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC32 arrays were installed, positioned about 12ft above the stage.
Each array contains 32 custom 4in coaxial drivers, powered by 32 separate amplifier channels, all controlled through advanced digital signal processing (DSP). This setup allows for precise steering of sound to specific areas of the hall, ensuring that every seat – whether on the floor or in the balconies – receives clear and intelligible audio.
John Busza, systems designer at Global USS, said: “The architecture of the room creates multiple reflections and delayed arrival times, complicating the listening experience. We needed a speaker solution that not only provided high intelligibility but also utilised the existing cabling and infrastructure. Renkus-Heinz has what’s probably the most refined beam-steering technology for line array systems. The Iconyx line has gone through a few generations and it’s incredibly reliable.”
Busza says the speakers also offered an aesthetic solution which was important as Convocation Hall is a heritage building and new equipment has to blend in with its historical interior.
He added: “The speakers can be custom colour-matched, which we did for this project. Architects and interior designers often don’t want the speakers to be seen at all, and with Iconyx, that’s possible. They have the least visual impact of any loudspeaker on the market, and the ability to paint them to match any colour makes them virtually unnoticeable.”
While the primary use of the system is for spoken-word presentations, the system is also designed to provide high-quality audio for musical performances and multimedia presentations.
Another important consideration was the speakers’ advanced feedback rejection capabilities. Convocation Hall frequently uses lavalier microphones, which are known to be particularly susceptible to feedback in large, reverberant spaces. The beam-steering technology in the Iconyx IC32 arrays helped mitigate this issue.
Bill Coons from Contact Distribution, Renkus-Heinz’s local distributor, added: “Iconyx’s summing algorithms used to achieve beam steering have this innate ability to cancel out certain frequencies, thus reducing cyclical signal regeneration that is the cause of feedback. This allows presenters to move around the room without worrying about audio disruptions, and it improves the overall sound quality during audience interaction sessions, where open microphones are used.”
The Iconyx IC32 arrays were integrated with Dante digital audio networking, a modern standard for audio transport that ensures scalability and long-term compatibility with future technologies.
