Custom Acoustic Panels Enhance Local Theater

One of the most effective ways to improve the sound quality in an auditorium is to install custom acoustic panels. 

Beck Center for the Arts, a non-profit organization that combines professional theater with arts education, is a proud part of Northeast Ohio’s professional theater landscape. 

Located in Lakewood, Ohio, the Beck Center folks felt that its main 500-seat performance venue, the Mackey Auditorium, deserved better acoustic quality and speech intelligibility for all amplified drama and musical theater. They retained Steve Haas, CEO & Principal Consultant of SH Acoustics (who coincidentally grew up very close to the Beck Center) to evaluate and solve their sound issues from both an acoustic and audio perspective. 

Haas concluded through a series of objective measurements and subjective listening evaluation that, in addition to the sound system requiring significant tuning and calibration, there were significant delayed reflections occurring off the slightly-concave rear wall. This affected sound clarity for the audience and timing for the actors. Based on this assessment, Haas recommended the proper custom acoustic solution to remedy the sub-par acoustic conditions in the auditorium.  

Custom Acoustic Panels for Better Sound Quality 

Based on Haas’ recommendations, Buncher Construction precisely installed MBI Products’ Masquerade custom acoustic panels on the walls in the theater space. The Masquerade system is flexible and easy, quick, and clean to install and replace. It is built for modularity and flexibility to meet the needs of various architectural concepts. 

Subsequent to the installation of the MBI panel, Haas returned to the Beck Center to perform a calibration of the audio system and evaluate the improvements in the acoustic environment. 

“Not only did the unoccupied mid-frequency reverberation time reduce from 1.2s to 0.8s with the new treatments, but our testing showed a complete elimination of all problematic reflections at both the audience and stage areas,” states Haas. “We have specified MBI products in many applications like this and are always confident in their ability to provide an acoustically excellent and cost-effective solution to our clients.”

Masquerade custom acoustic panels are affixed to the wall at the back of the theater at Beck Center.

If you have any questions about theater acoustics or custom acoustic panels, please contact the sound experts at MBI Products. We would be happy to speak with you!