It’s a strange quirk of the English language that we talk about ‘seeing’ films, television and live performances, when so much of their information is received through our ears. In higher education (HE) the ears are now even more critical, with the past year having presented the biggest ever challenges to the audible aspect of learning.
Wide range of spaces
During the pandemic – and very likely far into the future – audio content in the HE sector is being broadcast from a much wider range of spaces than ever before. We’ve all experienced Zoom encounters with someone speaking from their kitchen, with sound bouncing off all those hard, flat surfaces. This poor audio quality is compounded by it being captured using the substandard microphones built into laptop computers, tablets, webcams and consumer podcasting packages.
The issues are magnified further by the sound being received in a huge variety of acoustically imperfect spaces, usually via equipment which wasn’t specifically designed for relaying clear speech.
One of the key lessons to emerge from the past year has been that many of the old norms have been replaced by the need for adaptability and flexibility. In HE, it’s clear that delivering high quality sound needs to be a fundamental part of this new approach.
Automated room tuning
ADECIA is an intelligent, installed audio solution with automated room tuning and dynamic, multi-beam microphone tracking to relay highly intelligible speech. This can be in room, over a facility’s IP network, broadcast globally online – or all three.
Developed by Yamaha, ADECIA harnesses over 130 years of high tech audio development to create a flexible, easily operated system, which benefits both users and systems managers. ADECIA core processors provide centralised control for IT departments, but the audio passes through a separate network connection. This reduces the amount of additional core network traffic and mitigates any potential security issues.
ADECIA systems include ceiling or tabletop microphones that do not simply collect sound from throughout the room. They intelligently tune themselves to focus on voices that are speaking, filtering out unwanted sound reflections and background noise to deliver crystal clear, stress-free speech, without needing any technical knowledge to set up.
Single manufacturer: end-to-end solution
Another critical advantage is that, with its long history of manufacturing loudspeakers, amplifiers, mixing consoles and matrix processors, Yamaha can offer a truly end-to-end audio solution.
ADECIA systems can be seamlessly integrated with Yamaha’s other intelligent audio products, including the MRX / MTX range of matrix processors, network switches, I/O racks, intelligent amplifiers and more.
Managers have the reassurance of seamless communication between system components and that every device is supported by the same company, avoiding headaches where one device is updated but another isn’t. Overall system management is also much easier than with equipment from different manufacturers, an important factor when it’s installed in multiple locations and a long-term return on investment is required.
For people communicating from, for example, home or other remote environments, a range of USB plug-and-play speakerphones is available which offers advanced technology to reduce background/reflected noise, delivering better sound quality than the microphones and speakers built into computers, tablets and smartphones.
Importantly, Yamaha professional audio equipment has a peerless reputation for reliability. As a manufacturer of mixing consoles used by the biggest music artists, all of the company’s audio products are designed to work reliably, long-term, even in the most challenging conditions.
Upcoming webinar sessions: You can learn more about ADECIA, Yamaha’s UC Solutions range and other professional audio systems for clear HE communication in Yamaha’s live webinars.
In-room or remote
At a time when certainties are in very short supply, flexibility has to be the watchword – not just now, but into the future. The end-to-end ADECIA solution captures sound with precision and features seamless compatibility with Yamaha loudspeakers. Delivering uniform volume and sound quality over a wide area, the slim form VXL series line array loudspeakers can be installed in medium or larger spaces, to maintain social distancing between groups.
Meanwhile, for remote learners, cost-effective speakerphones make communication much clearer.
Wherever HE learning and communication is being delivered and received, substandard audio can no longer be accepted as good enough. The default perception needs to shift away from the emphasis on what we’ve seen, to being about what we’ve heard.
Yamaha UK can visit you with a flight-cased, demonstration ADECIA system, so you can discover what an installed system would sound like out in your own facility.