Flying saucers
One of the most notable features of London’s Royal Albert Hall is the extraordinary domed roof installed in 1869, together with the 85 ‘flying saucer’ discs (added decades later) which act as sound diffusers.
For generations, musicians and audiences alike frequently complained about the Hall's acoustics, which were pretty awful – particularly the long, lingering echoes caused by the shape of the roof. But in the late 1960s, sound engineers came up with the answer – a series of discs suspended from the roof to absorb the sound and eliminate the long echoes.
And it worked! Over the years since then, the quality and effectiveness of the discs has been markedly improved, and it was a terrific decision by the RAH management to make them a stand-out feature, rather than try to hide or disguise them.
This was my view of the roof the other night, just before a superb Beethoven concert.
Flying saucers
One of the most notable features of London’s Royal Albert Hall is the extraordinary domed roof installed in 1869, together with the 85 ‘flying saucer’ discs (added decades later) which act as sound diffusers.
For generations, musicians and audiences alike frequently complained about the Hall's acoustics, which were pretty awful – particularly the long, lingering echoes caused by the shape of the roof. But in the late 1960s, sound engineers came up with the answer – a series of discs suspended from the roof to absorb the sound and eliminate the long echoes.
And it worked! Over the years since then, the quality and effectiveness of the discs has been markedly improved, and it was a terrific decision by the RAH management to make them a stand-out feature, rather than try to hide or disguise them.
This was my view of the roof the other night, just before a superb Beethoven concert.