Sound System Design

The sound system gives the Jam-O-Drum life. The group dealt with many issues when choosing sound hardware. Here is a description of some of them:

Number of speakers

The design called for four speakers on the tabletop in addition to a subwoofer under the table. In addition, lines to the venue's house speakers were included in order play backing tracks for other visitors as they stood around the Zeum cone space.

Single speaker for each user

Previous Jam-O-Drum device had integrated speakers into the tabletop design and it was agreed that the new table should also. There would be four speaker drivers mounted flush to the tabletop and covered with white grills so projections could be laid on top of them. This would allow the group to create customized mixes for each user in addition to playing sound through house speakers. The speakers used were provided through the generosity of NHT.

Sound mixing

In order to allow for customized mixes between the four table and two room speakers and the subwoofer, the group determined that a mixer was needed. The sound would be driven by the four outputs on the PC's SoundBlaster Live card (2 front and 2 rear) as well as its built-in sound outputs, which would give the system 6 channels of playback. A Mackie 1200 mixer was chosen for its small size and relative flexibility.

Acoustics

Consultation with Zeum staff as well as several site surveys indicated that the venue, with its large walls and high ceilings, had very active acoustics. Without the budget or time for sound reflectors or other measures, the group would have to settle for careful sound mixing to take advantage of the room's acoustics. The ability to mix between table speakers and room speakers would make this task easier.

(click on the image to see the full system diagram)