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sounding off

blog of acoustics, noise, vibration & audio-visual systems

Binaural Recording with a Dummy Head

Tom Thelen | Auditorium | December 17th, 2008 | 3 Comments

This past week, as we took acoustical measurements at the Calvin College Fine Arts Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a music teacher poked her head into the auditorium and asked if aliens had landed. “Well, not exactly”, I said. But I admitted that it did look and sound a lot like it. Binaural “dummy head” recording isn’t exactly something you see (or hear) everyday, so here is a brief glance at why this technique is used by acousticians. (more)

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Perception Vs. Reality: What Our Ears Hear

Tom Thelen | Auditorium | December 12th, 2008 | 8 Comments

It seems like everyone is talking about decibels these days: “5 dB of this” and “3 dB of that.” As acoustical consultants, we hear people using these metrics and often wonder to ourselves, “Do they really know what a decibel is?” Occasionally, someone is brave enough to ask the more important question, “Just how much is a decibel?” The answer to that question is, of course: well, it depends. Are we talking about physical sound levels or perceived sound levels?  There is a big difference! (more)

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LEED for Healthcare to be Adopted in 2009

Kenric Van Wyk | Sustainable | December 4th, 2008 | Leave A Comment

The LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED was created by the U.S. Green Building Council to define “green building” through a common standard, and to promote integrated, whole-building design practices. There are several categories of LEED building certification programs including: LEED for New Construction, LEED for Existing Buildings, LEED for Schools, and LEED for Retail, just to name a few. And as of last week, the U.S.G.B.C. announced plans to adopt a new LEED category in 2009: Healthcare. (more)

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