SR/Live Sun, November 23, 2008

Tannoy has commissioned NWAA Labs, an independent laboratory providing uniform product testing of loudspeakers and materials to the audio and acoustics industry, to undertake an extensive specification verification program for its loudspeaker products.

The ongoing working relationship with NWAA Labs enables Tannoy to present an independently verified folio of technical data for each product, eliminating the need for this to be repeatedly commissioned by consultants and specifiers across the world.

Unlike any other laboratory in the world, NWAA Labs has the ability to do MACH Testing (Multi Angle Computerised High-speed Testing) to meet ISO and ASTM standards.

Based just north of Los Angeles, the laboratory facilities include an anechoic chamber and two reverberation chambers uniquely fitted with the MACH Testing system.

Led by former NASA design engineer and scientist Ron Sauro, the NWAA Labs team combines the talents of well-respected researchers, acousticians and consultants to provide unmatched state-of-the-art testing.

Well known in the audio and acoustics industry as a consultant and a member of the EASE and EASERA computer software development team, Sauro brings over 20 years of field experience to the company.

Originally developed by NASA in 1968 for use in testing the Pioneer, Explorer and Voyager spacecrafts in addition to the manned Apollo lunar program, the MACH Testing method has been reformulated into a revolutionary process for evaluating loudspeakers and materials.

This cross-pollination of technology from the realm of space research to the world of sound and acoustics research has produced a high-speed testing system unlike any other.

The new MACH testing method uses a proprietary array comprised of 19 matched microphones and a precision turntable capable of one tenth degree accuracy.

It simultaneously samples impulse responses within an anechoic chamber and uses these to create loudspeaker radiation balloons in a fraction of the time used by other testing methods.

This data is gathered by a multi-channel version of EASERA, using appropriate stimuli, and then is converted to EASE V4, EASE V3, CLF 1 and 2 formats for distribution to consultants and specifiers.

The EASE and CLF data packages, plus the comprehensive specification documentation zip files, are all available from the main download section of the Tannoy website.

Alternatively they may be accessed via each individual product page on the website. Tannoy Professional products covered by the NWAA Labs data verification program: In Ceiling, In Wall, Sound Reinforcement, and Surface Mount.

For more information:
Tannoy Website