MESSE09: Fine Tune Your Room

US Vicoustic's new Vari Panel aims to revolutionize the world of variable acoustics 01/04/09

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This year's Frankfurt Musikmesse has seen the launch of a new concept in variable acoustics. Portuguese acoustic solutions manufacturer, Vicoustic, has announced the launch of Vari Panel, a revolutionary system that they believe makes the world of variable acoustic treatment accessible to everyone. Here's what they have to say about it...
Vari Panel is an innovative combination of Vicoustic's award-winning Flexi Panel A50 foam tile, with a detachable wood front panel. Simple fixings on the wood panel are designed to slot into the cavities of the foam, allowing the acoustic properties of a room to be adjusted in minutes, by simply adding or removing selected panels.
Creating a variable acoustic environment has always proved a highly complex and expensive procedure. Major concert halls and multi-purpose venues have invested tens of thousands in systems designed to cater for a range of activities that require different styles of room acoustic. Whatever the room size, many people use the same space for a range of performance purposes, or for recording different instruments and voices. Although the space may have acoustic treatment, the treatment will generally focus on absorbing or diffusing unwanted room frequencies, and it will probably be fixed. However, a space that has been tailored to bring out the best in an acoustic guitar won't necessarily offer the right amount of dryness needed for recording vocals or speech - until now.
Based on the same ARCS (Absorption and Reflection Control System) research model as Vicoustic's flagship Wave Wood panel, Vari Panel's innovative design and flexibility sets a new standard in the variable acoustics market. The non-linear cavities of the wood front panel maintain the energy control of the room, giving the option of adjusting the room acoustic to create a dry recording environment, a bright ambient space, or something in between.
"Product testing has produced some very encouraging results", explains developer Jorge Castro. "Using a 40% coverage in rooms with dimensions of between 15 and 25 square metres, we found that adding the wood increases the room reverb time by approximately 8% on frequencies over 1K. However, a greater percentage increase occurs from 2-4K upwards, increasing the reverb time from approximately 50-65%."
Available during Q2 2009, Vari Panel will be available in two versions:

Vari Panel Kit. Box with 6 wood panels and 6 Flexi Panel A50 foam tiles.
Vari Panel Duo. 2 wood panels for use with customers' existing Flexi Panel A50 foam tiles.

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