Sound Measurement for Corporate AV Systems

TL;DR

Corporate AV environments require speech intelligibility above all else. STI > 0.60 in conference rooms, background noise below NC-30, and echo cancellation compatibility. SonaVyx measures all critical parameters without requiring expensive hardware.

Acoustic Measurement for Corporate AV and Conference Rooms

Corporate conference rooms and boardrooms require clear speech communication for meetings, presentations, and video calls. Poor acoustics in these spaces lead to listener fatigue, misunderstandings, and reduced productivity. SonaVyx helps AV integrators and facilities managers verify that corporate audio systems meet performance standards.

Speech Intelligibility

The primary acoustic metric for conference rooms is STI (Speech Transmission Index). The minimum acceptable STI for conference spaces is 0.60, with a target of 0.65 or higher for critical applications like courtrooms and legislative chambers. Use SonaVyx's STI measurement tool with the STIPA test signal to verify intelligibility at multiple seating positions. If STI falls below 0.60, the AI diagnostic engine will recommend specific improvements such as adding absorptive panels, adjusting speaker placement, or modifying DSP settings.

Reverberation Time

Conference rooms should target RT60 values between 0.4 and 0.6 seconds for rooms under 300 cubic meters, and 0.6 to 0.8 seconds for larger boardrooms. Measure with SonaVyx's RT60 tool at the center table position and at the far corners. Excessive reverberation degrades speech clarity and causes echo problems on video calls. Insufficient absorption often manifests as elevated RT60 in the 250-500 Hz range where voice fundamentals reside.

Video Call Quality

Remote participants on video calls hear the room acoustic through ceiling microphones. Background noise, reverberation, and echo all degrade the experience. Use the SPL meter to verify background noise is below NC-30 (approximately 35 dBA). Measure the frequency response of ceiling speakers to ensure voice-range coverage from 200 Hz to 8 kHz is within plus or minus 3 dB. The problem detector identifies acoustic echo and comb filtering from poorly placed ceiling microphone and speaker combinations.

Recommended Workflow

Run the System Check workflow first to baseline the room. Follow with STI and RT60 measurements. Use the Room Analysis workflow for a complete assessment. The AI Diagnostic provides a health score and prioritized recommendations. Generate a Client Summary report for the facilities manager that includes compliance verification against the corporate AV standard (typically based on AVIXA or similar guidelines).