Simulating SPL

You can visualize the simulation of your array’s direct SPL onto your zones. The simulation results are rendered as heat maps of your Audience Zones and Boundary Zones. When viewing the simulation, you can adjust the dB scale in the SPL mapping in the right of the viewport.

An environment’s temperature and humidity impact sound propagation and are considered during both the simulation and optimization processes. Coverage Beams are Optimized and simulated at the temperature defined in the preset layer they are in, and different beam variants can have different environmental conditions.

Parametric Beams and Virtual Sources are all simulated and optimized at 20 °C and 50 % humidity, with the default air pressure being 1 atm (101325 Pa). Our Simulation Engine uses both AES2 crest factor 4 (12 dB) and normalized male speech spectrum input signals.

Plan’s Simulation Engine produces results for the direct sound, not the room's response. To analyze the closed-room simulations in EASE (AFMG), you can export your array and beam configurations from Plan as a .xglc file (File > Export to Ease) and then import that file into EASE along with our provided .gll file from the Downloads section.

The Simulation Engine re-meshes all imported geometry to have new vertices with a spacing of 0.5m. The heat map shader renders a simulation value as a color at each vertex and samples the pixels in between simulation points through bilinear interpolation.

Use the controls at the top of the viewport to adjust the simulation displayed.

Bandwidth

View the Simulation by different bandwidths by selecting from the Bandwidth drop-down.

The Broadband Selection mode provides a direct SPL heatmap for all frequencies on audience zones and boundary zones. By selecting Broadband from the drop-down menu, you can view the unweighted broadband in the direct SPL heatmap, displaying raw SPL values without any frequency weighting applied.

Select a different weighting to view the Simulation for the desired bandwidth. Selecting dB(C) from the drop-down menu lets you view the C-weighted broadband in the direct SPL heatmap. Similarly, selecting dB(A) from the drop-down menu allows you to visualize the A-weighted broadband in the direct SPL heatmap.

Frequency

The frequency mode lets you visualize SPL heatmaps at various narrowband frequency resolutions by dividing the signal energy into fractional octaves. To activate this mode and access the specific frequency bands, first select the desired bandwidth in the Bandwidth dropdown, then select an option in the Frequency dropdown to select a center frequency within the available range of 22.4 Hz - 22,400 Hz.

Beam interference

The beam interference toggle allows for analysis of how beams interfere with each other by assuming that the input signal routed to all beams is perfectly correlated, allowing you to identify any potential problem areas of constructive and destructive interference within your venue.

Beam interference is shown for all frequencies, but its impact is more perceptible at lower frequencies. To access this mode, turn Beam Interference on in the drop-down menu in the simulation controls.

Acoustic shadowing

Acoustic shadowing is a way to represent zones obstructing one another from the sound propagating from an array. By default, HOLOPLOT Plan's Simulation Engine does not create acoustic shadowing with any zones, and all audience zones and boundary zones are treated as acoustically transparent.

The Acoustic Shadowing dropdown sets the Simulation Engine’s use of acoustic shadowing to define boundary zones as non-acoustically transparent. When this setting is enabled, boundary zones act as acoustically non-transparent surfaces. Sound waves emitted from an array travel along a straight line path to a zone, and when they encounter a boundary zone obstacle, the sound wave is blocked from continuing to any further zones. The SPL will drop visibly on the heat map in certain directions due to the shadowing effect. This phenomenon is called acoustic shadowing. The more boundary zones you have and the more complex their geometries are, the slower the simulation with acoustic shadowing becomes, so it's best to leave this setting disabled unless you need it.

Zone Resolution

Activating the Zone Resolution button allows you select a specific resolution for the simulation. Available options are High (0.2 meters), Medium (2 meters), Low (4 meters), and Minimum (8 meters), giving control over the level over speed of simulation vs. level of detail. Lower resolutions can significantly speed up the simulation process, making them ideal for quickly assessing designs or running early simulations before finalizing a setup. This feature is particularly beneficial for intricate, large-scale projects.

Environmental condition

Environmental conditions can be added to presets.

When simulation is enabled, environmental conditions can be used to test how a preset will perform under certain atmospheric circumstances, which can be done using the Env. Condition drop down in the Simulation.

All the environmental conditions in your project will be visible in the dropdown. Selecting an environmental condition will allow you to view how the environmental condition in the selected preset will perform. If it's the same as active, you will view the simulation under the same conditions the preset has been optimized for. If you select a different environmental condition, you will be able to see how the environmental condition of the selected preset will perform under different temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure conditions.