WinSound is designed to address the need of the medium-sized church with the assumption that it will be used by a non-engineer volunteer. Real experts in the field have much more powerful--and more complicated and expensive--tools at their disposal. Hence, WinSound's user interface and its level of detail are kept as simple as possible while still providing answers to the most common sound problems in churches and other sound-reinforcement applications.

In short, WinSound answers the question, "How do I choose and use the right speakers?" It was created under the following basic theory: Every church has at least one member who is proficient in high-school mathematics, possesses an interest in sound reinforcement principles, and has a little extra time to contribute toward making the system the best it can be. Let's take a look at how these components affect the development of WinSound:

• High-school mathematics: Performing the computations by hand that WinSound does internally would require mastery of advanced mathematics--e.g., trigonometry, coordinate transformations, vector algebra, etc… WinSound presents a user interface that minimizes the math requirements. Still, one needs to know how to tell WinSound where various components are, and the language of location is the Cartesian coordinate system. Thus, if you can understand that the point (3,4,5) is 3 units to the right (along the x axis), 4 units forward (along the y axis), and 5 units above the origin (along the z axis), you are ready to plunge in.
• An interest in sound reinforcement principles: Paul says it best:
 
We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Ro 12:6-8

• A little extra time: The principle benefit of WinSound is the expense it saves by letting a volunteer--rather than a professional consultant--do the time-consuming tasks of measuring the room geometry, researching and entering speaker specifications, and iterating toward an acceptable design. If your church is large enough to afford a professional, by all means, use one. If your building has not been built yet, then definitely use one. WinSound will not alert you to a poorly designed room, and the expertise required to produce a good room is significant. It will be money well spent. In the mean time, you can still use WinSound to investigate the consultant's recommended design as to whether your needs have been clearly communicated and understood.

 

• Direct Sound Intensity: WinSound computes the total direct sound at each location. It uses the properties of the speakers (directivity, frequency response, and efficiency) along with the positions of the speakers, the Sound Man, and the listeners. Thus, it does not attempt to model reflections, reverberation, or room resonances. These are complex subjects and are beyond the scope of WinSound's intent. But even in the presence of these phenomena, the strategy remains the same: focus the sound on the audience--which is highly absorbent--and avoid spilling it onto reflective surfaces. And WinSound is designed to help you do just that.
• The Sound Man: The Sound Man is the heart of WinSound. The central idea is that a sound operator will do whatever he (or she) can to make it sound good to him. Usually, anyone who hears the same sound as the Sound Man hears the best sound that the system is capable of producing. Therefore, the Sound Man is the standard against which all other listening references are judged.
• Third-Octave Frequencies: WinSound is a third-octave-analysis program. That is, sound pressure levels are computed for 29 discrete frequencies ranging from 31 Hz to 20 kHz--generally the range of human hearing. These are the same frequencies that appear on third-octave equalizers and sound-level meters.
• The 2D View, 3D results: The main working area in WinSound appears as the top view of a listening area. The heights of speakers and listening regions cannot be seen directly, but the height is used in the computation and is always available through a mouse click. 3D graphics are an expense and complication that WinSound was intended to avoid.

 

The first step is creating the model--a mathematical representation of your system and listeners. This process consists of (1) telling WinSound what type of speakers you have, (2) telling WinSound where they are located, and (3) telling WinSound where the Sound Man and listeners are.

The next step is launching the analysis and interpreting the results. This is where you tell WinSound to crunch the numbers, and you decide what they mean. You use WinSound's graphics to decide whether everyone in the audience is getting good levels at all frequencies.

The chances are that your first attempt will not be satisfactory. If not, you follow the "no" arrow through the iteration loop of the process. The next step is to modify the model. You might simply re-aim your speakers to reach listeners in "dark" corners. You might add more speakers or change their type. You might move the audience boundaries around to locate people where the sound is best. You might move the Sound Man where he can hear better. With each change you make, you will launch a new analysis and evaluate the success of the change. Finally, you will decide that no more improvement is needed. You're done. Go build the system!