
A new concert hall in Hamburg - sehugg
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/augmented-reality/what-perfect-sound-looks-like/
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sparkling
Contrary to what the article states, the acoustic design of the hall have been
widely criticized by audio/acoustics experts. In fact, after the premiere
concert many (experts and casual visitors alike) have even described the
acoustics to be a major disappointment.

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johan_larson
This issue of acoustics always seems to come up. You'd think we would have
this sorted out by now, since we've been building music halls for hundreds of
years. Are we trying to build them too big? Too cheap?

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sehugg
Note: If you have the Washington Post app installed, there's an Augmented
Reality feature that puts acoustic tiles on your ceiling.

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jackfoxy
I have no opinion about this concert hall until I experienced a concert there.
In the meantime I have experienced 2 concerts (and looking forward to a third
in a few months) at a surprising venue with great acoustics, seating, and
style, Weill Hall at Sonoma State University
[http://gmc.sonoma.edu/about/about_Weill_Hall](http://gmc.sonoma.edu/about/about_Weill_Hall)

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dannylandau
pretty amazing architecture for a music hall!

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azey47
Beside being absolutely hideous on the outside, there is no way that hall has
good acoustics.

Having seats to the side and behind the stage means you will have bad merging
and resolution of parts. Orchestral seating is specifically designed for an
audience sitting in front. For example, when attending a performance of
Shostakovich'a Cello Concerto, the cello was very difficult to hear, as were
several other orchestral parts, causing "holes" in the score. It was an
atrocious experience.

Toyota is pretty much a charlatan. Walt Disney Hall has one of the most
atrocious acoustics of any hall I've been to. They actually had to invest
quite a bit of time and money trying to "fix" (unsuccessfully) the sound after
the initial opening. This is why performances there require microphones and
reproduction using speakers, in the hall!

I actually had the opportunity to play (piano) on stage and have a friend go
seat by seat, evaluating the sound from each position. Needless to say, all
the expensive seats had, by far, the worst acoustics. Best sound was from row
H, way off-center.

I've heard from orchestral musicians performing there that they couldn't hear
themselves, or their fellow performers properly either, making performing
challenging. At some point, I recall the hall receiving the distinction of
"worst hall" from performing musicians.

On top of this charade of "good acoustics", which I am shocked that Germans
fell for Toyota's BS, this hall is terribly ugly and unappealing.

How sad.

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GavinMcG
I disagree entirely about it being hideous on the outside.

I was _extremely_ skeptical while living near Hamburg in 2006, when graphical
representations were just being publicized. But having been back in the fall
and seeing how it fits into the Speicherstadt and projects into the Elbe, I'm
happy to have been proven wrong.

> At some point, I recall the hall receiving the distinction of "worst hall"
> from performing musicians.

When was this? It's only been open a few months.

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azey47
> When was this? It's only been open a few months.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear with my pronouns. I was referring to the Walt
Disney Hall that I was describing in the paragraph before.

There are no miracles with acoustics. Try all you want with acoustic baffles,
you won't be able to get good acoustics and distribution of orchestral parts
with seats to the back right of an orchestra. There's nothing wrong with the
traditional "bowl" shape of a good concert hall!

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GavinMcG
Ahhh, that makes more sense. I see now that you mentioned Walt Disney Hall
there.

