Genelec monitors help research into hearing aid technology

Genelec 8020 studio monitors are powering a facility that specialises in research into hearing aid and implant technology.

As well as aiding research into hearing devices, the Acoustic-Hearing Evaluation Centre (UNEVA) at Spain’s Universidad de Salamanca can help in the diagnosis of hearing issues.

At the heart of the facility is a soundproofed room equipped with panels that can be opened or closed to adjust reverberation and absorption, allowing tests to be undertaken in a range of realistic environments.

The electrically shielded space features a 3m-diameter ring of 24 8020 monitors, supplied by local Genelec distributor Audio-Technica Iberia, which allows the researchers to create and change background noise levels.

The Genelec monitors were chosen for their reliability, neutral sound and ability to adapt their frequency response to the listening environment. The 8020 has become a benchmark for compact two-way nearfield monitoring. Its small footprint and curved enclosure design make it suited for ‘stealth’ behaviour, producing less reflections and diffraction even when many monitors are installed in close proximity to each other.

Professor López Poveda says: “A typical test is to reproduce a phrase, word or conversation in the presence of other phrases, words or noise coming from other sources. For example, a sentence is played through one monitor, and the listener would have to repeat it while other monitors are playing background noise and other speech sources.

“If they correctly repeat what they have heard, we raise the noise level. The more noise and the more phrases used, the more difficult it is to properly understand the main phrase.”

The first stage of the project has seen the installation of the ring of 24 monitors, but there are plans to develop the unit. “We have created a speaker ring, but we could add more,” says Poveda. “We could build a sphere, since the design of the ring also allows it to be turned around and hung from the ceiling – it’s very versatile.”