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Martin,

In my experience, Smart Amps have the potential to make a modest  
improvement, but the effectiveness depends on the nature of both the  
noise you are fighting and the audio you are boosting.  They also need  
careful adjustment, which takes time and judgement -- you need to come  
back repeatedly to hear how they are doing over the full range from an  
empty gallery to a hall full of hails.  Its good to have one on hand  
for experiments -- you can try it in different situations and invest  
in permanent installations in those cases where the improvement  
justifies it.

Short of headphones, which I dislike for many reasons, an approach I  
like is to deliver the audio through small loudspeakers placed so that  
an interested listener can easily bring the ear up close.  The volume  
can then be very low, because sound follows an inverse square law.   
And rather than subjecting the visitor to the sound willy nilly,  you  
invite them to be active listeners if they so choose.

quiet regards,

Tom Nielsen
www.TheExhibitGuys.com
On Jun 3, 2009, at 8:59 AM, Martin Weiss wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> I need to combat noise drowning out exhibits.
>
> Has anyone experience with Smart Amps, that raise the level of sound  
> in
> exhibits by measuring ambient sound levels?
>
> I found
> http://www.stoplisten.com/pdfs/smartampv2_instructions.pdf
>
> but there maybe others. Any thoughts or experiences?
>
> Martin
>
> -- 
> Martin Weiss, PhD
> Science Interpretation, Consultant
> New York Hall of Science
>
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