Sections

About Us

 
Make a Donation
Local • Independent • Essential News
 

Could Austin be the Quiet Music Capital?

Wednesday, October 12, 2016 by Nora Ankrum

A Swedish-designed “noise containment sound system” called the Jbn Sound Ceiling could help make disputes over noise pollution a thing of the past, which is presumably why the city’s Music & Entertainment Division and the Austin Police Department Sound Enforcement Unit have teamed up this week to host the system’s first U.S. demonstration. According to a press release from the city, the system uses “plane wave speaker technology” to prevent sound from carrying to unwanted places, such as homes located near music venues. The system – which is “mounted above the listening audience and faces straight down” – promises not just to yield “unprecedented containment of audio frequencies,” according to the city, but also is said to improve audio quality for listeners as well. Although the technology is new here, it is already installed in some 4,500 locations outside the U.S., according to the city. The demonstration of the system began Tuesday at the City Hall Plaza, 301 W. Second St., and will continue through Thursday, beginning at 11 a.m. each day.

Join Your Friends and Neighbors

We're a nonprofit news organization, and we put our service to you above all else. That will never change. But public-service journalism requires community support from readers like you. Will you join your friends and neighbors to support our work and mission?

Back to Top