— Speaker Coverage · Auditorium
300-seat conference auditorium — speech-priority line array
Problem. A 300-seat corporate auditorium needs 85 dB of intelligible speech at the rear row with even SPL across the seating bowl and minimal visual impact.
Answer. A narrow-vertical install line-array (here a K-array Vyper KV102) hung from the stage edge delivers controlled vertical dispersion that reaches the rear without exciting the ceiling. The planner sizes box count against the rectangular seating footprint.
02 / In depth
How this preset reads — the engineering view.
Speech in a 300-seat room is a dispersion problem before a power problem. A point-source cabinet will reach the rear but light up the ceiling on the way (causing slap-back and reducing STI); an install line-array trades a slightly more involved rigging plan for the vertical control that keeps the speech wavefront pointed at heads, not at the ceiling plane.
This preset assumes a 25 × 14 m room (300 seats at the usual 1.2 m² per seat plus aisles), a 20 m listener distance to the back row, and 50 % power. The Vyper KV102 referenced is one of the architectural install columns; the same input shape works for d&b 24S, L-Acoustics A15 Focus, JBL Pro CBT series or QSC AcousticDesign — switch in the dropdown to compare SPL and box count.
Expect the planner to report SPL at the listener around the 85 dB target with comfortable headroom (the install line-array is over-spec for pure speech, but the dispersion control is what justifies it). The recommended quantity should land at 2 (left + right of stage) for this geometry; a single box would centre-image but the L/R is the convention for stereo program material as well as speech.
What this preset can't see: ceiling-reflection problems in a glass-and-concrete auditorium, the subwoofer requirement for program material above speech (the cabinet rolls off above 70–90 Hz depending on model), and the DSP / processor configuration that actually delivers the predicted dispersion at the listener.
What this preset deliberately does not solve
- Subwoofer pairing is not modelled — most install columns need a sub above ~80 Hz for music program.
- Acoustic treatment (RT60) determines whether the dispersion calculation survives contact with the room.
- Real auditorium designs use measurement + simulation (EASE / MAPP / SoundVision) — the planner is a triage tool, not a final design.
How this preset differs from its siblings
The hotel-lobby preset solves a small-room, low-SPL background problem with a point-source cabinet. The 500-cap worship preset solves a large-room, high-SPL music-programme problem with a touring-grade line-array. This preset sits between them: medium-sized room, speech-priority (not music), and the choice of an install column over a point-source is driven by dispersion control rather than SPL — the calculator will show comfortable SPL headroom and the engineering value is in the vertical beam pattern, not the dB figure.
03 / Hydrated calculator
Try the configuration — live.
The calculator below is preloaded with this preset’s state. Adjust any input — your URL stays shareable.
— Planner · speaker coverage
SPL, coverage radius and quantity, estimated.
Pick a brand, model and application. An indicative free-field SPL at the listener, coverage radius on the -6 dB axis and a planning-level box count for the room — a starting point for design, not a final specification. K-array, KGEAR, JBL Pro, d&b, L-Acoustics, Fonestar, Ecler.
Max SPL at listener
94
dB · target 85 dB · headroom +6 dB
Coverage radius
50.0
metres · -6 dB axis
Quantity
1
boxes for 350.0 m²
A planning link — not a quote.
- model
- K-array Vyper-KV102 II
- max spl
- 120 dB @1m
- spl at listener
- 91 dB · max 94 dB
- dispersion
- H 140° · V 7°
- power
- 150 W applied · 300 W RMS
- bandwidth
- 150-18000 Hz
- impedance
- 8 ohm
- coverage
- r ≈ 50.00 m · area 7854.0 m²
The full one-metre Vyper — sixteen 1-inch drivers, 7° vertical for long, even throw down a room while disappearing against the wall. Default architectural choice for larger auditoria and worship spaces where boxes must not show.
What changes this estimate
- Room drawings & obstructions
- Confirmed ceiling height
- Finishes & absorption in the space
- Final loudspeaker model & dispersion
A planning link — not a quote.
· Other presets for speaker coverage planner
Speaker Coverage · Hospitality
Hotel lobby — background music, 20 × 12 m
A premium hotel lobby needs even, conversation-friendly background audio at 70–75 dB without ceiling speakers that visibly puncture the architecture.
Speaker Coverage · House of Worship
500-capacity house of worship — touring-grade headroom
A 500-capacity worship space needs 90 dB of headroom for music programme plus speech, even coverage across pews and a system that won't be the visual subject.
· Next
Brief us on the project — with this configuration.
Presets are a typology starting point. The brief wizard captures the room geometry, programme and constraints we need to translate this configuration into a real design.