AV Magazine: The mosque that is widely regarded by historians as the first one ever built has implemented a Harman Professional audio system designed to deliver consistent, highly intelligible sound across its expanded prayer spaces.
As one of only four mosques mentioned in the Quran, Quba Mosque in the Saudi Arabian city of Medina stands among Islam’s most historic places of worship – making clarity, consistency and restraint in sound reinforcement especially critical.
3 comments:
I found this article really interesting! I think it’s super cool to hear about different applications for sound systems - something I would mainly think about within the context of theatre. I also really liked the article’s focus on how the implementation of the sound system improves the prayer experience and quality of the mosque, without compromising its character or historic significance. I think that it’s really great to hear about how modern technology can be combined with ancient traditions to improve the experience for everyone; I think it’s especially cool to see this implemented in the world’s oldest mosque, something with immense historical, religious, and cultural value. Overall, I think it’s really important to explore how modern systems can be combined with old infrastructure - such as mosques or temples - to improve and preserve it, helping to bring ease and clarity to thousands of people without interfering with their experiences or worship.
I find it interesting that the world's oldest mosque has been upgraded with a really modern sound system. Typically I feel like the oldest places of worship can be rather outdated and have lower attendance just because the buildings can be old and not accommodate such large crowds but that isn’t the case here. Sixty six thousand people is a crazy amount of worshipers who all need to be able to hear so this sound system seems like a must. Additionally it seems like they put a lot of effort in having the system provide the ability to hear but not overdone. It seems rather subtle and the speakers seem to blend in to the architecture somewhat. I’ve never really thought about tech systems for places of worship and how that can make religious practices more inclusive. This helps preserve these historic buildings by keeping them equipped to serve more people, improving the experience rather than interfering with them.
Designing sound acoustics for large buildings, especially places of worship, has always fascinated me. I know before amplification technology existed, large buildings were designed with acoustics in mind. In order for a priest, rabbi, or in this case imam, to be heard, the architecture of the building had to support the projection of one voice. These older and larger cathedrals, temples, and mosques built hundreds of years were fully capable of throwing sound throughout the entire building.
Once amplification technology began entering into these buildings, there became a huge problem with relaying and echoing. I've experienced this first hand at the church cathedral my family attended. While the purpose of the technology was meant to improve sound, I felt that it did more harm. It's exciting to hear that JBL SRX906 line arrays are able to achieve a desirable sound, keeping in mind phase coherence and ensuring the smooth transitions across zones. The case shows that amplification technology is helpful when done correctly.
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