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How can you control sound?
Years ago - before electronics - sound was controlled and manipulated by natural means we know as acoustics. Acoustics are natural materials or shapes that can change or influence sound and the way it travels. Old auditoriums or theatres used funnel-shaped rooms and hard surfaces (such as stone or marble) to direct and reflect sound. Use of these techniques would result in naturally amplifying the sound. Back then this was known as good acoustics. Even in the Bible when a speaker addressed large groups of people, they did so from an acoustically desirable position provided by nature. Speaking from an elevated position, such as a mountain, or next to a large body of water would help to carry the speaker's voice to more of the listeners present.
Today, with the invention of electronics and amplification, reaching the masses with sound is no longer a physical challenge; however, it might still be a monetary one. The more people you want to reach, the more power and speakers it takes. All of which come at a cost.
With the advent of electronic PA systems, what once was considered good acoustics (pre-PA) is now not as desirable. Electronically amplifying sound in an older more ambient sounding room, will result in frequencies bouncing from one wall to the next causing nothing but a loud roar. A spokesperson trying to communicate in this environment will find it very difficult because the sound will not be intelligent to the listener. In situations like this when trying to amplify sound in an ambient room, one must soften the room by adding acoustic treatment. There are many ways to acoustically treat a room. The most common way is by adding acoustic tiles or absorbent substances such as special foam products, certain insulations, carpets, and others.
The other way to soften a room is to change the angles in the room to reflect the sound in a non-repeating path. Avoiding parallel surfaces is the first step. Parallel surfaces tend to create back and forth repeating patterns which create an overabundance of certain frequencies (tones) known as standing waves. These standing waves often manifest themselves in the form of feedback in a sound system; hence, the need for equalization. Accordion-style walls, cathedral roofs and sloped floors are just a few things to consider when striving to create a room with a flat response in sound.
The more neutral or flat the sound is in the room, the more a sound system can do the job it was designed to do - amplify and enhance.
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