Live sound reinforcement has become better through time as new technologies have emerged and new equipment have been designed. The theory behind the design and optimization of sound systems is the same but, as time goes by, the tools used for the job keep changing. In this thesis, the target is to analyze, study and examine the main techniques used when designing and optimizing a PA for a certain venue or space.

As the pre-production part of the events is so important for the design of the sound system, a brief description of how everything starts is included. This description will cover the main factors that might affect how one might choose the needed gear for the occasion.

This thesis will be focused on music events, defined as events where a singer or a band is performing. Also, since Finland is such a small country and the two largest companies use mostly the same brands and equipment, the main software used for describing and presenting examples will be narrowed down to d&b audiotechnik’s R1 and ArrayCalc for the design, Rational acoustic’s Smaart and d&d audiotechnik’s R1 for the Optimization.

This thesis also includes a description of the actual setup. During the setup one brings to life the design and, depending on many factors that I will mention during this thesis, this tends to be the moment for sudden changes. This is also the moment to ensure the design and the actual setup are a good match.

This thesis will not be an in-depth description of the technical aspects nor a scientific analysis of sound. This study is an attempt to provide future students interested in live reinforcement with an easy-to-read, yet informative, go-to paper to read in order to start working in this field.