This course focuses on the room, loudspeaker, and the listener. Pat Brown presents important aspects of all three and blend them together to produce a “logical and intuitive sound system design process.”
I love your program. The training is so informative. D.M Good clear explanation and breakdown on steps to consider before modeling of room. E.S. I learn things like C50, STI, T30. What to do with RIR and how to collect them. SynAudCon audio click rule is very useful. I’m very satisfied. K.K. Another very well produced course with a lot of practical information for large venue system design. G.S. This course was excellent and superbly helpful. Filled in a lot of the gaps. J.S. This was definitely my favorite of all the SynAudCon courses. I look forward to using this knowledge to further my career. Z.S. This course gave me a very good overview and big picture of audio system design and what all needs to be considered. J.T. I liked the format and the way everything builds, leading to ‘putting it all together’ with real-world examples toward the end. R. M. I enjoyed the mathematical approach. R.B. Thank you so much for the opportunity to learn from your great educational system. D.K.
Test your skill level with this self-evaluation quiz.
For those of you who cannot attend our popular in-person Sound System Design seminar, Pat created this online course that covers many of the topics.
Be confident. Let the room drive your designs!
Pat Brown has spent many years involved in the development of efficient, accurate techniques for making room acoustics measurements. In the practical world, you have to get in and out quickly, and collect the information you need with minimal setup time and equipment. These techniques are shared in this course, and they will change the way that you perform room/sound system evaluations and system performance verification.
Sound Reinforcement for Designers is built upon the idea that YOU, not a computer program, are the designer. We demonstrate how to use the software tools to extend your intuition and to try your ideas, without replacing the logical thought process. You can have confidence at the drawing board that your systems, once installed, will work.
View or download a detailed course outline.
Course Materials for you to keep include the video text, lesson graphics and the Audio Click-Rule Windows program. These are great resources for reviewing what you have learned.
The course is for experienced audio practitioners. We recommend a skill level consistent with graduates of our Course 50, and Course 100.
Check out an example video in the next tab.
Watch an example video from “Sound Reinforcement for Designers” online training.
Pat Brown is a 1978 graduate of the University of Louisville with a degree in electrical engineering technology. With a background as a musician, sound technician, retail music store owner, contractor, and consultant, he is familiar with the many aspects of audio. He served as an associate instructor to audio legend and SynAudCon founder, Don Davis. Pat along with his wife Brenda own and operate SynAudCon and have been providing training for the audio industry since 1996. Pat, the main instructor for SynAudCon, has the unique gift of being able to share his knowledge of complex technical topics in an easy-to-understand real world way through multi-media demonstrations. SynAudCon is recognized as an industry leader in audio education.
SynAudCon offers both in-person and online audio training. There are regularly scheduled in-person seminars and special one-time events on audio-related topics. With the release of the online training in 2010, SynAudCon training is now more accessible worldwide.
Pat writes articles for several publications. He authored three chapters for Glen Ballou’s Handbook for Sound Engineers and is co-author of Sound System Engineering 4th Edition. He considers SynAudCon online audio training courses as his most complete book, being able to explain the concepts and principles with animations and demonstrations.
He was chosen as NSCA Educator of the Year in 2005 and NSCA Mover and Shaker Award in 2011. He received Great Britain’s Peter Barnett Award in 2012.
SynAudCon has given private seminars to many companies and organizations, including the Kennedy Space Center, Disney World, Sea World, IMAX, Purdue University, the US military, Siemens and many audio manufacturers. He has conducted seminars in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South America, Australia and Canada.
Pat and Brenda Brown founded a second business in 2005 Pro Sound Testing, Inc. Pro Sound Testing measures loudspeakers to produce data files for use in room acoustics modeling programs. Pro Sound Testing was the first company of its kind in the USA. The experience of developing a measurement facility and measuring hundreds of loudspeakers from dozens of manufacturers has allowed him to develop some methodologies and specifications that have influenced a number of industry standards.
Get to know Pat better in this 10 minute interview.
https://www.soundandcommunications.com/synaudcons-pat-brown-talks-online-learning/
How long will it take me to compete this course?
I hate to use the words “it depends” but is really does. It depends on your level of experience.
Here is a brief layout of the course.
Sound Reinforcement for Designers consists of 11 lessons. After each lesson, you may take a quiz. Each quiz has 15 questions. The questions required that you have a good understanding of the principles that are taught.
After completing the lessons and quizzes, you may take a final exam. The final exam is about 30 questions. With a passing score, you will receive a certificate of completion and CEU’s.
You will have 3 opportunities to pass the final exam. We consider 80% as the passing score.
What if I got into the first couple of lessons and realized I should have taken a more basic course?
No worries. The upper levels courses assumed you that you understand the principles presented in the lower level courses. If you need a more basic course, contact Brenda within 2 days of your key activation and she will exchange it.
We would like to urge you to take the self-evaluation quizzes. The quizzes will help you make a more informed decision.
We are developing an educational path for our employees. How does SynAudCon fit into this?
You will love this feature. SynAudCon online training is part of a Learning Management System which allows for tracking. Education supervisors may check the employee’s progress, quiz and final exam scores.
Is there a time limit on watching the online training?
You will have 45 days to complete the course. The 45-day clock begins on the day that the course key is activated. If you need more time, no problem. Brenda will gladly extend it for you.
We want you to get the most of this learning opportunity. We would rather extend it than for you to rush through the course.
What course materials can I keep after the course?
Text to the training videos.
Lesson graphics which are great for note-taking.
These resources are comparable to a course manual if you were attending an in-person seminar.
Will I receive a certificate?
Of course. After passing the final exam, a certificate of completion will be emailed to you within one business day. The certificate will include the information that you will need for the Continuing Education Units.
How do I ask questions about the this training?
We have created a support forum for our online training. You may post your questions there.
If you are little uncomfortable with this approach, please email us directly. We will make every effort to answer questions within 24 hours.
Tell me about the purchasing process.
The online cart will request the credit card information. Add the name on the credit card, (not the person taking the training.) An automated email will be sent to the email address used in the purchasing process. If you do not get the confirmation, check your SPAM filter. The message will be coming from bbrown at prosoundtraining.com
The email will include:
✅ Credit card receipt
✅ Activation key to the training
✅ Directions to activate the key.
Forward the activation key with the directions to the person taking the training. The directions are quite easy but the learner can always call 812-923-0174 if help is needed.
May I share the video content I buy with others?
Purchased online training content is intended only for the learner who will be taking the course. Sharing SynAudCon online training is a violation of the terms and conditions of this site. All actions are logged and monitored, and this policy will be strictly enforced.
We appreciate your cooperation in this as it allows us to actively develop new material and keep the price low for everyone.
With respect t0 their privacy, we will only list their initials.
I like the mix of the theory and practical nature of the course. The video in the church showing actual evaluation of a space was useful. J.W.
It an amazing all-in-one course. C.S.
Excellent course! B.A.M
Overall this was a very thorough and informative course. J.S.
No suggestions, the course is perfect. It was very useful for me and well-structured. V.M.
Well put together and a really good “refresher” on a bunch of things I have forgotten about over the years as a system designer! Very good mix of practical and scientific teaching. My wife is a 5th grade teacher that walked in the room while I was watching Pat set up for RIR measurements in that church, she remarked that she wished her training programs that she has to do would show someone actually DOING the thing they are teaching about vs. just talking about it all the time. M.F.
I liked it! O.P.
I really liked the demos and being able to hear the concepts Pat was talking about. One of the recommended free software, ReflPhinder, doesn’t appear to be free anymore. J.A.
Great Course. R.P.
Very in depth terminology . S.C.
It is easy for me to personally get more than the value I pay for your courses. Any mistake you save me is much greater than the cost of the class. The class price is “about right” when considering sending non-owners employees.
It would be helpful to have the software application links in the summary that we can print. Some of the third party software support may not be a given in the future. All seem to be there but at least one was seeking to hand off the code repository. S.S.
Good content! J.B.
The course was great! I like that the content was available in text and then followed up with a video. Helped retain information better. Also liked that you can go back and revisit a section after completing. A.L.
I enjoyed the course. I attended a live training years ago that I still use today. J.R.
You always teach me the very best info, Pat. Thank you for always keeping me at the top of my game. J.D.
Well, this one made my head hurt in the best ways possible. It is always interesting to REALLY understand WHY something you have been doing for years (room evaluations, site surveys, and recommendations) works or, as we have all had happen, doesn’t work. Understanding the deep theories behind it were super helpful! B.L.
the theory was a little too deep, my head was spinning with all the formulas. J.J.
Good coverage on formulas. B.T.
My favorite part of this type course was the ability to listen to lectures again. This helps me in my learning style. I always enjoy Pat’s classes. I’ve attending many different kind of sound seminars. The material Pat provides is always usable in the real world. T.B.
I love taking your courses. It feels like the instructor is talking with me, not to me. J.G.
Great info. A lot of these fundamentals are reinforced through design decisions. However it was really valuable for me to revisit the math to reinforce why we make the decisions we do on a daily basis. I typically don’t have the time or fee to do as much of an in depth analysis of a room or system, so it’s crucial to lean on the experience and the principles in a general way to know what decisions will give you the most bang for your buck. Having gone to school to become an EE, I wish I would have known about SynAudCon way earlier in my life, which may have influenced my higher education path. Although I went to a great university and learned all the math behind convolution and signal processing, the real world applications just weren’t something that my professors knew how to teach, probably because they never worked in industry or applied the content themselves. I’m sure it’s way easier to find your website now with the powerful search engines that exist today, but I sure wish I would have come across the info 20 years ago when I was graduating high school and starting college. It would have been a valuable resource to further my understanding of things that were very much of interest but not taught in my curriculum. Thanks again. K.M.
Pat, your excellent. I am buying the edition 4 book. Please continue with what you’re doing. I run into many situations where clients were hussled sold gear with no science behind it, speakers thrown in, check taken, no training and out the door. It’s really sad. I wish our industry had more stringent licensing to keep the trunk slammers at bay. L.M.
I feel like I’m part of the SynAudCon family and I’m so proud. Your trainings are so well made and so dense of useful information that are really changing my professional life. M.B.
Another amazing course. Thank you providing our industry with this level of knowledge. Cannot express it in words. N.J.
Course is excellent, easy to follow. Thanks for training. H.H.
I really liked the addition of Pat’s lectures. These were far more engaging than just slides and voice overs, this is a welcome change. N.K.
A generous amount of practical information in one single course. S.A.
The live action videos are the best part for learning. A.J.
I like the Practical Video Demonstration. K.W.
I often recommend your courses to those that I have taught in seminar based offerings. R.R.
As other courses, It included a great information. It was very informative and I learned a lot. Thanks J.K.
I enjoyed seeing the process of data collection. M.K.
I agree. Collecting the RIR of the room if vital. So thankful you see the benefit of this. Brenda
This course is great. I have been using many of these principles since I did this course in 2005, but it is soo good to review, and be reminded of the areas to go through to design a good system. G.P.
Not really knowing acoustics this one was really challenging. I still feel like I need to look it over but with time will start being able to use it in a practical manner. A.C.
I was a 1978 “Grad” of Syn-Aud-Con when Don and Carolyn were just starting. I had an outstanding career in the industry and although a college graduate, it was the confidence that SYNAUDCON gave me that made it possible. P.M.
I was a pleasure for me too to follow this training. The overall quality is amazing ! C.W. (Taken 7 SynAudCon online training courses.)
Some of the courses are not easy, but I have indeed enjoyed all of them. E.L. (Taken 5 online courses)
Although I took this course many years ago, this was a great refresher of the things I had already learned along with picking up new things that I can use going forward. B.T.S.
Course material was great. A.M.
I want to thank you and AtlasIED for giving me the opportunity to take the SynAudCon Sound Reinforcement for Designers course. It was a real challenge and will be useful in designing systems for our customers. I have a better understanding of the relationship of Direct and Reflected sounds, Room Impulse Response and using the speaker specifications provided by manufacturers.
I highly recommend this class for anyone that designs sound systems for any size venue.
Old Dog, New Tricks! D.H.
I really enjoyed the course, learned a lot about measurement techniques and polar plots that I had seen for years. Now I know why acoustical consultants get paid the big bucks, or at least they deserve it. D.H.
Quite thorough introduction to the practical use of room modeling. J.E.
I’m a professional live audio engineer with over 15 years of experience, and this was a magnificent refresher. W.S.
Excellent course. A.K.
It’s interesting and sharing great knowledge. S.S.
This was another educational course for me. I’m not an acoustics/speaker guy, so learning these concepts was challenging for me, but worth the time invested. J.H.
With my work this course was very helpful. I feel I can train our sales reps better using some of the analogies presented in training. J. P.
Course was very good. D.F.
It’s been a pleasure working with you via email, and I’ve genuinely enjoyed this training experience. It’s been, BY-FAR, the best learning experience within my online AV training thus far. The courses are thorough enough to take away some advantageous concepts while short and simple enough to not burn you out too quickly. Kudos to you and your team as well for developing such a useful group of online learning modules for our trade. I hope to see SynAudCon grow in its scope of training material as we head into this next decade. I will certainly be recommending these courses to my fellow colleagues who show a passion towards wanting to know more. C.C
“I appreciate the visual aids, especially the demonstrations in the later lessons.” M.F.
SAC’s training has been extremely helpful to me and my colleagues over the past number of years. The in-person training is a gold mine of information and a great opportunity to network with other like minded folks in the industry, and the online courses offer ease of access and a low cost to access excellent training. From my perspective, your training fills a large hole in the lack of audio knowledge in our industry. Everyone in the business of AV needs to be taking your courses. You and Pat make a great team, are a treat to work with, and are a tremendous gift to the industry. L.S.
Pat is an excellent educator, and is capable of breaking down complicated and often technical information into bite sized chunks that make comprehension and retention of the material easier for the student. L.S.
I really liked this course. I have been a sound engineer for many decades and things i have learned from experience have been spelled out with math. D.P.
I find this course has heaps on information. It was very detailed, and honestly their was a lot of info that I did not know, or had forgotten. Pat has a very unique and easy way of explaining the information. A.L.
This class was fairly difficult. A lot of math, however, the online materials was very informative. D.H.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found much of what Pat did and presented unique and helpful in learning the material! M.D.
Great course! Definitely filled in some knowledge gaps for me! T.F.
Excellent training! Course full of knowledge on the instructional videos. R.C.
The “click rule” software would be a better learning tool if the pictures of the parameters were replaced with words or descriptors. T.D.
One of the most informative classes I have taken. There doesn’t seem to be enough individuals with this knowledge and experience in the AV industry so this information is difficult to come by. J.S.
I appreciate all the tools you guys share. T.J.
Very fascinating how the way the mathematics all work. S.W.
You can bet that I’ll be back for other courses. O.O.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to learn from your great educational system. D.K.
Years ago I attended a SAC live seminar. To this day, I still have and refer to the original manual. Attending that seminar and DIRECTLY learning from Pat Brown, a memory I’ll never forget, has given me the insight and knowledge to advise, assist or install sound systems and acoustical evaluation many, many times. I have now learned, that to do this better…one must learn and study how to “walk the walk AND talk the talk” This course 300 was very challenging for me. One must view and review this course and cling on every word that Pat says. He is extremely dedicated to making sure you LEARN. I found this course 300 difficult but detailed. I have an extensive video production background and Pats scripting, animation, creativity, and production of these courses are nothing short of OUTSTANDING.!!!! After finishing this course 300 I realize I must continue to review it to get even better. One must constantly go over it to understand it better. I can’t say thanks to SAC and its entire staff for wonderful learning experience! J.H.
I love your program. The training is so informative. D.M
Really enjoyed this course. Very engaging material and presentation… wish I could have done it in person. J.M.
Good and clear explanation and breakdown on steps and consideration before modeling of room. E.S.
First let me say……W O W!!!. What a program. Brenda, I worked with NASA for 20 years and wrote, produced, directed, recorded over 400 video programs of all kinds. I greatly admire and appreciate the effort, talent, and quality of what Pat has produced. This is an outstanding program. I really like the printed material that comes with the course. It really helps for reference. I totally agree….watch the videos over, and over again. I gotta admit…dis’ ain’t fun, but it’s so interesting and informative.
I am looking forward to achieving my goal. THE CERTIFICATE! I truly understand what Pat is talking about and now I’m learning the details. Thanks so much again! J.H
I like the ability to back up and play over for note taking. The use of test equipment to make the point is great. During the in-person courses sometimes the questions asked help. R.T.
This course (300) is excellent I learn a lot of things like c50, STI , T30 ,what to do with RIR how to collect them and SYNAUDCON audio click rule is very useful. I’m very satisfied.
Thank you very much. K.K.
Another very well produced course with a lot of practical information for system design of sound systems for larger venues. G.S.
The content is very good but I think illustration pictures can be better. D.C.
I very much appreciate the support you’ve offered. I also find it amazing that I can get access to this information for review in the future. That’s so perfect just in case I need to find a certain factoid or nugget of Pat’s wisdom.
These courses has opened up so many doors that just seemed perpetually closed. Thank you and Pat for the effort that goes into these and I look forward to hopefully making it to one of the seminars Pat delivers in the future! J.S. (Completed all 6 online courses.)
This course was excellent and superbly helpful. Filled in a lot of the gaps (or missing puzzle pieces) I feel I had and I can now confidently ask my boss questions to fill in whatever is left. J.S.
This was definitely my favorite of all the SynAudCon courses. I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to take this course and I look forward to using this knowledge to further my career. Z.S.
I like this course to give me a very good overview and big picture of audio system design, what needs to be considered in designing a good system. J.T.
Pretty fun if you are an audio nerd like me! R. W.
Course was great, the same level I’ve come to expect from SynAudCon. I liked the format and the way everything builds, with the ‘putting it all together’ real world example toward the end. R. M.
There was a lot of info for one class. R. J.
Thank you I am really enjoying the programmed. I did not think in a million years that there were so much good information to learn in sound.
I could tell you that the pro-sound training was a hard and a difficult one for me. I though getting my NICET 4 in Fire alarm was hard, but your pro-sound training was both difficult and rewarding. I learn so much but to retained the information is a question in my old age. I like the fact I can go back and listen to the video and keep up on what I have learn. I give this training 5 stars. R.Z.
Very informative and convenient to tackle sections of material in specific modules at a time. I was unable to print the lesson graphic from anything other than a computer which was frustrating at times when I was working on an iPad. J. L. I will check into this but I think this is a function of our Learning Management System. I know many print all the texts and images before starting on the lessons. B.B
Great material is definite detailed and a really good source of information. N.S.
This course filled in some gaps for me. S. A.
Is always nice to gather the best training from the best People (thank you!) C.N.
By far the most challenging and rewarding class I have taken through SynAudCon. I value the courses you offer and really like that you try to stay neutral on products/software and focus on the concepts behind the widgets. R.F.
I was really surprised after I started to see principles and terms that I have never heard and seen. C.V.
I enjoyed the mathematical approach. R.B.
I love the training…put off finishing for a couple years but now will go for the cycle and get back to some live seminars as well. Thank you for re-opening the other courses for me too…I may hit you up again about that from time to time for my retention if that’s okay. I must say when I try to read Sound System Engineering my brain hurts…but Pat’s teaching makes the pennies drop! W.D.
I couldn’t be more positive about the quality of your training.
I couldn’t be more positive about the quality of your training. I loved seeing the way you presented information using a combination of visuals, audio, and analogies with other physical processes. It’s just brilliant.
I learned so much from your training, not just audio, but how to teach others.
Matt Vance
My heartfelt thanks for the wonderful service you provide.
My heartfelt thanks for the wonderful service you provide to the world of audio. I often tell people that it was at an introductory class by Pat in Walnut Creek where I concluded that I could really do this. There were resources to teach me what I didn’t know. I went home and got permission from my wife to take the plunge, and haven’t looked back. You may not get told this often enough, but I know that there are a lot more stories like mine out there!
Mark Thompson, Clarity AVL
Excellent Review
I took the in-person training about 10 years ago and this was excellent review for me.
Mark Jarrell
SynAudCon Training is priceless.
The training that you provide to our industry is priceless, and we are honored to support your efforts.
Shawn Watts, AtlasIED
I applaud your continued efforts to think up creative ways to educate your students about audio.
I recently completed your online audio training and found it to be beneficial.
The graphics and animations throughout the online training help reinforce the message and make it fun to watch and remember. It is a job well done and I applaud your continued efforts to think up creative ways to educate your students about audio.
Several training nuggets were used to fill (OK, actually start to fill) the vast chasms of audio knowledge that exist in my mind. It served as a reminder that we never really stop learning about this hobby that many of us pursue as employment as well.
The only improvement I can think of would be to have Pat playing a little something on the Chapman Stick as the video fades out during each section. (smile)
Bruce Hurst, Bose Corporation
Learning is almost effortless.
Pat Brown mastery of the subject combined with his seeming empathy with students searching for sound system meaning has created a system of learning that is almost effortless.
R. Sison
Feedback from Course 300 – Sound Reinforcement
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Phone: 812-923-0174
Synergetic Audio Concepts, Inc.
Located in Southern Indiana USA
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