L-Acoustics and d&b audiotechnik team up with SoundPLAN to develop SDE standard

L-Acoustics and d&b audiotechnik have teamed up with SoundPLAN to develop the System Design Exchange (SDE) standard, a standard for noise prediction across multiple sound systems.

Addressing the challenges of limited interoperability in noise prediction tools for outdoor events, the SDE provides a unified method and file format to enable reliable, consistent and comparable predictions in environmental noise software. It defines how to export data from system design software, such as d&b’s ArrayCalc or L-Acoustics’ Soundvision, and details the methodology for calculating complex acoustic interactions. This includes calibration and decoherence factors to ensure a high level of accuracy at various distances.

With SDE, system technicians can export their designs as standardised SDE files, which can then be imported into environmental noise software like SoundPLAN. The standard will allow consultants and event organisers to perform equivalent calculations to accurately predict noise emissions for festivals with multiple stages and systems from different manufacturers.

In the future, the SDE format will be made available to other manufacturers and other noise pollution software.

"The SDE standard is a huge step forward in addressing the noise management challenges of large-scale events," said Florian Hahn, product manager for application software at d&b audiotechnik. "With SDE, we're making effective and comparable noise management accessible, ensuring that audiences can enjoy their favourite artists while respecting nearby communities, public facilities and natural habitats.”

“Organising a festival today means navigating real tension between the energy that makes live music special and the legitimate expectations of the communities hosting it,” said Yann Gaël Gicquel, director of product management for spatial systems at L-Acoustics. “Using SDE gives everyone at that table - promoters, consultants, local authorities - one shared, reliable source of truth for those conversations. That's what makes it meaningful.”

“SDE will set a new benchmark for noise prediction in the audio industry,” added Jochen Schaal, managing director at SoundPLAN. "Its innovative, collaborative approach promises to establish SDE as an industry standard, simplifying workflows and delivering the most reliable and accurate prediction of noise emissions from different sound system manufacturers to date.”