About the planner and how it calculates

A free tool for working out where stand-mounted audio speakers and subwoofers cover a room. It is made by Audiovisuality P/L, an audio-visual consultancy in Melbourne, Australia.

What it does

You draw a rectangular room, choose speakers from the library (or enter your own numbers), place them, and the planner colours the floor by sound level at ear height. A second view marks where the room is below, inside or above the level you want. Tops and subs are shown on separate layers.

The calculation

1. The speaker’s maximum level at 1 m on axis is taken from its datasheet, then reduced by the drive level you set.
2. Level falls 20 × log10(distance) dB with distance from the speaker (6 dB per doubling).
3. For tops, level is reduced as the listener moves off axis, using the horizontal and vertical coverage angles. The reduction reaches 6 dB at the edge of the stated angle and is limited to 30 dB.
4. Several speakers on a layer are added by power (no phase). Subs use an omnidirectional or cardioid pattern.

All the maths runs in your browser. Nothing about your room is sent to a server.

What it assumes and cannot do

• Direct sound only. No reflections, reverberation, room modes or background noise.
• Datasheet figures, not measured polar data. Real speakers differ from their nominal angles, especially across frequency.
• Maximum levels are quoted differently by each manufacturer. They are stored exactly as printed, with the basis noted on each speaker page.
• It does not assess hearing safety, compliance or noise limits for a venue.

Use it to compare layouts and spot gaps, then verify in the room.

Where the speaker data comes from

Each speaker’s numbers are entered by hand from a page that is linked on its speaker page. Manufacturer pages are used where possible; press and retailer pages are marked as such. A speaker is shown as “Unverified” until the maintainer has checked every figure against the datasheet, and as “Verified” afterwards. The example speakers shown at first start are invented values and say so. Specifications change; if you find an error, please tell us.

Brands

QSC, JBL, Yamaha, RCF, Electro-Voice, Mackie, NEXO, d&b audiotechnik and L-Acoustics are trademarks of their owners. This site has no affiliation with, and is not endorsed by, any of them.

Contact

Corrections and suggestions: [email protected].