Speaker Array Calculator — Delay Times for Distributed Systems

Without delay, audience members near a secondary speaker hear it before the main speaker sound arrives, causing a confusing image shift. By delaying the secondary speakers to match the arrival time of the main speaker, the brain perceives the sound as coming from the main source (Haas effect).

The Haas effect (precedence effect) means that if two identical sounds arrive within about 35ms, the brain perceives them as one sound coming from the direction of the first arrival. Adding 5-15ms of extra delay beyond time-alignment enhances this effect for distributed PA systems.

Delay (ms) = Distance (m) / Speed of Sound (m/s) × 1000. At 20°C, sound travels at about 343 m/s, so each metre of distance equals about 2.9ms of delay. Many engineers add 5-10ms extra for the Haas effect.

Yes. The speed of sound increases by about 0.6 m/s per degree Celsius. At 0°C: 331 m/s. At 20°C: 343 m/s. At 35°C: 352 m/s. For outdoor events, temperature changes throughout the day can shift timing by several milliseconds over long distances.

Once each delay speaker is time-aligned (and optionally given a few extra ms of Haas offset), the precedence effect lets you run it up to about +10 dB louder than the main wavefront without the audience localising to the nearer speaker. The "Max Level Boost (precedence)" result shows this +10 dB ceiling — it is a practical upper limit, not a recommended setting, and it only holds while the delay sits within roughly the 10–30 ms precedence window.