Consulting services
Acoustics
Listening in a correctly balanced room is critical for many things, intelligibility and “boominess” both caused by excess reverberation (echo) are common complaints.
We can help, by performing calculations even before the room is constructed Halcyon can accurately predict these imperfections and work with your builders and architects to fix problems before they become set in stone.
But what about an existing space? We can take measurements and suggest often very minor changes to make spaces work better. In most cases, we have performed very little work to ensure that these key requirements are met.
Of course, in studios the requirements are critical and there is little room for error, Halcyon can work to balance frequencies, tone and RT to create ultra-precise recording or listening spaces.
Audio
The equipment used has a direct bearing on the acoustics, as such it is critical to specify the correct equipment and ensure it is installed correctly. As such expensive mistakes can easily be stopped at specification and installation stage.
Every day we see sound systems running at sub-optimal performance because of a lack of basic understanding of system design and a lack of fundamental knowledge of how these systems interact with the space they are installed in and the equipment itself.
Whether you need a highly accurate monitoring system for recording or a comfortable stereo system for use at home, we can help you do this correctly without spending more than you need on “treatments” and “upgrades” which aren’t necessary or planned.
We can also help with multi-channel systems for home and commercial systems.
Lighting
Lighting is often the last thing many people think about, however correct lighting is important in so many ways. Being able to see, make out colours correctly and setting ambience is down to having the correct lighting in place.
Halcyon cut its teeth in the nightclub industry as award winning lighting designers and operators. Indeed as former world ranking light “jockeys” we’ve been responsible for some of the most striking lighting displays in the world.
We’ve also worked in art galleries, theatres, hospitals and schools to help save energy by installing energy efficient lighting that is colour corrected and allows users to correctly interpret colours.
Specialist services
Commissioning
If equipment isn’t installed properly this can cause multiple problems further down the line. We offer a commissioning service in conjunction with your existing systems installers to ensure that equipment is installed properly and is fit for purpose. Should any issues arise we can work with both parties to ensure that agreement is reached.
Troubleshooting
Constantly having to call your installers or maintenance people back time after time?
We can inspect and file a legal report on the equipment installed, the installation as inspected and of course suggest remedies. We’re more than happy to act for you, in conjunction with your old installer or a replacement team to identify and resolve problems or if necessary, act as a witness in legal proceedings.
Legal services
We have many years’ experience in attending court as either prosecution or defence. We’ve been called as expert witnesses in cases of equipment falling on people or damaging their hearing, and we’ve also been called as witnesses to licensing meetings where renewal has been an issue or suspension of license has been sought by local authorities.
In all cases we have won on behalf of our clients regardless of which “side” they were on.
We can also take measurements, perform system and environment reports and work with local authorities or law enforcement to understand their requirements.
Hiring us
Halcyon Audio works on a fee basis.
You pay for “days” on an ad hoc basis or retained basis.
Our rates include our time, and a “day” is classed as 6-8 hours of work. At the start of a contract, we will give you a guide as to the time requirements for your project. Any extra work is chargeable.
We usually find that simple projects are between 1 and 3 days, ongoing projects are usually based on a monthly commitment or several agreed days.
Days may not actually be a single day, they may be 2 half days, but they will be calendared, pre- arranged dates.
Unless the work we do is very local to us, we will charge travelling plus any expenses such as tolls or tickets, we will always endeavour to travel the most cost-effective way possible and we may combine trips with other site work to minimise your expense. This may mean we travel by car, train or plane.
Hotels will always be booked where we are more than 3 hours from our local area; we try to book through Holiday Inn or Premier Inns we use discount schemes with both and we pass those savings on to you.
We try to combine trips to minimise time and mileage. If this is the case, we only charge you for our time and travel from our last booking.
You can expect to be charged in full for any consultancy fees of 3 days or less in advance. Retained clients are usually charged monthly in advance for an agreed number of days. We do not travel to any location until we have received payment for our time and where necessary accommodation in advance.
Reports, standard analytics and measurements are all included in the fee you pay to us. We make no warranties if you do not follow our recommendations.
Likewise, if you have any works completed that we are not aware of, our work cannot be guaranteed. We offer a fully bespoke service, to complete this; we must have open and honest contact with our clients. It is worth remembering that even curtains and drapes affect and effect what we measure and report.
Pricing
The chart below is based around our standard charging matrix.
| Standard | Retained | |
|---|---|---|
| Day | £2,200 | £1,850 |
| Half day | £1,650 | £1,250 |
| Travel (per hour) | £25 | £25 |
| Mileage (per mile) | £0.75 | £0.75 |
Special rate for system set up in a domestic environment – £495 one-off fee for a single visit
All prices are ex-VAT.