e.g. The TC Electronic speaker cabs have their speakers lined up vertically and I've heard there are advantages to this. What are they and how does that work? I think they call it line array?
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Speakers Vertically Stacked
- Thread starter johnsonabq
- Start date
Not a line array but, stacking the speakers vertically spreads the sound wider horizontally. Seems a little counter-intuitive at first but that's how it works. You'll hear more of of your mids and topend when your off at an angle to the rig instead of straight in front of it. When your rig is playing the room, it means more even sound reaches the ears of more of your audience instead of having a "hotspot" for the people on center with the speakers and muddier sound off to the sides.
Search "dispersion" for more reading on the subject.
Search "dispersion" for more reading on the subject.
MaddAnthony_59
Supporting Member
- Dec 16, 2006
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- I Channel Surf During Commercials. (Drives my Wife CRAZY!!!)
Yes, Height is good. I like to put the Bigger Speakers on top. In theory it allows for the Bigger Waves to be released! In reality it at least looks cool to have an 18" speaker at Eye Level...
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
Line array is a much more complicated thing, using the same sort of concept, but applying some cunning delay stuff to control how sound is spread over distance as well as arc.
Line arrays require a certain length for each wavelength for it to couple together into an array... You won't have that in a line of speakers 4 feet long going down to 50hz. But it helps with dispersion, making more of your mids and highs even horizontally, rather than having bright spots and dead spots depending on where you stand.
billfitzmaurice
Commercial User
- Sep 15, 2004
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The wider the source the narrower the angle of dispersion. The ideal speaker would be about an inch wide and thirty feet high. That's not all that practical, though it has been done. The closer you can get to that ideal configuration the better. As soon as you put two drivers side by side you're headed in the wrong direction.
This is an interesting sonic phenomena. So, If I stack vertically my RS210 and RS212 my amp will be more audible when off axis?
This is essentially what a line array does... Mid and high freq drivers are stacked vertically with minimal space between them. Once they're close enough to each other the "sound" begins to see them as one very narrow tall speaker. This is also dependant on the size of the wave being created, bigger waves needing longer array. That's why a 410 cab can sound boomy off axis... The lows are well dispersed regardless, but it creates a beam of mids and highs right down the center.
So yeah, perfection would be an array of full range cardioid drivers 65 feet long... but we make do with stacking 2 210 cabs instead
Your midrange and treble will be, as those frequencies are more directional. This is one thing cone size does affect. The smaller the sound source, The higher in frequency it can play before it starts to "beam", meaning putting those higher frequencies out in a narrow beam on center with the speaker rather than spreading them widely. Two 10's side by side act like one big 20" speaker, it can't go very high before it starts to beam. Two 10's stacked vertically are still 10" wide, and thus can play higher before beaming. The vertical stack also narrows vertical dispersion, which helps too. More sound focused at the audience and less at the floor and ceiling. Always choose greater horizontal dispersion at the expense of vertical. Audiences may however wide you have room for, but the difference in ear level between a tall person standing and a short person sitting might still only be 4 ft.
And your lows are already less directional. So overall it will improve how consistant your sound is.
Some say that horizontally stacked cabinets sound better than vertically stacked while others say vertically stacked sound better than horizontally. Me, I just stack them based on the stage so they fit in. Case solved. Less things to worry about in life.
Consider your sources. Are any of those horizontal stacking folks building multi-million dollar PA systems for world touring artists?
Ya, I'm very much down with the vertical array. I'm also down with cabs designed to minimize beaming and maximize dispersion. But beaming really doesn't bother me like other aspects of this scientific stuff. It's the one thing that doesn't bother me. Bothers me in a PA, doesn't bother me in a bass or guitar cab.
