Vertical stacking is there a limit?

That column would approach 10 feet tall.

 

**The Official Comb Filtering Thread**

I've seen PAs flying stacks 10 Ft tall or more.

 

How about two stacks of 18 (1x15) cabs each?

 

When you need a ladder to stack them or they fall over, that's the limit.

 

What is considered "overkill" depends on the specifics of the gig and the venue. Since in this case you are playing a 45 minute opening set with PA support, I think any stack that is taller than you are would be overkill.

 

Let gravity be your guide........

 

The ceiling.....

 

The width of the 810 configuration helps push bass frequencies forward, technically known as baffle step compensation. A skinny enclosure for bass would result in a loss of that. For coupling and bass response, there's really no reason to go more than 2 drivers high. 4 drivers high is cool because that way, drivers are closer to your ear so you can hear them better. Some 810 configured cabs will low pass one vertical row at approx 500Hz so it won't acoustically interfere (comb filter) with the other row at frequencies above 500Hz. (That's also why several subs are often stacked horizontally, as the frequencies they cover will not comb in the horizontal plane.)

 

What if it's an outdoor gig?

 

Any examples of 810 cabs that do this?

 

One of the Barefaced offerings.

 

Cool

 

Paging @agedhorse

What are your thoughts on two vertically-stacked 8-10 cabs? (Mechanical/gravitational issues notwithstanding....)

 

Same answer. Just make sure you have adequate scaffolding.

 

I'm an Acoustical Physicist, so we'll talk about whats ideal here, forgetting practicalities for a bit, if that's OK. Acoustically, the taller you go, the better. Actually, the ones above your head would cover the audience better than those behind you, as your body won't be blocking the mids and highs from them. That's part of what was great about the Greatful Dead setup - its height meant the performers weren't blocking the high frequency sound. If you have to limit your stack to, say, 5 feet high, acoustically you'd be best off with the stack starting at about your ear height (so you could hear yourself) and...going up from there.

Ideally, if you stack from floor to ceiling, the reflections from the floor and ceiling make the array "look" even taller, which is this case, is a good thing - picture the ceiling and floor as mirrors, and the reflected speakers act (acousticlaly) just like what you'd see in a mirror, if that makes sense. Bass varies in a venue in 3 dimensions. If you stack from floor to ceiling, you reduce the variability to 2 dimensions. If you cover an entire wall with bass cabinets, you make a 1 dimensional situation, which would be killer in a lot of ways. Plus it'd just look awesome.

Then again, the taller you go, the more your should pay attention to how well they stack - some sort of nesting/locking brackets would be a very good idea for anything taller than you, especially since the things vibrate.