Theatre-sound fun

[Downside Studio]

I had great fun getting a theatre-gut really pissed off yesterday. He insisted that I used his $100.000+ soundsystem. I insisted in using my own ($10.000).

He said his sytem was the only one that could sound good in that particular theatre because of the way the theatre was build, and the way the system was set up (using soundweb system). My own system (JBL components) is custom build for theatre productions, and has a very wide spread (90x90) so I knew it would sound great in that theatre. (this was not the first time I used it in this theatre, but he didn't know that)

because I couldn't convince the guy on using my own system (wich he couldn't decide anyway) we had a poll with some listeners. Guess what !! everybody seemed to agree my system sounded better overall than his multi-delayed system using over 20 speakers mounted in the theatre.

just to piss him off, I used an old sales-trick with a real bad and old system that we had standing in the truck. Put a cd on it and play it for a couple of minutes, than switch over for a short time to the other system, and turn back to the previous system. 9 out of 10 people will find the first system the best. The trick is that the ear gets used to the sound, and will percieve anything else as less good, or odd sounding. Before the ear gets adjusted to the other sound switch back to the previous system.

man, you should have seen his face when people tried to convince him that the old crappy system ($250) sounded better than his.


Still wondering why we didn't get any stagehands at the end of the show?

 

[barefoot]

What was in that $100,000+ system?

It must have been a whole lot of crap, or else set up completely wrong.

I don't consider JBL anything spectacular. In fact, I think most every pro sound reinforcement loudspeaker sucks. Except for Meyer, nobody even comes close to providing consistent "high fidelity" sound. They all sound like boxy, horn throated squawkers.

The compromises made in pro sound speakers are so skewed toward high dB's and minimizing weight you might wonder if anyone who designs or uses them has any hearing left at all...???

Sorry for the slight rant. I'm not trying to put down your equipment. I just think the bar needs to be severely raised on the actual "sound" of sound reinforcement speakers.

I'm building a friend a set of speakers for DJing using all the same design principles I use for high accuracy monitors and home speakers. To achieve this, plus get high dB's , they will weigh a ton and cost as much.... but the sound is going to be unforgettable.... if he ever hands over the check! (economic downturns are frustrating).

barefoot

 

[Downside Studio]

Hey Barefoot, I get your point, and I agree completely.

But my system is build for reinforcement of acoustic material, standup bass, piano, guitar etc. No heavy dB stuff.
The difference between PA and theatre is more than just dB's.

The theatre set was of the brand D&B (confusing dB and D&B), consisting out of multi delayed speakers. You probably get the point. bad delay times, bad eq and bad speaker placement. like the voice of the artiest was coming out of the roof.

You don't consider JBl anything spectacular. It isn't. But if its used and build right it sure can be spectacular, like probably any other brand.
My set is no DJ set though.

 

[barefoot]

Yeah, I checked out D&B and they are "the same old same old", if you know that expression.

"But if its used and build right it sure can be spectacular, like probably any other brand."

I have to disagree with you on this one. For example, if a horn loaded compression driver sounds bad, it sounds bad for classical, folk, electronica, hip-hop , or whatever. Quieter music might have a slight advantage since the system is not being driven so hard. But I don't think you can build a great system out of components whose designs are fundamentally flawed, which is the case with most pro sound reinforcement speakers IMHO.

Personally I draw no real distinction between types of music or decibels in my designs. Filling up a large club or theater with high decibels and very low bass extension just means doing more of the same thing I do for, say, a set of nearfield monitors. In some cases like clubs where the acoustic environment is less than ideal, dispersion needs to be narrowed, but this can also be done with very little sonic compromise.

I guess my point is the hi-end of sound reinforcement speakers is usually no better than the very low end of monitors with respect to fidelity. Hearing music live, whatever the genre, is one of the greatest experiences we have. It's a shame that the huge number of people who attend live performances can only hear a tiny fraction of the kind of detail that an extremely small number of people sitting in recording studios hear.

Thanks for the interesting discussion.

barefoot