Re: Listening Get Together
Not just the numbers but how they were measured would be nice.
I will get as much information as I can from them.
What speakers were involved? Were there any other speakers for comparison?
At the listening party, we used: (2) MinE25's, (4)GC46's, (2) RachE12's, and (2)RachE18's
Also present were (2) BFM Jack 12's and (2) BFM Titan 39's. We did not get around to listening to the Jack's, but we did try the Titan 39's.
The Titan's wouldn't even keep up with the MinE25's
For bass cabs, we used a BFM Omni12TB, a fEARful 12/6/1, BigE 6x6, GC46, and a combination MinE25 and RachE12.
The Combo MinE25/RachE12 won that comparison hands down.
To what you you ascribe the results, not a simple "the speakers" but what in specific?
The inventors have explained to me that because of the way the vortex generates sound, that it does not interact with room modes and reflections in the same way that conventional speakers do.
I don't know how else to describe that, other than to say that I have never heard that level of clarity in such an acoustically bad space.
Speaking of the gym of course, but the club also. It's a decent sized space, but the ceilings are very low (maybe 8-9') with a sunken (maybe 30x30) dance floor.
Hopefully Leland will chime in here and describe more. I think he has a better understanding of what's happening here than I do.
Were the speakers the only thing different or were the band, mics, mix, etc. also different? What is the system usually used there?
That was the first time that band had played that venue. There were many people there who had heard the band in other places. They said it's the best they had ever heard them sound.
The venue owners and patrons said it was the best sounding band that they had ever had in there.
As far as the band's equipment, everything was the same as they normally use except for the speakers.
Was that 116-118dB peak or average levels? Unweighted, A-weighted or C-weighted? I don't care what the source is, if it was truly that loud and vocals were articulate through the sound system then the associated high SPL at speech frequencies would cause speech interference.
I believe it was average but Leland will have to confirm (he was taking the measurements).
He and I had no trouble understanding each other talking. Of course we had to be close and use loud voices, but we could still have a conversation.
The bar owners and bartenders all warned us before we started that they did not like it loud at the bar because they couldn't understand the customers.
They explained that this was a problem with every band they had in there, they have to ask them to turn it down a little.
They never complained all night and commented afterwards about how they didn't have trouble interacting with customers and understanding drink orders.
NOTE: I typically run bar bands at around 105db average. I guessed that's about where I was until Leland showed me the meter.
Doug, I don't know your background but you'll likely find that people here want more detailed descriptions. They may want to hear about factors such as the pattern, the phase response and so on. They may want to know what processing was applied, what amplification used, etc. They may be interested in the relevant backgrounds and experience of those offering measurements and comments. And they may question anything presented that seems counter to their experience or physics. So when you get time to present more you might want to consider some of those factors.
Very briefly, my background in live sound extends back about 24 years, the last 14 of those being professionally. I have been full time for the last 5 years. I mostly do installs for a living and I am the technical director for a large church in my area. In addition, I have played in many bands over the last 24 years. Guitar, bass, drums, vocals... and I teach jazz at the local high school.
I have asked for all measurements from the guys who were there, along with reviews of what they heard. I will also ask for their backgrounds and experience.
Amplification used at the listening party and that night's gig were Ashly KLR4000's.
There were no other processors used other than a crossover and light compression on vocals and kick.