Loudspeakers - phase question?

[mandolinlk]

Acoustic show, small room. using multidirectional mic. Have done this many times, but this time I asked a friend to bring speakers (long story). He tells me at the last minute that he is bringing two floor wedges that he has turned forward and upside-down and drilled holes in to mount on speaker stands. So the tweeter is on the bottom. It looks really silly, but how is it going to sound? I won't have the chance to try it out ahead of time. I'm quite alarmed about it, it just sounds like it might be lame. Anyone?

[NolaTek]

generally speaking, I've found floor wedges to be good for a full-range sound. I dont think your friend's speakers will sound bad to the average listener's ear, but then agai I've never tried it. However, if he's started drilling into the cabinet itself that may affect sound quality in another way (probably in your low-end). Out of curiousity, what is the make model on your friend's monitors. Hope the gig goes well.

[mandolinlk]

Can't get a hold of him to ask, but here's the pic he sent me. Thanks for your response!

[rwhealey]

I think it really depends on the quality of the speaker.

A lot of speakers are designed with the ability to switch between a main and a monitor - look at the EV QRx112.

[fredthe]

Unless it's a really bad speaker, I'd expect it to be fine for the average listener. Tweeter on the bottom certainly won't make a difference.

-Fred

[museav]

I'm curious as to what modifications were made to allow the pole mounting and how well the mounting provisions were handled. Did they consider center of gravity for the box? Does the pole lock in in any way and if not, how deep is it recessed?

I wouldn't worry too much about having the horn at the bottom provided that you can still get the horn at a proper height and angle. As far as what it sounds like, I'm not sure what the speaker is, it may even be DIY, so no knowing what it might sound like or any specs.

[howlingwolf487]

Looks like the Yamaha wedges we had at my university. It'll be harder to get the HF drivers above the heads of the front row of people, unless they're already elevated. Guess you'll just have to wait and see, then get back to us with your thoughts.

[jkowtko]

Also, I suggest check the dispersion angle of the horn in both directions. These units look like they're oriented vertically under normal wedge use, although they're upside down from normal orientation. You just want to make sure your horizontal dispersion is wide enough to cover the audience area decently, and that your vertical dispersion is pointing straight out and not (with speakers upside down) down towards the floor.

[3dB]

As long as they have properly installed and sealed commercial speaker cab pole-mount inserts you should have a fighting chance with these. If they are home-made inserts, there could be sealing problems which may affect low-freq reproduction - safety concerns non-withstanding. The speakers themselves appear to be of a lower-end variety so sound quality may still be an issue... Odd concoctions such as this usually raise a red flag with me.

Regards,
Mark