Loudspeakers Speaker placement

techietim

Active Member
Hi all,

I am heading up sound (and projection - we won't go into that!) for a youth event in a church hall next weekend.
Now, suprisingly the acoustics are fine and not the problem here - probably due to the massively thick curtains we have!

The question is...where to put the speakers.
For reasons of making it sound decent, as I'm sure you will agree, I want to run the event in Stereo not Mono. Problem is where can I put the speakers. After speaking to a sound-tech at my theatre, he also advised not to put speakers behind inputs (i.e. the band) which I compltely agree with as I've seen this done before..didn't end well!
The band will span the width of the stage (in front of the stage as the stage will have rear-projection running on it) and so the speakers have no where to go really!
There will also be an *active* game (this cannot be stopped) so I'd be reluctant to put the powered speakers (heavy) on tripods in front of the band.

I could have put my band mix through the in house speakers mounted high up on the wall (they have a pretty decent sound) however the mixer doesn't have panning so would be mono!!

What's your suggestion?

Many thanks in advance,

TechieTim :lol:
 
So you have a choice of things that you are reluctant to do. Which one are you more reluctant to do?

You have decent speakers and a mixing board already in place. So it isn't stereo - how much would this be noticed? Is it really that important to have stereo in this application?

You are justifiably worried that active people will bring your expensive and heavy powered speakers crashing down. If you can't cordon off the area around the speakers, I'd go with the house speakers.

Seriously - with the active game, the rear projection and everything else that's going on - do you thing the lack of stereo will be noticed?
 
The question is...where to put the speakers.
For reasons of making it sound decent, as I'm sure you will agree, I want to run the event in Stereo not Mono.
I don't necessarily agree and "stereo" is not about simply having speakers located to the left and right, it is about what the listeners hear.

How many of your sources are stereo or would really benefit from stereo reproduction? Will everyone in the audience hear the same thing and what about people that may hear one speaker louder than the other, do they benefit from the 'stereo' system? Just about everyone who has mixed bands had encountered the guitarist with their amp so loud that you not only don't have to include them in the mix but have to mix everything else up to them, what does that or the sound from acoustic drums, stage monitors and so on do for any stereo reproduction?

I'm not saying that actual stereo reproduction does not have advantages in some situations but many times just getting everyone to hear the same thing, or close to it, is difficult enough without having to address doing do for two separate channels of audio. You probably need to consider factors such as coverage and gain before feedback before worrying about stereo.

Problem is where can I put the speakers. After speaking to a sound-tech at my theatre, he also advised not to put speakers behind inputs (i.e. the band) which I compltely agree with as I've seen this done before..didn't end well!
Potential feedback nightmare as the mics and listeners are in the same direction from the speaker with the mics being closer.

The band will span the width of the stage (in front of the stage as the stage will have rear-projection running on it) and so the speakers have no where to go really!
There will also be an *active* game (this cannot be stopped) so I'd be reluctant to put the powered speakers (heavy) on tripods in front of the band.
A picture or even drawing would help. So would knowing the dimensions of the room and stage, what speakers you have, what the band consists of and the type of music they play and so on.

I could have put my band mix through the in house speakers mounted high up on the wall (they have a pretty decent sound) however the mixer doesn't have panning so would be mono!!
We don't know how well the installed system performs, what it is or how well it covers the space or what other equipment options are possible or basically much of anything, so it is difficult to say if the house system might be a better option or not.
 
So you have a choice of things that you are reluctant to do. Which one are you more reluctant to do?

You have decent speakers and a mixing board already in place. So it isn't stereo - how much would this be noticed? Is it really that important to have stereo in this application?

You are justifiably worried that active people will bring your expensive and heavy powered speakers crashing down. If you can't cordon off the area around the speakers, I'd go with the house speakers.

Seriously - with the active game, the rear projection and everything else that's going on - do you thing the lack of stereo will be noticed?

JLNorthGA,
Thanks - yeah, you have a fair point. Thanks for your advice.
Gonna go with the in-house speakers.

Thanks!
 
I don't necessarily agree and "stereo" is not about simply having speakers located to the left and right, it is about what the listeners hear.

How many of your sources are stereo or would really benefit from stereo reproduction? Will everyone in the audience hear the same thing and what about people that may hear one speaker louder than the other, do they benefit from the 'stereo' system? Just about everyone who has mixed bands had encountered the guitarist with their amp so loud that you not only don't have to include them in the mix but have to mix everything else up to them, what does that or the sound from acoustic drums, stage monitors and so on do for any stereo reproduction?

I'm not saying that actual stereo reproduction does not have advantages in some situations but many times just getting everyone to hear the same thing, or close to it, is difficult enough without having to address doing do for two separate channels of audio. You probably need to consider factors such as coverage and gain before feedback before worrying about stereo.


Potential feedback nightmare as the mics and listeners are in the same direction from the speaker with the mics being closer.


A picture or even drawing would help. So would knowing the dimensions of the room and stage, what speakers you have, what the band consists of and the type of music they play and so on.


We don't know how well the installed system performs, what it is or how well it covers the space or what other equipment options are possible or basically much of anything, so it is difficult to say if the house system might be a better option or not.

Hi museav,

Thanks for your help with this.
I see where you are coming from about stereo, I mainly do lighting so I'm not great with sound. You're right that it probably wouldn't benefit from stereo.

Gonna have to hope for the best with the in-house speakers. With their height, I believe I may just about get away with it!

Unfortunately, I don't have a drawing or dimensions. The band is a youth band consisting of:
3 x VOX
1 x Condenser for Ukele
2 x D.I. for Keys and Guitar
(possibly another D.I. for a bass)

Thanks to yours, JLNorthGA and themuzicman's advice - I think I am going to run in mono on the in-house system.

Thanks again,
TechieTim
 

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