[sTeeVee]

Greetings,
Is it possible to configure a useable line array using the very nice
EAW JF80? They are light and deceptively powerful. I may have access
to a quantity of these at a good price. Although I do realize that
this amazing little speaker was designed for side- and under-balcony
fill, it seems as though the size, range, and spl specs would point to
the plauseability of hanging a bunch of these (like 8 per side) for an
outdoor festival or smaller venue application. Any ideas? Many thanks
in advance for your suggestions. I guess I'm basically questioning
their polar pattern - they are primarily a short-range application
item.

[Scott Dorsey]

sTeeVee wrote:
Is it possible to configure a useable line array using the very nice
EAW JF80? They are light and deceptively powerful. I may have access
to a quantity of these at a good price. Although I do realize that
this amazing little speaker was designed for side- and under-balcony
fill, it seems as though the size, range, and spl specs would point to
the plauseability of hanging a bunch of these (like 8 per side) for an
outdoor festival or smaller venue application. Any ideas? Many thanks
in advance for your suggestions. I guess I'm basically questioning
their polar pattern - they are primarily a short-range application
item.

I'd talk to EAW about it, BUT I will make the following points:

1. Small line arrays are actually less useful than you might expect, because
the places where you come across small rooms tend not to be the sort of
places where line arrays solve the typical problems. One of the important
exceptions for this might be in tents, though. Tents have big slap echo
issues from above that can be dramatically helped with a tight vertical
pattern from a small line array.

2. If you build a line array, making it steerable with DSP is a nontrivial
problem. And if it's not steerable, you're back in the age of the Bogen
Sound Column all over again with all the attendant nastiness.

3. Those speakers are _awfully_ wide pattern for a line array. Problem is,
though, that if you want directionality at lower frequencies you're going
to need a bigger box... and that's part of what makes a line array useful.
Take a look at the plot of the Nexo baby line arrays.. to be honest I
don't think they are _that_ much tighter. (And the Nexos are also most
often used as nonsteerable arrays too.)

4. Outdoor festivals are generally one of the places where line arrays are
more trouble than not... the pattern control doesn't buy you anywhere near
as much as it does in a hall, and the difficulty of flying them compared
with a traditional box systems is a big thumbs down.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[sTeeVee]

On May 17, 6:25*pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
sTeeVee wrote:
Is it possible to configure a useable line array using the very nice
EAW JF80? They are light and deceptively powerful. I may have access
to a quantity of these at a good price. Although I do realize that
this amazing little speaker was designed for side- and under-balcony
fill, it seems as though the size, range, and spl specs would point to
the plauseability of hanging a bunch of these (like 8 per side) for an
outdoor festival or smaller venue application. Any ideas? Many thanks
in advance for your suggestions. I guess I'm basically questioning
their polar pattern - they are primarily a short-range application
item.

I'd talk to EAW about it, BUT I will make the following points:

1. Small line arrays are actually less useful than you might expect, because
* *the places where you come across small rooms tend not to be the sort of
* *places where line arrays solve the typical problems. *One of the important
* *exceptions for this might be in tents, though. *Tents have big slap echo
* *issues from above that can be dramatically helped with a tight vertical
* *pattern from a small line array.

2. If you build a line array, making it steerable with DSP is a nontrivial
* *problem. *And if it's not steerable, you're back in the age of the Bogen
* *Sound Column all over again with all the attendant nastiness.

3. Those speakers are _awfully_ wide pattern for a line array. *Problem is,
* *though, that if you want directionality at lower frequencies you're going
* *to need a bigger box... and that's part of what makes a line array useful.
* *Take a look at the plot of the Nexo baby line arrays.. to be honest I
* *don't think they are _that_ much tighter. *(And the Nexos are also most
* *often used as nonsteerable arrays too.)

4. Outdoor festivals are generally one of the places where line arrays are
* *more trouble than not... the pattern control doesn't buy you anywhere near
* *as much as it does in a hall, and the difficulty of flying them compared
* *with a traditional box systems is a big thumbs down.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. *C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Many thanks for the insights Scott. I will check in with EAW
engineering, but your points are well taken.

Best,
Steve

[Scott Dorsey]

sTeeVee wrote:

Many thanks for the insights Scott. I will check in with EAW
engineering, but your points are well taken.

Line arrays have a lot of advantages in terms of pattern control and quick
and easy setup, and that's a big deal for touring groups who may be in very
different rooms from one day to the next without time to properly set things
up. But while they are versatile, they also have a lot of disadvantages too.

Because line arrays are very fashionable right now, everybody is using them
for everything, whether or not they are an appropriate solution. I have
seen big steerable arrays put into permanent installs in concert halls for
God's sake.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."