planars v. horns

[kop]

Hello: A quick question. Can planars keep up with horns, with the power demand for equal loudness, or do I need to match the horn efficiency with multiple planars (at a suitably low impedence)? I'd like to use planars in line arrays (14 double 8 inch or 20 double 6 inch units) but I'm not sure how many planars it will take to cover a 400 seat venue and I don't know if using two to three planars (side by side) without any type of horn shaped configuration will keep the horizontal dispersion intact.

[billfitzmaurice]

Hello: A quick question. Can planars keep up with hornsIn general, no. Only a few very expensive planars have sensitivity that can even approach a horn.

[killersoundz]

Hello: A quick question. Can planars keep up with horns, with the power demand for equal loudness, or do I need to match the horn efficiency with multiple planars (at a suitably low impedence)? I'd like to use planars in line arrays (14 double 8 inch or 20 double 6 inch units) but I'm not sure how many planars it will take to cover a 400 seat venue and I don't know if using two to three planars (side by side) without any type of horn shaped configuration will keep the horizontal dispersion intact.

Well, definitely don't want to put them side-by-side. No the sensitivity is nowhere near that of a compression driver/horn. You would need quite a few planars, at least 12+ per side crossed over high enough in a vertical line array to get enough output for a 400 seat venue.

On the other hand, you can just go with one 2" exit compression driver and a large format horn per side and be done with it. These will cross over as low as 800hz and have extension up to 20k.


Edit- oh are you talking about using planars as midranges along with high freq. horns? No that's not a very good idea.

[kop]

I'd be happy to use a few horns but the reason we're going with wide dispersion line arrays is becouse of the shape of the room; wide and shallow.

[killersoundz]

I'd be happy to use a few horns but the reason we're going with wide dispersion line arrays is becouse of the shape of the room; wide and shallow.

A few horns? When you use horns you only want to use a one per side, unless they're line array horns. Otherwise you would introduce terrible comb filtering and lobe distortion into the system.

A pair of these horn lenses
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-328

with these compression drivers (or some other 2" exit drivers)

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-216

^ Will get you where you need to go with ease, and lots more.



Otherwise with some kind of planar like these for example:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-730

You would need a minimum of 12 per side stacked vertically end to end to really get anywhere, and even then those 2" exit horns would quickly stomp these in headroom and output. And you'll need 3 or 4x the amp power to get the planar's in the game.

Also with the planars you need to cross them over 2500-4000hz, and with the horns you can go as low as 800hz 12db/octave.

There's nothing wrong with using the planar's in a line array for pro audio in my opinion, it's just a matter of how many you need. Their low sensitivity and low power handling mean you need a lot of them and a lot of power, but I bet they would sound nice if it was done right.

[billfitzmaurice]

I'd be happy to use a few horns but the reason we're going with wide dispersion line arrays is becouse of the shape of the room; wide and shallow.
Why don't you use horn loaded line arrays?
But if the room is wide and shallow you may be better off with point sources anyway. It's when the room is narrow and deep that line arrays are called for. Line arrays don't have wider dispersion than properly designed and implemented point sources.

[rickcraig]

Hello: A quick question. Can planars keep up with horns, with the power demand for equal loudness, or do I need to match the horn efficiency with multiple planars (at a suitably low impedence)? I'd like to use planars in line arrays (14 double 8 inch or 20 double 6 inch units) but I'm not sure how many planars it will take to cover a 400 seat venue and I don't know if using two to three planars (side by side) without any type of horn shaped configuration will keep the horizontal dispersion intact.

I would look at doing a CBT array with domes.