line array?

[ARSIS]

anybody here use this design. looks pretty damn cool. i cant beieve there's no ribbons in this design... not even a tweeter!

http://www.trueaudio.com/array/index.htm

[Æ]

Re: line array?

anybody here use this design. looks pretty damn cool. i cant beieve there's no ribbons in this design... not even a tweeter!


http://www.trueaudio.com/array/index.htm

Here, you might enjoy this thread:

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=214300&highlight=Murphy+Corner

[marlboro]

Re: line array?

anybody here use this design. looks pretty damn cool. i cant beieve there's no ribbons in this design... not even a tweeter!


http://www.trueaudio.com/array/index.htm

Been there done that.

6 years ago when I was building my tri amped 2 12 inch woofer, 32 mid, 60 tweeters, I hooked up the 32 mids(16 per side) up first, with out either the woofer or the tweeters. I ran it as full range. I thought it sounded spectacular until I hooked up the 60 3/4 inch dome tweeters to go with it and discovered what I was missing. And then I added the two 12 inch very long throw poly prop woofers and once again discovered what wasn't there.

Don't do it unless you can't compare it to having the 60 tweeters and two 12 icnh woofers.

[John L. Murphy]

Re: line array?

Been there done that.

6 years ago when I was building my tri amped 2 12 inch woofer, 32 mid, 60 tweeters, I hooked up the 32 mids(16 per side) up first, with out either the woofer or the tweeters. I ran it as full range. I thought it sounded spectacular until I hooked up the 60 3/4 inch dome tweeters to go with it and discovered what I was missing. And then I added the two 12 inch very long throw poly prop woofers and once again discovered what wasn't there.

Don't do it unless you can't compare it to having the 60 tweeters and two 12 icnh woofers.

Hi Marlboro,

When you listened to the mid array alone how did you correct for the 3 dB/octave treble rolloff? If you were simply operating the mids "au natural" then the treble actually was seriously attenuated even if the mids had an extended high end. So it is reasonable that they sounded better with tweeters.

I currently have my older 2-way line arrays in my home theater and the new MCLA in my music room. So I frequently go from one system to the other. With the two systems voiced the same there is little difference in the overall frequency in spite of the use of tweeters in the 2-way array. The treble from the full range array is all there just as verified by the measurements.

For anyone considering a full range array a good experiment is to do a preliminary listening evaluation with single full range drivers set up in a stereo pair with corrective EQ. With full bass correction you will be severely limited in level but you can still get a good qualitative evaluation at modest listening levels. Once you get past concerns about treble response the sheer simplicity of the full range array is very compelling.

One enormous advantage of the full range array is the elimination of the crossover. The best crossover that can be designed will never sound as good as "no crossover". The definitive test is to cross two identical drivers in the middle of their range and compare this system to one driver operated full range. A "perfect" crossover would make these two systems sound the same. Any difference is the sound of the crossover. In my casual tests the crossover is always audible. Traditionally, crossovers have been considered a "necessary evil". With the availability of high performance full range drivers we can now dispense with the (evil) crossover in loudspeaker systems where the highest performance is desired.

Don't get me wrong. I love my 2-way line arrays and have enjoyed them immensely for over 30 years. Since around 1980 I have promoted the virtues of line arrays to anyone who would listen.

I would encourage anyone considering a full range line array to proceed with great anticipation of the colorless music reproduction that awaits you at the end of the project.

Cheers!

John