Line array design theory books

Marshall kay and don keele of audio artistry brought their concept to reality in conjunction with electronics supplier parts express and its dayton audio brand of loudspeaker components to create the cbt36, the worlds first broadband constant. The venue is a large exposition center, the array is twelve xlcdvx loudspeakers. Sound town 2pack 500w passive column speaker line array system with two 4 x 4 column speakers, speaker stands and 9feet speakon to speakon cables carpov4 only 19 left in stock order soon. Line arrays are something i have been working on for awhile now. Design theory offers a progressive approach to the subject, with carefully ordered results.

I would also not have spent two years writing a book to get to the same answer. Each speaker can be described as a nearfield, vertical, tall, concave line array dipole. As we can see from this polar pattern what actually occurs with a line array is a range of peaks and troughs, caused by destructive and constructive interference between the elements. The line array is far too big a thing to set up in the same way, and once its set up you dont really want to have to move it, so you need to be sure that the positioning is right, the height is right, the horizontal angling is right, and most of all it that the array takes up the optimum jshaped curve to distribute sound evenly to the front and back of the audience, and everyone in between. Free tech support, free shipping, and free 2year warranty for line array speakers. The book contains all the elements of theory, design and practical installation.

In light of the front and side wall reflections we now have four arrays tightly packed into the corner. Advanced line array design with laps ii electrovoice. It begins with simple constructions that gradually increase in complexity. These cabinets are close enough together so there is minimal interference and can provides an evenly distributed sound output pattern. The al8 acoustic linearity element utilizes vues most advanced technologies including cst to extract exceptional performance from its compact design. Cbt36k line array speaker pair kit from dayton audio, the epique cbt36 is a floorstanding 5 ft. Each driver in a line array has less distortion because it shares the load with the rest of the drivers in the line array. We would like to provide some additional information regarding our ease files as we represent our products differently than other manufacturers. High frequency line array devices pro audio components. Know about the pros and cons of line array speakers and. At live events, whether theyre rock concerts or jazz festivals, sound quality is essential, and it needs to be clear, undistorted, and delivered at an appropriate level. A text book for the use of students, draughtsmen, and engineers engaged in constructional work by andrews, ewart s. Hugh sarvis explains the technologies behind the x series speakers.

In these settings, the student will master various construction techniques, both classic and modern, and will be well prepared to construct a vast array of combinatorial designs. Line arrays were also popular in the 1950s and 60s because of the ability to provide excellent vocal range intelligibility in. This ultimately results in a lack of ethical practice. The design was iterative, with lots of prototyping and concepts tested and changed sometimes on a daily basis. Line array speaker setups are commonly used to deliver sound to live audiences. This article is intended to serve as a practical guide to microstrip array design. In a backoftheenvelope sonar design, one can obtain an initial estimate for the range by.

Line array theory is based on pure geometry and the thought experiment of the free field where sound is free to propagate free of environmental factors such as room reflections or temperature refraction. Now lets look at the view from above when a line array is placed in the corner of the room. Above about 400 hz the lowfrequency cones become directional, again violating the theory s assumptions. Line array loudspeakers are a popular tool these days. Antenna arrays phased arrays an antenna array often called a phased array is a set of 2 or more antennas.

Every user of the latest design of the line array system gets 100% satisfaction and feels confidence to recommend this system to their beloved kith and kin. Manufacturers typically provide a spreadsheet or custom program to design arrays. For a given angle, determine the point of intersection of a radial line from the origin with the perimeter of the circle. To solve the integral gives the most commonly used expression for directivity of a line array. Modern line arrays might look like closely spaced elements which look like diagrams from books on antenna theory or audio textbooks that use equally spaced. Maximum throw is approximately 76 meters to the farthest balcony. If you personally harness the power of the maths and you are interested in speaker design, this book is very interesting. The signals from the antennas are combined or processed in order to achieve improved performance over that of a single antenna. In 2005, he described a design variation of the cbt loudspeaker line array, called. Then draw a vertical line up from this point and determine the value of f at this point. For improved performance, contemporary line arrays employ specially designed loudspeaker elements to provide a nearly continuous line source. Abstractin this paper, a design of a seriesfed microstrip array with composite rightlefthanded transmission lines crlhtls is being proposed.

It is a very good technique to insure low distortion at high decibel levels. Audio devices utilize a converging lens technology designed to mate with either large format 1. Figure 211 shows the corner linearray placed in the corner of a room. A line array is a loudspeaker system that is made up of a number of usually identical loudspeaker elements mounted in a line and fed in phase, to create a nearline source of sound. The theory behind line arrays was first published by harry olson in 1957 and was initially used to develop column loudspeakers which are line arrays.

And at high frequencies, all practical systems use directional waveguides whose behavior cannot be described using classical line array theory. All too often, the design industry ignores the contexts and theoretical underpinnings surrounding the work made. Phased array antennas, second edition is an ideal resource for antenna design engineers, radar engineers, pcs engineers, and communications engineers, or any professional who works to develop radar and telecommunications systems. Some of the best and most expensive speakers are line arrays. A line source is a hypothetical onedimensional source of sound, as opposed to. The distance between adjacent drivers is close enough that they constructively interfere with each other to send sound waves farther than traditional hornloaded loudspeakers, and with a more evenly distributed sound output. Line array systems are now the forerunner in large scale live sound reinforcement. First, it allows each individual driver to use less power thus, in theory minimizing distortion as the driver does not have to work as hard. Cbt or constant beamwidth transducer theory is based on unclassified military. After bob gardams comment on breaking the line i decided to give a quick go of the hypothetical scenario i had proposed in my reply. Be skeptical when facts and results are postulated from theories or assumptionbased hypotheses.

Summary of contents for electrovoice x line xvls page 1 line arrays history and theory mention is made of the vertical orientation of sound sources as far back as 1896. The top pattern shows the smooth dispersion of a point source system compared to the erratic dispersion of a line array. A line array is a loudspeaker system that is made up of a number of usually identical. There are some useful chapters on electrical or speaker basics but they seem. Know about the pros and cons of line array speakers and point source system. So how about we cover it in three paragraphs in a blog.

Line array this concept uses a number of loudspeakers aligned in a vertical array to provide an in phase feed creating a near line source to the listeners. A line array is a group of audio drivers speakers mounted in a row. Line arrays of loudspeakers are often employed to provide increased directivity, generally in the vertical plane. Here is a post i did quite awhile ago talking about some designs that were available, and the theory behind the line arrays. In short, the geometry of realworld audio line arrays is. Pure line array theory is based on pure geometry and the thought experiment of the free field. The result is a system which to my ears has a distinct quality of making music enjoyable. Our website and phones are open, but shipping may take a few extra days, for the safety of our team. The line array is the modern deployment of a design first developed by harry olsen at rca in the 1950s. Review of best practices with speaker system design.

To ensure that each element in the array is driven with the same voltage phase, dualband crlhtls are adopted instead of meander line microstrip lines to. The ubiquitous column loudspeaker cabinets of the late 1960s and early 1970s wem was one prominent uk brand were an early elementary form of line array. Maximum mainfloor throw is approximately 36 meters. Therefore provision should be made in the design for the a system to. Davis book graphic design theory is a must read for any practicing designer or design student. While not targeted directly at line arrays the book covers the theory behind arrays and how they work.

Most of the work carried out by the author used experimental models, although the same qualitative understanding is required when using computer simulation techniques. Figure 2 shows the 3000 hz plot of the main floor spl coverage of the original configuration. Usually line arrays are vertical and flown either side of the stage. Line array mid comb filtering and acoustical interference are two audio terms that relate to the manner in which two or more sound sources such as two speakers or two drivers within a speaker system interact and affect each other. No extensive theory is offered and important theoretical facts are simply stated as required. Line array gain taper breaking the line ii march 10, 2010. Modern line arrays have been used at large scale events since the mid eighties. A practical guide to the design of microstrip antenna arrays.