DR290s at Outdoor Classic Concert

[N.Webber]

The event was part of the stat's 60'th anniversary celebrations and was held at a water reservoir site.
The audience was some 1800 and the orchestra was the IKO http://www.kibbutz-orchestra.co.il/index.html
doing some appropriate light classical pieces and also accompanying a singer for some local 'folk' songs.

The PA system was two 290s on top of one Labsub per side.
The DRs ware hung on my L.A.M.Posts and the subs ware placed on their bases doubling as ballast…

Unfortunately there wasn't time for a proper balance routine before 'door opening' so I actually managed it 'on the fly' through the first song.

As can be seen in the pictures the seating area was sloping lightly toward the stage, so setting top DRs horizontal and the bottom ones
about 4 deg down, produced a nice and even coverage throughout the depth of the seating area.

The sound quality throughout the seating area was great. This setup plus the DR's (very) narrow vertical spread meant neither
the high or the mid frequencies ware slamming at the close audience while still achieving good level and balance at the back.

This PA setup may look small and undersized for this venue but I assure you it was plenty for this type of program.
I had a good margin of headroom even at the crescendo peaks as well as with the singer's voice on-top of that.

Once again I enjoyed the true Hi Fi features of these boxes, delivering all the fine details of the music, clean, precise and true
(and at the same time also conveying the occasional misses… )
It was a little windy at the beginning but later calmed down and became real ideal listening conditions.

PA setup complete:


General view:


Half way through...

[Philip Weston]

Very nice setup!

[David Robinson]

Where in the US can I get stands like that?

[Sydney]

He made them...( know any good welders? )
N.Webber: How far apart are they?
RE: The 3rd pic - Was that ensemble also miked and run through the PA or just the soloists?

[David Robinson]

He made them...( know any good welders? )

I was afraid of that, but yeah, actually I do.

[Harley]

Nice looking set-up.

[Ron K]

Very nice indeed. They look to be 40 or so feet a part. In that application I think I would have done the same. Center clustered subs are nice but they do tend to wash the center of the stage with a lot of bass as well. That type of orchestra probably wouldn't appreciate that as much as a rock act!

At 40 ft the power alley wont be too bad.An acceptable compromise here I believe.

[Strapping Young Stu]

At 40 ft the power alley wont be too bad.An acceptable compromise here I believe.

Its also outside so with only 2 labs so I doubt the bass was that prominent, but it would enable a nice wide stereo effect even at lower frequencies. I love a well panned orchestra!

Those DR290s must be exceptional if they could handle that many people outdoors with only 2 per side. Remember David Perry was using 2 280s per side in pubs and clubs!

Stu

[Mark Coward]

Those DR290s must be exceptional if they could handle that many people outdoors with only 2 per side. Remember David Perry was using 2 280s per side in pubs and clubs!

Stu

IIRC he has six total cabs and the stands will handle 3 cabs each. Without a drum kit and electric bass, classical music doesn't need a huge PA. The one thing that I see, even though the audience seating sloped up some I think that with the upper DR's vertical much of their output was wasted. You can't tell for sure from the pics, but it looks to me that if a line were drawn from the center of the cab 90º straight out it would go over the heads of the back row.

[N.Webber]

He made them...( know any good welders? )

Read and see pictures here: http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.p ... /0/0/6698/

How far apart are they?

About 24 meters (70 feet)

RE: The 3rd pic - Was that ensemble also miked and run through the PA or just the soloists?

Yes, the whole ensamble was miked with 18 lines. Shotgun condensers (AT-835s and Sennheizer ME-66s)
for sections such as violins. violas, flutes etc. and SM58s (I didn't have wind guards for the SM57s...)
for close(er) pickup of other instruments such as cellos. basses etc.
The small drum kit and precussion had two overheads and a Beta52. the 'alternative' electric piano went through a DI.

[Tom Smit]

Once again a nice set-up! Also, real quality photos taken.

TomS

[N.Webber]

Mark you're right.

In the pictures it looks as if the top cabs are 'shooting' (too) high over the heads of the further audience

But, as I understand it (and practical experience pretty much follows this concept)
the axis of the combined lobe of both (top and bottom) cabs is actually in the middle between the two,
and in this case is pointing down to where I wanted it (just over the back seats heads)

[Alan Star]

Center clustered subs are nice but they do tend to wash the center of the stage with a lot of bass as well.

I agree, I prefer having center clustered subs if I can get my Dr's in nice and close to them, otherwise if the dr's have to be really wide apart, better to split the subs as well. I don't like having the tops spread wide apart anyway apart from if doing a really large number of people.

N.Webber, I have a similar set up, Labs + Dr300's, do you mind me asking what comp. drivers you are using and what xover point ?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Mark you're right.

In the pictures it looks as if the top cabs are 'shooting' (too) high over the heads of the further audience

But, as I understand it (and practical experience pretty much follows this concept)
the axis of the combined lobe of both (top and bottom) cabs is actually in the middle between the two,
and in this case is pointing down to where I wanted it (just over the back seats heads)

In practice splayed cabs act as separate sources in the high frequencies. With only two cabs and a relatively short throw Nim's
hypothesis is correct. With longer throws and more cabs you'd aim the center line of the uppermost cabs at the farthest reach, doubling or tripling up on the number of cabs aimed furthest out, successively lowering the aim point on the lower cabs in a J array, while power shading to maintain a relatively constant SPL through most of the coverage zone.

[N.Webber]

Hi Alan,

The comp. drivers are the Eminence 2005, wired in series (as recommended)

At the above setup these cabs seem to have a prominent peek around 2.5 - 3kHz so I split the xover point as follows:

The Mid range is rolled off at 2kHz at 24 dB/oct and the High range is HPF'ed at 3.5kHz also at 24 dB/oct.

The (4) cabs are driven by a PLX3402 (for the Mids) and a PLX1804 (for the Comp. drivers)
These amplifiers are actually there for 3 cabs per side, if and when needed...
The two Labs are driven by another 3402.