What if you don't want to fill the room with sound?

In some venues, patrons who do not want to listen to the music, or prefer it at a lower volume, can sit further away from the speakers.

This is not possible with the Bose system.

It's not for everyone...and certainly not for those who like to play in stereo.

Ian

Hellboy44, My guess is we are not very different in venues..

Mostly I play in a trio, at several different ocean side venues..Some are out doors(on boardwalks or street parties).The audience is hard to measure (anywhere between 1,000 to maybe 5-6,000 people)..
These are strictly mono sound systems..On the boardwalk the speakers are spaced every 40 feet or so...usually around 6-8 speakers..

Our street parties[closed off streets next to the ocean..we are on a raised stage and use our typical Yorkville set up..running in mono. This system covers several blocks with sound..I have people say they heard us 5 or 6 blocks away as if they were sitting in front of the stage...The Yorkvilles cover a large area[2- NX520p's and a Sub woofer]..

Our shore crowds are mixed...we have teens- seniors..Our music is usually dance music from the 60's and 70's..)

Our club dates average around 200-250 people..many I stay in stereo, some we go mono..Especially the outdoor clubs(mono).We have some larger club dates with over 300 people and these are also mostly mono..
Our range of music is material from Big Band era, 50's doo wop, the 60's and 70's and some top 40..

My solo work is a little different, audience is usually around 150 people..I do mostly 40's , 50's and 60's material ( Presley, Vinton, Anka, Humperdink, Jones etc)..The vast majority of my solo jobs are stereo[currently using my trusted Roland CK 100's)..

BTW: it only takes a push of a button on my Mackie mixer to switch from stereo to mono..so if one works better than the other..easily adjusted...

Donny,

The Bose just didn't fill the room with the stereo sound I'm used to. Too many highs (for my taste) and I don't want to configure stuff the rest of my life. Directly behind gave me a headache, to the left or right sounded like I was missing something.

The new Mackie Blues - 450v2 - I'm all blue now : ) sound great! with PLENTY of bass, highs and fabulous separation. That's what I comfortable with. I love to hear the instruments in stereo At 40 lbs, they're a breeze to handle.

I still play with the 900, not ready yet for the 800, but it's close and is sounding VERY cool. The lame 900 power adapter wires frayed again, so I have to spend yet another $100 - what a stupid design Yamaha.

Just coming off 7 jobs in two days and a break for one day....20 hours today on the 800 to get it ready.

Thanks for asking.

zuki

[This message has been edited by zuki (edited 04-03-2008).]

The whole point of stereo is NOT that everybody in the house gets to sit in one 'sweet spot'. That's absurd. But equally absurd is the contention that ONLY those sitting in the 'sweet spot' get ANY stereo experience. I am SURE that you don't run your home stereo in mono unless you are sitting perfectly at the apex of an equilateral triangle with the speakers at the other two corners. It doesn't collapse to mono the minute you move your head or body!

The strength of stereo is it helps localize certain sounds, and give a sense of dimensionality to the music, and helps avoid different parts from clashing with each other. It helps recreate the actual stereo sound of a live band (you don't need a stereo PA to know and hear the bassist is on the left and the guitarist is on the right in anything other than very large concert venues). And recreating the 'live band' experience is EXACTLY what arrangers are all about. That includes positional cues, as well as musical ones.

Sure, there are the occasional venues, as described, where stereo does NOT work. That is what the 'mono out' jack is for, on your arranger (well, some of them )! But in the large percentage where stereo DOES help you get a sense of dimensionality into what is essentially a 'fake' performance (there is only you, not the whole band the customer is hearing), it is a plus, at least as important as a reasonably 'flat' sound...

I think most of the objections to running stereo seem to come from those with theoretical reasons for it. But actually USE a stereo PA, and you will quickly come to see that, for all but the very largest gigs, it IS apparent throughout the venue. Not as good as the 'sweet spot', but still there...

Diki, I never said that a stereo image (be it Venue or Home) would "collapse to Stereo the minute you move your head or body", please don't treat me like an idiot, and stop putting words in my mouth (i.e. using a straw man argument to prove your point).

For your information I HAVE used a stereo set up for YEARS (I thought I made that abundantly clear) and thought I would miss that sound, I thought the audience would miss that sound - I was wrong on both counts.

If you want to think I'm a fool (you're half right) or an inexperienced musician (dead wrong) go right ahead.

Well, the audience rarely misses anything, as it seldom even notices anything (at least, consciously)! But perhaps it is I that is the idiot here...

Because I DO use stereo, and miss it when I don't have it, and my audiences, especially when I've played a mono venue and they hear me doing stereo, often come up and go 'you sound so much better here...'

I just smile and thank them.

What do they know, anyway?

BTW, hellboy... you see anything in my post where I was addressing YOU?

No need to get worked up about general comments, is there?

You were addressing my point (Stereo "being for the few not the many") and thus addressing me and others who hold that view. On top of that, you quoted my "sweet spot" phrasing exactly.

Pretty good reasons to assume you were addressing me.

Say what you mean and mean what you say Diki, instead of all this "passive aggressive/I'm just talkin' in general" crap that passes for a reply on the forum these days.

OK, then hellboy. Just because YOU (and a few others) don't appreciate stereo any more (and the Bose's inability to deliver it makes that kind of moot, anyway) does NOT mean those of us that DO are wrong. In truth only in weird shaped venues does any significant portion of the audience NOT hear a stereo image, albeit somewhat compromised.



In MY book, that's pretty much EXACTLY what I criticized (but you are right, I did 'drama' it up a bit!). So don't give ME the passive/aggressive line, mate... Stand by your own bloody quote.

I was TRYING to make general comments (the term 'sweet spot' isn't a bloody OZ term, it's everyday parlance) but if you want to make it personal, fine by me. Just remember to check your OWN quotes first, or run the risk of being accused of passive/aggressiveness yourself, too...

So you WERE addressing me and my point, and STILL denied it.

Also, why would you think I don't appreciate Stereo?

Fran and I came to some agreement(!) if you care to re-read those posts regarding Stereo and Mono, or have you forgotten?

What quotes haven't I stood by?

Why WOULDN'T I think you weren't criticizing me and my view (which it turns out you were - by your own admission) just because my turn of phrase (specifically "sweet spot") isn't under my own personal (or my Country's) Copyright?

Whether you know it or not (and I suspect you do) you have come across as condescending and elitist.
I've been accused of that many times myself, but boy, you make ME look like an amateur.