Line Array Speakers 

What Is Line Array Speakers
 

When configuring the microphones and sound system in a conference room, one of the most important components of the process is making sure that the audio from the speakers can be heard throughout the room regardless of where the listeners are located. Think of it like attending a performance by your favorite musical artist. You may not have the finest view of the stage from where you are sitting, but regardless of where you are, there is a good possibility that you will be able to hear the music quite well. To achieve the objective of appropriate sound coverage, one strategy is to acquire the services of an audio engineer and pay that person a sum of money ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars so that they can determine where the speakers should be positioned. Obviously, the majority of businesses do not possess the financial means necessary to pay for such a procedure. However, a line array speaker system is a far easier and cheaper solution to provide sufficient audio coverage.

Use of Line Array Speaker
 

A line array is, in its most basic form, a collection of speakers that cover the same frequency range and are arranged in a line, often vertically. Because the speakers are positioned at slightly varying vertical angles from one another, they are able to cover a larger area than a single speaker could on its own. Take a moment the next time you are at a concert or another kind of performance venue to observe the line array speaker rigging. This will most likely consist of a stack of speakers hanging from the ceiling on either side of the stage. The idea is comparable to what we are talking about here but on a somewhat less extensive scale.

It would take a long lecture in physics to explain how line arrays function to improve sound quality. Suffice it to say that the sound coming from each speaker collaborates with the sound coming from the other speakers to generate constant sound levels around the room. Those near the front of the room won't have trouble hearing the audio, and those in the rear won't have trouble hearing it either. Additionally, a line array speaker system may reduce interference by limiting the volume of sound picked up by open microphones at the podium or on the stage. It may be challenging to design the arrangement of a conference room to accommodate a variety of meeting scenarios, and a line array speaker system might not be the most appropriate choice for a huddle room or a tiny conference room. On the other hand, it is often the optimal choice when planning the layout of a lecture hall, auditorium, or bigger conference room. The other piece of encouraging information is that it is possible to purchase line array speaker systems in a box that is self-contained, which makes it simple to install them. As an analogy, think of the thin, towering speaker towers that many of us use in our home theatre systems.

Components of Line Array Speakers
 

Line array speakers are comprised of the following components:

• 1. Drivers: Although there are numerous distinct types of motors, they all, in the end, accomplish the same primary goal: they generate sound waves. The electromagnetic moving coil piston driver. The kind that is used most often is one that has a moveable component called a diaphragm. This diaphragm works in a manner that is similar to that of a piston in order to pump air and, as a consequence, generate sound waves. Paper cones are often used as the diaphragm material in woofers. A fabric dome is a popular choice for the diaphragm of a tweeter. Why are there so many various sizes of drivers to choose from? Since it is very difficult to create a single piston driver which is capable of reproducing sound waves throughout the whole frequency range of human hearing, which spans 20 kHz from 20 Hz. The diaphragm of a driver must be big and the mass must be sufficient for it to resonate at low frequencies in order to create low frequencies. A driver has to have a diaphragm that is relatively tiny and has a low mass in order to generate high frequencies. It should come as no surprise that these criteria are in direct contradiction to one another, which is why drivers are often developed to create just a fraction of the sound. As a result, multi-way speaker systems, such as the two-way system illustrated above, have emerged as a result. The high frequencies are handled by a tweeter, while the low frequencies are handled by a woofer in this system.

• 2. Crossover Network: One speaker driver cannot reliably reproduce sound waves from 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz (the range at which humans can hear), hence most speakers have several driver sizes. A tweeter and a woofer are the two types of drivers that are used in the majority of multi-way speakers. In order to do this, the electrical audio signal must first be separated into a high-frequency component and a low-frequency component before it can be sent to the drivers. This is of the utmost significance since the majority of tweeters will sustain damage if they are powered by a signal with a low frequency.

• 3. Box: At first inspection, it is clear that the driver may be attached to the speaker box, which serves as the mounting location. But does this really serve as the box's principal function? Because tweeters have sealed backs, it is possible that the answer is "yes." This is because tweeters are not impacted by the resonance of the box if it is there or by the compliance of the air contained inside the box.

How Did Line Array Speakers Work
 

An in-depth conversation on the operation of line arrays is possible. In this section, rather than getting into the complete theoretical rabbit hole, we will describe how line arrays function in simple English, beginning with an explanation of how a normal speaker spreads sound across greater distances:

• 1. The Inverse Square Law: According to the law of the inverse square, the sound pressure level (SPL) lowers by 6 decibels whenever the distance that separates a point source of sound and a free field of intensity doubles (meaning no boundaries). Although there are a lot of complexities to it, this is the behavior that we are often used to seeing with speakers.

• 2. Point Source: The inverse square rule operates on the presumption that the speaker is radiating in all directions. This is not often the case, with the exception of extremely low frequencies. However, as the listening distance increases, even a typically directional loudspeaker (for example, one with a horizontal dispersion of 90 degrees and a vertical dispersion of 90 degrees) behaves similarly to a true point source (that is, it becomes omnidirectional) in terms of how the inverse square law is applied.

• 3. Line Source: Because it operates as what is known as a line source, a line array does not experience a volume reduction of 6 dB for every doubling of the distance between it and the listener. Theoretically, the loss would be just 3 dB for every doubling, but in fact, the results aren't nearly that excellent for a variety of reasons which are mostly outside the scope of this article. When compared to single PA speakers with larger dispersion patterns that are closer to real point-source speakers, the overall impact of speakers with line-source dispersion is that more sound may be placed at the rear of a hall or outdoor area without needing a high output level at the front of house speaker position.

• 4. Phase Cancellation: In a sound system, phase cancellation is one of the things that you should aim to avoid doing, despite the fact that it is an integral part of the way that line-array speakers collaborate with one another to create a system of speakers that has limited vertical dispersion characteristics. There is still a significant amount of natural overlap between speakers in a line array even when using modern speaker cabinet designs that are intended to modify the vertical dispersion. However, due to the fact that each speaker is located at a somewhat different distance from the audience, a certain amount of phase cancellation is introduced. You may fine-tune these phase variations to lessen the vertical dispersion of each individual speaker by providing a little amount of extra delay.

• 5. Fringe Benefits: Because their vertical dispersion can be controlled, line arrays are an excellent choice for usage in rooms with difficult acoustics because they significantly cut down on reflected sound. Keeping sound away from the ceilings and floors is a good place to start. After that, selecting speakers with horizontal dispersions that will assist you in keeping excessive sound away from the sidewalls is of further advantage.