Speaker positioning

[fullcontact68]

Hi All,

I've got back from being at a party in a hall in a pub (as a guest).

As usual, I got talking to the resident DJ.


He was running a couple of Peavey Hisys 2RX's with the PV2600 amp. They sounded fine to my ears.


One thing, he had his floor mounted, not on poles. Says he does not mount speakers on poles unless he is using subs.
Mounting on poles looses too much bass. (He has been a DJ for 15 years)

I've always thought (from various articles that I've read), that it's better to have full range speakers mounted high on posts?


I'm just wondering what the various opinions are for floor mounting or pole mounts for full range speakers without subs.

What are the pro's / cons for these setup?
What's the best?


Many thanks
Edward.

[Excalibur]

It all depends on what you're trying to achieve, how many folk, and what room. Placing speakers on the floor will increase bass response. Noticeably. Downside is, if you needed to get sound to the back of a long room, you're handicapped by trying to push it through a hundred bodies first.
The ideal scenario is subs on the floor for bass, and tops up high to carry the detail further. As you know though, it's not an ideal world.

[velocityroadshow]

I've always gone by the rule that top speakers should be head height. If you're trying to throw the sound, like at an all day wedding, put the a speakers higher.

Always worked for me.

- - - Updated - - -

I've always gone by the rule that top speakers should be head height. If you're trying to throw the sound, like at an all day wedding, put the a speakers higher.

Always worked for me.

Or if you can't put them at head height, put them higher and angle them down.

[fullcontact68]

I've a 60th birthday tonight, in a WMC with a stage.

I'll try the speakers on the stage instead of stands, and see how it goes.


The horns will be at head height with them being on a stage.


The gig I went to last night, the speakers were at feet level, but only 40 or so people where there.

[Excalibur]

I've a 60th birthday tonight, in a WMC with a stage.

I'll try the speakers on the stage instead of stands, and see how it goes.


The horns will be at head height with them being on a stage.

Well worth a try, but: Your results may not be enhanced as much as you'd hope, because the stage doesn't qualify as floor. Being hollow underneath, it's effectively little different from tripods. Have a go anyway, what's to lose? Nothing.

The gig I went to last night, the speakers were at feet level, but only 40 or so people where there.

And there is the thing. Had it been 140, or 240, they'd have had to be elevated, with or without subs.

[paulg]

Putting speakers on the floor makes little difference. If the floor is a suspended wooden floor, you might hear a slight difference when the floor resonates. On a solid concrete floor, you'll loose bass because the dispersion of the woofer means a good proportion is headed straight into the carpet or it looses energy and direction when it reflects off the floor.

When you do hear a positive difference, it's usually only in very close proximity to the sound source - further back in the room you do not get any noticeable difference. A high stage is OK to floor mount speakers but localised rumble then makes it an uncomfortable place to work. I sometimes put them on the floor where children are present for safety considerations.

I suspect that the perceived increase in bass is more likely associated with the absorbtion of HF into the crowd whilst the bass tends to bounce around in the same way it always does.

[musicology]

I prefer mine on the floor as the dancers get it nice and loud but their bodies soak some of it up so those not dancing can still chat. Bass is better too. They also make a good platform for my XP5's (angled upwards)! But that's just the way I do things.

[fullcontact68]

Update....

Tested them on the floor of the stage for last nights gig.

Firstly, it's far easier to setup, no humping them up onto tripods, same at the end of the night, much easier.

I did appear to notice more vibration through my feet, and the odd low frequency resonance, and the bass did appear to be improved. (I ad to eq it down a little, rather that up which I normally have to do)

Only real problem I had with not mounting them high was when the client wanted to use my wireless mic for a speech. I've been using it all night on the stage without problem. She decided she wanted to be on the dance floor for the speech. So I told her to keep away from the speakers, central and it should be fine. (I tested this before).

However, she decided to stand in front of a speaker, about 1 ft away, I'm sure you can guess what happened.

I think I'll keep mine high on posts in the future, especially if 3rd party microphone use is required.

[velocityroadshow]

Update....

Tested them on the floor of the stage for last nights gig.

Firstly, it's far easier to setup, no humping them up onto tripods, same at the end of the night, much easier.

I did appear to notice more vibration through my feet, and the odd low frequency resonance, and the bass did appear to be improved. (I ad to eq it down a little, rather that up which I normally have to do)

Only real problem I had with not mounting them high was when the client wanted to use my wireless mic for a speech. I've been using it all night on the stage without problem. She decided she wanted to be on the dance floor for the speech. So I told her to keep away from the speakers, central and it should be fine. (I tested this before).

However, she decided to stand in front of a speaker, about 1 ft away, I'm sure you can guess what happened.

I think I'll keep mine high on posts in the future, especially if 3rd party microphone use is required.

Yeah the tweeter will be inline with the mic. If you have a separate eq plug it inline with the mic and knock out the frequency which is causing the harm