If you’ve been to a show recently or been to an auditorium with an updated sound system, you’ve likely seen the single column speakers hanging from each side of the stage, called line-arrays. These have replaced the large grids of speakers used not that long ago that may (for example) use 3 columns of speakers- 1 angling away from the stage, 1 straight ahead, and 1 facing towards the middle of the room. There are many advantages to these line arrays, but don’t assume that your room needs these new shiny toys, or that they will fix all of your audio issues.

The line arrays work better for long throws and deep rooms. Your existing cluster should be just fine for your room. If you are experiencing audio problems, the expense of changing out the entire speaker cluster may not be worth it as it may not solve the issue anyway. Of course, if you bring in a “consultant” from the local audio retailer… they’ll probably recommend thousands of dollars in upgrades and would be happy to do the installations for only a few thousand more.

That being said, the technology behind the line arrays is fascinating to me. With a line-array, there are more speakers facing the rear of the room, and the lower boxes are at an angle that breaks up the audio over more space. This results in very little difference in volume between the front and back of the room.

Also, all of the similar components from box to box are right next to each other, creating a unified waveform from 1 point of origination. This results in a cleaner sound as the audio reflects around the room.