Transcript

All right folks, it's there. We're talking about or subwoofers actually omni-directional this feels like. Throw this around us. This is common knowledge and yes, of course the are. And, uh, but we're going to really dive in and say, is this actually true? And even if it is, you're probably doing the wrong thing with this information.

So I want to make sure that there are some implications to what omni-directional means, and it doesn't mean you can put your subs or whatever you want and get away with it. So if you're watching this as super nerdy and love making sound systems, sound amazing. It's easier for you. And I got something to give you as my audio math survival spreadsheet.

You can get [email protected] slash audio toolkit. It's got a bunch of other live sound, uh, tools in there on E how to make great input lists, that type of stuff. But this is a ton of stuff, as you can see, I've just fantastic calculations for you. Um, I look over here by McCarthy's Magnum Opus have just stolen a bunch of calculations, remix them, uh, into some of my own calculations to help you out in the field.

So please put it to work. So we're talking about subs today. So let's find one of my favorite ones is this is a great, if you don't have your favorite audio software with you, you can always go over here to make it. Inline gradient. Cardioid several, right. I got a great YouTube video on that, that walks you through.

Step-by-step how it all works. So just type that into YouTube and I'm sure we'll give it to you. Just my name and in my ingredient. Sub-array but I got a new is another crossover you can use free rig, put that in and it'll tell you where the center frequency is going to do. Far back to put the rear sub and then how much do you delay it at a polarity inversion and voila.

You've just made a fantastic sounding cardioid sub right. Okay. So let's jump in our subs actually, Omni directional. So here I'm in map, uh, 3d, not X, T a, but we're just going, looking at a bird's eye view. This is a single, I think, 15 inch subwoofer, something like that. And we're going to step through. And what does it look like at 31 Hertz?

So way down in the basement on this sub and look at the. And looks like here to me, that's pretty much a circle. All right. So I'm going to call that Omni directional, at least at that frequency, let's jump up an octave. See if that changes much. So the actual level is going to change because the sub is stronger.

So we're going to see more vibrant weather, color colors, right. But that is mostly a perfect circle. I'd say it has a slight leaning towards it being more oblong in the north and south direction, as opposed to. East and west, I would say maybe was like a 10% difference. Let's move up another octave, which was be the very upper end of most submarines to 125 Hertz and see what changes again, our SPL difference is going to be a lot different now, but this now is a lot more forward than it is backwards.

And it has more of this oblong forward shape to it. And so at this particular frequency, no, I can say it's not on me. It's definitely. Forward from where the woofer is shaping. So here's the interesting thing. Okay. Will you say it's mostly Omni throughout, let's call it 80% of the range, but why? So the why that's interesting to me is that subwoofers because they have such a low frequencies.

Those are very long wavelengths, and those are very hard to steer mechanically as though, even if I put. You know, a 10 foot wall and threw 31 Hertz at it. It's such a long wavelength. There's just going to probably a lot of it's waves just going to bend right around. It depends on the material is going to bounce.

Maybe a 10 foot wall. Wasn't the greatest example here, but even just a stick, a trust like, you know, 10 K is this tiny little, one inch things just going to bounce. And so don't, you know, Amy horns straight through a stick of trust. Cause lightning got in your way, but you know, a 31 Hertz wave just does not care is going to have zero difference going through that stick of trust on that.

So here's the principle we can extract from that is that low frequencies are going to move in or because we cannot mechanically steer them. But that doesn't mean. We can't steer them at all. So this is the point I want to make is just because subs are mostly omni-directional. Most people take that information just like, well, I'll you guys.

I'll just throw the subs wherever, and it's going to be fine. They usually go for aesthetic. Evenly placing them in front of the stage or evenly placing them in a nice pile left. And right now I would say that's just not good practice. You are totally neglecting those bottom two Okta's of your audio. If you're very haphazardly, placing your subs, it's so important to get this right.

So let me demonstrate that here. So. So let's just say single sub, let's say you have to substance show. Most people think, oh, I've got a left stack and right stack. Let's do that. Let's put us left and right. Uh, but if I put these out wide left and right, let's go right in the middle of our sub range, let's do 63 Hertz and we'd get a bunch of power alleys and power valleys.

That's not fun. Who wants to be the guy sitting. Here or the girls sitting right here. They're getting none of that frequency. Whereas the person who's sitting in the middle is getting hammered with that. So I'm not a big fan of widely space summaries if I can have the option to do something else. Okay.

So let's take, look at that. We can, however, listen, if we do have a very narrow venue and I don't want my low end going everywhere and making this soup, that's bouncing around, we can steer it so we can actually space these in a very strategic way. And I have another video that goes in great detail over this, on, in line, on gradient, separate ways and on center subways.

So just Google that or go to my channel and find those there'll be there. But if I have one space to park, these are spaced about eight feet apart. Let's look at 63 Hertz. I'm able to shape the coverage to where it's going much more north and south and not east and west. So if I had a really narrow venue that is helpful and I can even get ultra fancy and do a cardioid array that I, you know, some, some calculations I just showed you in the spreadsheet.

And actually I have two inland gradient ones going there and I now can also make it narrow coverage and rejected in the rear. So 63 Hertz was the balloon out a little bit bus go towards the upper end at a hundred Hertz. And as definitely fine tune it to go just down the center of a L a very narrow array.

So the principle, I want to extract that. Is that? Yes, subs a single enclosure is mostly omni-directional, but we can use multiple software first with how they interact with one another to create meaningful coverage shapes, just like we use a line reign, how we curve it or how we use multiple single points or speakers to create a coverage pattern.

Matters sub more fruits, usually get the shaft, just get thrown places. And usually due to aesthetics, I know, event planners like to ruin our day and say like, Hey, you can not put the subs there. Uh, but that's, that's fine. We need to do the work and make sure we can make that happen. Okay. So two things that matter.

Yes. Subs are Omni directional. No, that, so you have a single one and you can also put them right close together. That's oh, sorry. I wanted to show that. Lastly, if I have two subs right. To get. Let's see if he can see that, eh, here, right at 63 Hertz, it's still going to. Omni. So it actually does the inverse you've placed subs apart.

You actually get into narrow coverage, you put them right together. It's going to stay with its Omni shape. So that's just the cool thing you can play with that. You get maximum power, maximum addition instead of using that space left. Right? Cause it just lines up with your mains. Put those in the center, put them right next to each other.

You're going to get maximum power. And the low end is going to come from the center anyway, which is great. So, if you haven't already please pop over and get my audio master Bible spreadsheet, it's [email protected] slash audio toolkit. If you're a super nerdy and just like making things sound good, I think it'll be great for you.

Try to throw in these explanations. I'm going to be doing a YouTube video series on each of these calculators and how you can put in the work to you. So let me know below what your experience has been putting subs in these types of res has. Then being AMI, Ben, something that's troublesome for you. What arrays have been helpful for you in the field?

Please let me know below I'm Michael, and thank you so much.