The medium sized array (left) has significant output to ±90º whereas the large array’s ±90º output is dramatically reduced.
A note on coverage nulls
It is useful to be able to calculate where these first response nulls will occur for various frequencies as they indicate areas where coverage, transient response and directional information would be poor without fill systems. For symmetrical arrays nulls will occur either side of the
As a very rough guide, the
Interpreting polar plots
i)It is conventional to “normalise” polar plot
ii)It is also conventional to plot polar amplitudes on a logarithmic scale. This is fine when working in sound pressure level terms but is not suitable for superimposing a polar plot onto a venue plan. Venue plans are drawn to a linear scale so polar plots with linear amplitude scales would be more suitable.
iii)Polar plots have been simplified in this article for clarity.
Vertical -6dB coverage
The following table gives the approximate vertical coverage angles of typical WLX/WLXGS arrays - ignoring boundary effects (see later).
WLX/WLXGS High |
| Vertical coverage |
|
| 47Hz | 94Hz | 188Hz |
3 | Wide | Wide | 98º |
4 | Wide | Wide | 69º |
8 | Wide | 69º | 33º |
16 | 69º | 33º | 16º |
Use tall stacks for long shots. Useful for long distances in
Use short stacks for short, wide vertical shots.
Use tall, electronically steered, stacks to project to high, distant seating – see later.
Vertical Boundary effects
As mentioned before, a solid floor will act as a reflector. This will cause a vertical stack to perform as if it were double the length, giving a useful low frequency boost and a narrower vertical polar response.
All material © 2007. Martin Audio Ltd. Subject to change without notice.