I encourage those of you who have an interest in line arrays to first read about them. Also make an effort to actually hear some of the recent line arrays--DIY and commercial should be available--before jumping to conclusions as to whether they are bad or good. It is like a lot of things in life--you may or may not like how line arrays sound--while others may have a different impression. Remember bad science or not a well executed line array design may float your boat.

If you wish to read more informative recent reasearch on the line arrays, start with the papers written by L-Acoustics reseachers which are available on their site:

http://www.l-acoustics.com/anglais/accueilgb.htm

Click on the R&D tab and you will see a list of "Wavefront Sculpture Technology" papers published in AES journals. The most recent one is the October 2003 AES Journal paper which summarizes their earlier work which can be downloaded once you click on it. These papers cover more that 14 years of study and work to develop L-Acoustics arrays.

The www.JBLpro.com references the JBL line array work but much of it is from the far field analysis viewpoint. Far field analysis is more amenable to pro sound applications than home applications. You can click the Technical Library tab and proceed to the VERTEC series papers to get downloads of the JBL work. Most of these are AES Journal and Convention papers but should be read to understand their research.

I used much of this material in my writing of my Near Field Line Array white paper.

Jim

• Near Field Line Array White Paper