....the 5 shows I attended sounded perfect each night. the Music fills the room quite well.....

Reminds me of the Pink Floyd 50th anniversary Dark Side of The Moon 360 surround dome show saw in an IMAX dome last year, highly recommended for the visuals alone

Cool

This opens the gates for entire new musical genres ! So much potential ! Also, I need to remove the low-pass filters from all my gear now and record at 1Mhz !

you are the best!

That’s a pretty accurate assessment and similar to my experience. However, I was there on the opening night of U2 so completely different band energy. I was more eye-level with the stage off to the SL side, and just out in front of the eave so I wasn’t caught under the balcony. I too would agree that the audio system is more of am immersive movie experience than a rock concert, but it was in fact a good mix after the first song was dialed in . And even though the visuals are overwhelming, they managed to weave live camera feeds of the band, or perhaps some pre-recorded stuff, in with the graphics to make it a reminder that there was a (great) band in front of you.

My wife and I recently bought tickets to see Kenny Chesney in May at the Sphere. After seeing your video I think it will be worth it. Even if it isn't we are going to Coachella in April so we will have all the high quality sound we need at that Festival. Thanks Dave!

Everyone i know who has interacted with the holophonic stuff went in wide eyed and eager like a kid on Christmas, ready to play with a brand new toy...but they all left with a kind of "oh yeah, its...its, good...like, really controlled....I'll stick to line arrays for now" I use a beam steered system in one of my main venues and I'm just always underwhelmed with the results. holophonic is certainly more fancy than the column beam steered stuff I've used, but i just feel the benefits are outweighed by the negatives and that is the phasy, anemic sound that comes with the concept of beam steering. We're manipulating the phase relation to steer and angle the beam, then being surprised when the sound is thin and phasy...

The Holoplot system is beyond anything I've encountered before and we have been fortunate to experience it back in 2019. What really stood by me is that even though the sound is loud, it doesn't deform and you can still have a normal conversation with someone without shouting. The guys doing the tech were pretty awesome as well showing how the zoning etc was done. You could literally have multiple point based sound sources, where someone a few feet from you could hear something very different. Their tech demo really showed this off where they had put spots on the floor where only on that spot you could hear a particular sound. To be fair, we couldn't get this segmentation effect with normal music as it needed lots and lots more bass speakers to get the same wave guiding. In the venue I was playing the sound was balanced, directly outside the tent it was relative quiet, but every so hundred meters the bass waves created a point of gathering causing the ground to literally shake. Some people in their tents described it as an earthquake 🤣

Did 3 shows last year mostly way back in the 'CHEAP" Seats. Loved the experience. Doing 3 more this Spring, got a 3 different vantage points as it could be my last time seeing Bobby. Geeked because I am a fan but I do expect better visuals and better sound this Spring. Peas'

Yeah, I know from whence you come. I was F.O.H. for Blue Oyster Cult, Dokken, Anthrax and other harder bands and I have used your excellent system (in L.A. for Dokken). I know the feeling of creating an audio event impossible to replicate outside the venue environment. I have not "Sphered", nor do I intend to at those prices! I imagine the sound is polite, professional and pristine, but THAT is not what we did.

I work in corporate and it amazes how many people have never understood gain structure and end up mixing with their faders down at the bottom with massive cuts in the EQs. The idea of "start at the source and work down" doesn't seem to have made it to most engineers out there. If I get to set my own rooms up I always start with the amps down, set the gains of the mic's and playbacks then push out to the amps as hot as possible before clipping and then amp up to match the room.

Heard holoplot a couple of years ago, extremely clever, but does not sound anything close to good. Potential maybe, but doesn’t fully work yet

Make it 4 ohm for the dead

The aluminum Diffractal like things are pretty neat, like the door of a microwave oven. Beats having a cabinet maker produce them with a zillion little blocks of wood then have them not work... Thanks for this informative video. Cheers.

It really makes a difference where you are inside. 205-207 sections were by far the best seats.

LSD has a much better carbon footprint ..

I‘ve seen a Demo from Holoplot at ISE in Barcelona…..it’s just amazing….

Thanks for the objective review. I've read and heard a lot of hype about this venue, but I was skeptical. Physics are still physics at the end of the day. That being said, I wonder how much of your experience was down to the engineer and how he/she used the system vs the system/venue factors? I guess you'd have to visit multiple times with different acts to get a true impression.

Would have loved to have seen pink Floyd there if they were still together, maybe some of that live visual projection art in the sphere

What did you mean by when they use that control in the sound system? Panning/routing?

Was this a previously released Member video? I know after some time the videos go to the general public. Is it possible for you to put a note in the description that it was previously released? Oftentimes I get halfway through the video before realizing.

Hi Dave, i went to the new Intuit dome to see the clippers v lakers a couple days ago, the same thing is going on there the visuals from the dp’s are practically overwhelming it takes a minute to adjust, i have no doubt they may even cause some people to get slight motion sickness. Visuals are prioritized over audio but there is an amazing system flown from overhead at the top of the dome, the distance to the floor makes for a low end with deep extension without being overtly loud and that was an interesting feeling to experience but the system lacked intelligibility the clarity needs to be improved, i had good seats in the vip section just off the floor and it was a smeared sound, i could clearly hear the announcer but i could not understand the lyrics of the half time artist, surprisingly from where i sat i could clearly feel and hear the different ADSR of the 808’s and low freq drum sounds through the night

I'd have to totally agree. The visuals are stunning. Absolutely stunning. There is no question about that. The sound was mid at best. It didn't have punch or hit you in the chest. But that being said, I would go back again. The visuals are really worth it!

I love you Dave Rat ! Tell it like it is ! NOT the best thing since sliced bread ! In the immortal words of Chuck D “Don’t believe the hype”!!!

Dave, you should never pay.. you're one of the best

Can one as experienced as you ever go to a concert or festival as a attendee and enjoy the show? Or are there always "Analyzing Brainactivities" going on? Can you let go and enjoy so to speak? Also from a quality and mixing perspective, is the a lot of judging (not necessarily in a bad way) going on in your brain when you are a visior instead of at FoH? Personally, as a drummer, I really have to actively stop from overanalyzing every beat and pattern and force myself to just let go and enjoy the show.

I wonder if the bands have really pushed the possibilities of what the audio and the video can achieve. It could take weeks if not months to upload then manipulate the data...are the bands allocating the resources for such demands???

Thanks for the trip Dave!

Is the entire system stereo or something else ?

Your description of your experience is similar to my experience of nose-bleed stadium shows. Peter Gabriel had an amazing stage production for the Us tour. Regardless of the size while live, the video of that concert “Secret World” is so much more engaging. I’m sure a 7th row ticket would have been best for live. I’m curious what the threshold distance is for feeling connected to a performance or not.

Sphere just purchased the Holoplot guys so there won't be any other systems sold to the outside world at this point. Only MSG venues. That's ok. It can't punch me in the chest with plosives.

I really appreciate your insightful but balanced, fair view on this new Location. I think (never been there but know someone at holoplot) that this can be a start to totally new user/media-experiences. The people behind those events in there surely need to try many things before they get the right balance of video vs sound vs livesound vs "what does the customer want and what can we give them that the customer didnt even knew they find interesting"

Recently i worked in a venue in France with an holophonic system installed. Basically you can route every input channel of the console (direct outs via dante network) on a specific input of the holophonic processor, which, in turn, allows you to virtuallly place that input almost everywhere into the 3d space. Very nice, effective and impressive, but most of the touring bands are still completely focused on a traditional "front" show and most of them end up positioning the LR mains or a virtual center cluster, where they should be in a conventional arrangement. Looking at the impressive video screens of the sphere, a show should be planned and developed exactly with this unique space in mind to get the most fom the venue. Otherwise, a generic video content will play on the screens regardless of the music, i suppose.

Wow Dave, thanks for sharing your story! Nice to see a pro reviewing this! 🙂

So all it needed was a good line array

I mixed a show on a holoplot rig at another Venue in Vegas in October 2024. 2 X1 80-s over 2 X1 96 per side paired with 4 meyers subs on the ground, attendance at the venue was around 1500. It was okay - my mix translated fairly well but I would have definitely preferred the Meyer Leopard rig that was installed prior to the Holoplot - the house engineer felt the same way.

You allude to this (I think?). The irony is the sound system is built to PREVENT the attendee from listening to the sound. The problem of all modern amplified large concerts is the farther away you are the muddier the auditory experience. Whereas, as you point out, the farther you are away from the screen the clearer the image. If they didn't put up that don't-pay-attention-to-sound system then the attendee would experience the directional sound (from a point in the front) which would distract them from their wider visual view of the screen. You're such a positive energy person Dave. Not having that talent ;) ... The SPHERE USES THE CELEBRITY OF MUSICIANS TO PULL PEOPLE INTO A (FREAKISH) LIGHT SHOW. The visuals are everything. The expense of the sound system is to keep the viewer literally mesmerized by the screen. I remember my uncle, sadly gone, who was outraged with Jose Feliciano was playing at an amusement park and everyone was talking and not paying attention. There's something similar going on here. One the one hand, everyone gets paid. Everyone has a good time. But.... Glad you went so I don't have to go ;) I've find it fascinating for 5 minutes but then, honestly, I'd be bored and would leave--unless the visuals worked with the sound to create an independent work of art.

This venue doesn't really interst me UNLESS it was a Pink Floyd reunion. Then I would be all in

It seems to be more about the venue than the band, a great experience but i dont think i would want to watch my favourite group there

How far we have come from Laserium with Dream Weaver cranked in a planetarium.

Have you ever been that high at a Dead show before, Dave? 😂😂😂

we've evolved from wall of sound to sphere of sound

You are a Monster!!!! How many milion dollar there are in this stage?

Buddy of mine went about a week ago and said it was amazing, but not necessarily worth the cash. This was just one of the programmed shows and not a live band thing. I believe there was a U2 section, along with some other stuff. A hundred bucks or a little more I believe, and he was like, "cool but like...maybe not 100 bucks worth of cool." Seems very much like a tourist level thing (in Vegas? Imagine that eh) rather than a really good concert experience. Unless you're super close perhaps, but if you've got that kind of cash then it's probably no big deal either way. Overall from what I've seen on YT and heard from a handful of people who have been, I honestly don't think I'd go if I was in Vegas, unless I had some kind of hookup. Impressive setup to be sure, but this is more Disney World than a really great concert experience, if you've been to a lot of shows.

Even across KZbin it sounds like listening to a portable speaker placed some way away. Quite weird sound aesthetic.