Column Speakers For Live Sound | Pros, Cons, and Why They Work

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00:00 - Intro
01:22 - What are column speakers?
02:34 - How do they compare to point sources?
04:34 - How line sources behave
08:26 - Column Speaker Coverage Map
09:51 - More Column Speaker Directivity Tricks
12:21 - Column Array Speakers Pros & Cons

[@TimpBizkit]

I was playing with subwoofer columns in Danley Direct and found if I applied an even time delay from top to bottom, I could achieve a ring pattern of coverage to an audience on the ground all around a central stage, while missing the stage itself to prevent blasting it with bass. I got interested in the "TM array" from this metallica gig (4 columns of subwoofers facing inwards), but wondered how to steer the bass down. Tilting the column would steer it down in one direction but up in the other. The beautiful thing about the time delays is you can steer it down in all directions, so the audience hear and feel as if they were at right angles to the column of subwoofers no matter where around the central stage they are positioned. It sort of becomes a partial end fire array, but the phase is not lined up directly underneath it, but down and to the sides. You can even set the limits so that the bass doesn't travel too far out. If you are in a limited size field and don't want to cause a noise nuisance, this could be useful.

[@DavidH2154]

Pat Brown introduced me to column speaker practical usage (including beam steering in the vertical plane using delays) in the SynAudCon class back in 2007.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Pat Brown is the GOAT.

[@ralphdeonarine9133]

What about using column arrays for pop-rock bands in small spaces? Yay or nay?

[@clintkaster6269]

I've been using the K-Array column arrays for over a decade now and absolutely love them. I'm NOT a fan of the 2" tops (8 drivers) but had bought a pair along with their incredibly tiny 12" sub cabinet. While I don't use them on jobs, I absolutely loved them in my studio and at home for high volume playback. The 18" and 21" powered sub cabinets contain amplification for the tops and my only gripe is that K-Array is not very forthcoming with information about settings for the system. There's clearly a lot going on in these systems but the user-available information is relegated to absolute BS....on the other hand, I don't much need to tinker. I just purchased six tops of their larger 4" driver columns and have now paired those with six JBL VTX dual-12" sub cabinets, which I find a very complementary box. The 4" Kayman tops are capable of full concert volume and while my concerts are mostly folk/Americana they also take place near neighbors so the 12" lows help us approximate low frequencies while not pushing a huge wave front across property lines. I also had a set of 4"x12 driver tops custom built and paired with dual 15" cabinets (all Faital drivers), which I mostly use as DJ/movie night speakers. The single column was built very light-weight and has some mid-frequency spill that makes them a liability for the unprepared with live microphones! Movie nights, though......simple and amazing, with nearly 180-degree coverage. The smaller K-Array's are active speakers (in the low cabinet) and mainly used for ballroom/dinner/gala applications. The Kayman/VTX setup is passive and has spent summers outdoors with no ill-effect. The custom builds are passive and have lived on sports fields every spring and fall for several years without failure. I'm pretty impressed.

[@michaelarthurmusic307]

Excellent video as usual. I have a portable K-Array system speaker system and another major benefit is the amount of coverage you get in a very small package.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Thanks a ton! And yes, that's a great pro I didn't mention. They really do offer a ton of value in a small package.

[@fkmobile1]

@Michael Arthur Music Which K-Array are you using and how has your experience been with the unit?

[@johannesfalk8146]

Agreed! Especially in a situation where clear audibility of dialog over the largest possible area is the priority nothing beats them in punch/wheight.

[@colourbasscolourbassweapon2135]

​@@MichaelCurtisAudio i only have a dual 18 inch subwoofer that 1600watts RMS and 6400 peek watts and that plays at 138db What type of tower speakers should I have to go with my dual 18inch? subs

[@colourbasscolourbassweapon2135]

​@@MichaelCurtisAudio I'm a bit Rusty It's been a while to work with PA speakers ngl

[@moamenhelmy9510]

Great video Thanks

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Thank you!

[@WeaselFace]

I'm super late to the party on this one, but I run a venue that has a very top of the line column array and I've been fiddling with it and the software for about 6 months now. each side has some odd 128 drivers for low mid and 36 for highs - and some subs either side (though i plan to center these in the future for a better dispersion pattern) The flexibility to steer, angle, and control the beams takes some getting use to. I've found the secondary beam option is only useful if there is an unreachable gap between the two beams (per say one beam pointing at the ground level and one at the mezzanine. If you try to have two beams for one level of audience, even though the heat map says things are A.O.K, you will have crazy phase issues at the point the beams contact. Worth noting that you can also set negative beam angles that allow you to "lift" the beam up for a short period of travel distance - great if you're lectern sits right at the front of stage. And being able to adjust the center point of energy from the middle to anywhere along the column means i can get better front to back dispersion while only adding mild phasing artifacts. I'm also given the ability to optimize the side lobes of the signal by sacrificing some spl; being in a acoustic concert hall makes this invaluable for speech intelligibility. All in all, it works well for my venue, but with the best dispersion I can get without it bouncing all over my walls, which are reverberate by design, I can only muster around 105db...this is fine in my acoustically designed concert hall, but wouldn't cut it for a more intense venue i don't think, and can struggle when we do some of our louder, rowdier shows.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Thanks for sharing here! Great insight on how this particular speaker topology is acting in a real venue context.

[@robertschnobert9090]

I love you, Mr Curtis. Thank you for the video. God bless and stay healthy. Bye! 🌈

[@empireentertainmentevents1353]

Hi michael. Your videos are very helpful. The way you teach is so easy to understand, unlike many I saw in youtube who cant explain as well or as simple as you do. You made complicated topics easier to understand to the common people. Thank you! My question is: Will column speakers project the sound as far as point source speakers? Or will column speakers project the sound wider than point source speakers?( Assuming both are in the same price range).

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Thanks a ton! How "far" a speaker can "project" is a combination of many things - vertical coverage angle, Max SPL, trim height, etc. In general point sources will be more efficient and have more power output than column speakers. Column speakers in general have a very wide horizontal coverage pattern, 120-160° depending on the model, with a few exceptions.

[@empireentertainmentevents1353]

@@MichaelCurtisAudioThank you for your reply. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I think I will stick with Point sources then and obey your command LOL!

[@raghea]

Thank you so much for this. Very very helpful. I got a question. Could column speakers be mounted horizontally? Appreciate your responses.

[@ggates2500]

Counterintuitively, the wider we make an array the more inconsistent the sound, due to comb filtering. Part of it because our ears are placed horizontally and partly because we travel sideways around a room. The more precisely a speaker is located in the vertical field, the more clear it will sound in the horizontal field & vice versa.

[@ducttaperulestheworl]

Really beautiful explanation. Thank you so much for your video presentation. I always wanted to propose this as an option but most veteran engineers always asked me to steer away from it and never fully explain why. I guess like how you said, more parts = more things to troubleshoot when it failed and that alone is a factor to steer off. But I would disagree if these are used properly, they make GREAT LOOKING SPEAKERS with their slim minimal line and various color options versus boring black or whites with FUNCTIONAL THROW! The fact that these throws sound amazingly is definitely something I wanted in my proposal since they're only used for speeches and very minimal video playbacks. But I can see how tiny speakers like this is also prone to damage due to inexperienced engineers.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Thanks a ton! Yes, when column speakers are the right tool for the job they perform very well.

[@derrickpierce4440]

A real benefit is being able to install the speakers where they fit and blend in and then, during tuning, fine-tune the beams so that they are better optimized. This is not so easily done with other types of speakers while keeping them out of site.

[@aeiplanner]

I’m strongly considering installing a few column speakers as floor wedges angled towards our choir just below the stage. Our current stage has floor wedges set up pretty far out and they are firing about 10 feet above their heads, so when they are performing to a track, they are not hearing the music well. I’m really tempted to give these a try as floor wedges. Thoughts?

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Are you able to put a roll of gaff tape or something under the far side of the wedges you have so they're pointed more at your choir? And if you would get these column speakers, would you be hanging them vertically or horizontally?

[@aeiplanner]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio Unfortunately it won't work. The existing wedges are also below the floor and angleing them forward would cause them to fire below the floor surface. Also they are meant more for singers and performers that are closer to the front of stage. I was mauling over the column speaker idea for a long time but was never sure if it could be implemented horizontally. My interest was revived after watching this tech tour of Victory church in Tulsa. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqfNoYtujLCUrc0 around 19:55 mark. Anyway I'm interested in a mix of horizontal as well as vertical positioning for some parts.

[@perrywright4904]

GALAXY HOT SPOT's. Close to the listeners, at their feet or arms length away. If you need to run instruments back through monitors, use separate speakers from vocals. I would never run instruments through monitors, that’s what small instrument amps are for.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

@@perrywright4904 Yes, those hot spots are pretty handy. If guitarists are using amp sims and don't have cabs, or bass is direct, they may need IEMs or to use the floor wedges.

[@ScottGeorgeson]

I tried a 16-driver K-array Column speaker horizontally once. I was running experiments to figure out different uses. This is a $8K speaker. It was totally useless in a horizontal position. The beam is just wrong for Fold back unless you stand in a stationary position. Hanging from the roof horizontally was also useless.. I had time to and was curious. Horizontally, the beam hits the floor and the ceiling big time and if you walk past the end of the speaker Left or Right, the sound just disappears. When the column is vertical it has very little dispersion vertically. So when it is horizontal, it tails off really quickly as you walk past the end of the speaker. I believe there was a switch that changed how much, but I didn't find it made a lot of difference. Hope that helps.

[@paulsiena8483]

My church has Bose MA12 and will soon get a pair of Tannoy VLS30 for choir sound... are these columns programmable? By that I mean company has specialized software they give only to qualified techs to perfect an install? It would make a difference as to whether this would be a DIY install or Paying for a tech to come in and perfect sound steering.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

I checked out the VLS30 manual and it says it has a fixed +3/-11 downtilt in its pattern, a 15° total beam. Bottom line - you're stuck with how its pre-programmed to cover. In that way it's more plug and play, but you've got to assess whether that coverage angle will be enough given the mounting options available to you.

[@gemk007]

What about the other types of column speakers evole 50 , Bose l1 pro, turbo sound ip3000 plug and play speaker how do they measure up for live sound

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

They all function similarly, but I can't speak to the quality of each of those products because I haven't personally used them.

[@Ricochetmex]

Hi Michael, right on time the video. I’m currently building a couple of small column speakers for a PA system for a friend of mine. It is intended for small gigs, for example a cafe for 50 people. I would want you to help me out with something. In this cases the musicians and PA are very close and at the same level. It tends to be overwhelming to have the sub a couple meters away. How would you set up the subs in these cases?. In particular, right now I have the option to build a single dual driver sub or two single driver subs.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Hey, Diego! I would do two single driver subs and run them in and inline gradient cardioid setup. That way there's a lot less low end of stage.

[@Ricochetmex]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio thanks! I’ll try that, although it may me hard given that the subs would have to be right at the feet of the singer and extend into the audience, which usually is very close to the artist.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

@@Ricochetmex You're right, inline gradient does take up a lot of real estate, especially in coffee shops!

[@MaxW-er1hm]

I'm very interested in building the best possible Ultra Ultra small speaker and I was considering using a bunch of smartphone drivers in a line source, I've already played around with full-range drivers and I'm just astounded of how much power you can get out/into of a 1-inch driver, but I'm looking to go even smaller. Do you have any insights? although a line with 1-inch drivers would be pretty good, I'm curious about making it micro... I also forget how to handle the impedance in a line source I think if I just hooked them up one way or the other , series or parallel , it would either be too high or too low how do you get multiple speakers to behave in an impedance curve. One of my inspirations is the speaker Grado built out of headphone drivers..

[@florian9220]

You can wire them up in series and these "packages" can be wired into each other in parallel. So you can end up with the impednace you like. Hope that was understandebale! ✌

[@MaxW-er1hm]

@@florian9220 yes that makes total sense and I don't know why I didn't think of that, probably because I only understand most of this stuff in theory Thank you very much

[@AK-IT]

What about Column PA systems? They are plug-and-play but dont seem to offer steer ability, fixed dispersion out of the box.

[@alexfr811]

Hi... I'm a Mobile DJ. My events are for a crowd between 50 to 250 people. I'm considering column arrays due to their portability (since I don't have a truck or large car). The ones that I'm looking to get have a sensitivity of 98db (600w RMS) . They come with a 12" sub. I've already heard them and they sound really good. Also I'm thinking about buying an extra 15" subwoofer to support them and put it in the middle for those 250 events (or smaller events but with more rounded sound). What do you think? Would it be enough? Thx so much

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

As long as the new 15" sub is phase compatible with the 12" sub you'd be in good shape.

[@alexfr811]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio thx so much... And how can I figure that out?

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

@@alexfr811 Walk through this same approach - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWOWlZ-iotKja5I

[@FreeKeenan]

I'm about to meet a church that could definitely use your help in configuring a nice rich adequate PA with rock n roll impact here in beautiful San Diego. Are you up for it?

[@olivierw.frappier]

And what about column with low frequency integrated subs( that User can’t separate and set in Mono )? In Stereo ? What about low frequency ? (35-100 Hz) like EV 50, Maui 28g2, maui 44g2… for DJ.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

The same principles of standalone subs would apply to subs integrated into the column. The tricky thing with column speakers is they have very wide coverage, so putting two columns together would get you a ton of overlap and comb filtering. On the flip side, if you spread your columns out that would produce comb filtering in the low end. A compromise would be to put your columns together, but then toe them out so the high frequencies don't overlap. But that's not always feasible since you want the majority of your PA's energy to cover the dance floor, not all around the venue.

[@olivierw.frappier]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio many thanks :) i will play with mapp 3D :) to learn

[@WWeiss-nv5vz]

I use the Bose Pro 32 that has 180 degree coverage. When I add a second even inexpensive speaker forming the left/right triangle I realize how much I am missing from the $3,000 single column. Why is this?

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

I'd say it's probably a low-mid tonality thing? You're getting more "meat" from those additional woofers.

[@galgogergo]

​@@MichaelCurtisAudiowhat about summation at the high frequencies? Won't this cause comb filtering eventually at the highest frequencies? Especially if you're standing somewhat close to them...

[@kwakito]

Would you recommend a line array for a church?

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

If a line array is the right tool for the job, sure thing!

[@johnnyknudsen1755]

what's the best mobile DJ friendly way to set up a PA system for a crowd of 10,000 for an outdoor movie???

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

That's a tall order : ) How many speakers do you have?

[@johnnyknudsen1755]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio Its for a company that i work for that does outdoor movie nights. Originally it was done with 16 JBL EON15 speakers but i am looking to help upgrade that. Possibly with a constant curvature array system or just better point source speakers. One exception would be the JBL SRX900 series because it would also be an option.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

@@johnnyknudsen1755 The new JBL SRX900 series stuff looks great and would be the best fit here to cover an audience that large. I'm assuming you'd be able to fly speakers? With the 16 EON15's it sounds like you formerly did a bunch of delays?

[@johnnyknudsen1755]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio no delays just 8 speakers on each side (for a total of 16) spread out over the entire perimeter. Also there were generators on each side after the first four speakers which were used to power the second four speakers.

[@johnnyknudsen1755]

@@MichaelCurtisAudio Could it be done using constant curvature arrays (such as JBL VRX932LAP, QSC KLA, Presonus CDL 12P) and if so what would it take??? Would it be cheaper to go this route (vs using SRX900 series) or more expensive and how much of a difference in cost would there be???

[@lesauskis1]

5 words . . . "Grateful Dead Wall Of Sound". :)

[@perrywright4904]

Totally unsuited for spaces like churches or auditoriums. In a reverberant room like a church sanctuary, it is desirable (necessary) to target the listening area. A little column like the CBT70J, if the specifications were correct, which they are not, has a very wide horizontal coverage, and slightly narrower vertical coverage. {In actual fact, the highs are extremely beamy, as is with any dome tweeter without a diffuser}. The wide angle can’t target the listening area at all. It’s like trying to fill a milk bottle with the wide sprayer on the garden hose. One dome tweeter, or sixteen, or a hundred, have neither the directivity, pattern control, or projection to cover more than about 20 feet. * Stupid switches: the little rotary switches on the side are a joke. The “voice” position is the full range setting. The “music” position cuts some mids and highs, making it sound muffled and useless, like it has a blanket over it. More hilariously, the wide /narrow switch is not a technical marvel at all. In the narrow position it simply turns off the top and bottom pairs of tweeters, making it even less efficient than it already is. (Only 93dB) Any installer using these terrible turkeys has little or no experience, and no regard for the customer. If these do the job at all, then it wasn’t much of a job to do. The best word to describe them is “unimpressive”. * The entire concept of the column speaker is crackpot for the same reasons. A bunch of little speakers will never equal the coverage, tone, efficiency, or control of a properly designed array, with wide coverage for the front, narrow for the back, and medium for the middle.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

Thanks for weighing in here, Perry. I've never used the CBT70J. Have you used any other larger format column speakers whose longer line length can help out with steering? Or EAW's Anya platform? I'll be honest in saying I've only used column speakers a few times and have got decent results, but am not an expert on all the inner workings besides seeing at a macro level how the components work together.

[@QuicksilverSG]

While I haven't used the JBL CBT70J column speaker, I do have experience with its lower-mid extension speaker, the JBL CBT70JE-1, which contains a column of four 5-inch passive drivers. This is one of the few high-power mid-range speakers that has a similar form factor to three-foot-long upper-mid column speakers (typically containing eight or more one or two-inch speakers). The problem with such narrow columns is they can't really cover the low-end of the male vocal range and sound very brassy on their own (highs need to be shelved way down). The CBT70JE-1 mates well with a pair of column arrays, crossed over at around 450 Hz. Cutting out the lower-mids allows you to pump more upper-mids into the column arrays without distortion, and makes their coverage pattern more consistent. I also prefer the 450 Hz crossover because its in the vocal band I usually want to EQ down anyway.

[@MichaelCurtisAudio]

@@QuicksilverSG Good to know! Thanks for sharing those tips.

[@GenerationXT]

Perry Wright, I have to agree. My church was running Turbosound iQ12s. They moved into a different location using new equipment, and have a pair of these installed. It's definitely a downgrade, plus they list for over $1200 a piece.

[@falroyfernandes4580]

Use subs

[@fredsanke4070]

Too complicated to me..😮