MACKIE 1800SA - Manual (Page 7)

7
PLACEMENT
The FUSSION 1800SA and 1800S
subwoofers are designed to sit on the floor
or sturdy stands.
You can stack cabinets vertically. If you
do, place the FUSSION 1800SA and 1800S
on the bottom of the stack, side by side, and
place the full-range active Fussion Series
cabinets on top. If you stack two full-range
cabinets, turn the upper cabinet upside down
so the high-frequency driver is closest to the
high-frequency driver in the lower cabinet.
As with any powered
components, protect
them from moisture. If
you are setting them up
outdoors, make sure they
are under cover if you
expect rain.
Room Acoustics
The Fussion Series loudspeakers are de-
signed to sound as neutral as possible; that
is, to reproduce the input signal as accu-
rately as possible.
Room acoustics play a crucial role in the
overall performance of a sound system.
However, the wide high-frequency disper-
sion of the Fussion Series helps to minimize
the problems that typically arise.
Here are some other placement tips:
• Avoid placing loudspeakers in the
corners of a room. This increases the
low-frequency output and can cause the
sound to be muddy and indistinct.
• Avoid placing loudspeakers against a wall.
This, too, increases the low frequency
output, though not as much as corner
placement. However, if you do need to
reinforce the low frequencies, this is a
good way to do it.
• Avoid placing the active loudspeakers
directly on a hollow stage floor. A hollow
stage can resonate at certain frequencies,
causing peaks and dips in the frequency
response of the room.
• Position the loudspeakers so the high-
frequency drivers are 2 to 4 feet above ear
level for the audience (make allowances
for a standing/dancing in the aisles
audience). High frequencies are highly
directional and tend to be absorbed much
easier than lower frequencies. By provid-
ing direct line-of-sight from the
loudspeakers to the audience, you
increase the overall brightness and
intelligibility of the sound system.
• Highly reverberant rooms, like many
gymnasiums and auditoriums, are a
nightmare for sound system intelligibility.
Multiple reflections off the hard walls,
ceiling, and floor play havoc with the
sound. Depending on the situation, you
may be able to take some steps to mini-
mize the reflections, such as putting
carpeting on the floors, closing draperies
to cover large glass windows, or hanging
tapestries or other materials on the walls
to absorb some of the sound.
However, in most cases, these remedies
are not possible or practical. So what do
you do? Making the sound system louder
generally doesn’t work because the
reflections become louder, too. The best
approach is to provide as much direct
sound coverage to the audience as pos-
sible. The farther away you are from the
speaker, the more prominent will be the
reflected sound.
Use more speakers strategically placed so
they are closer to the back of the audience.
If the distance between the front and back
speakers is more than about 100 feet, you
should use a delay processor to time-align
the sound. (Since sound travels about 1
foot per millisecond, it takes about 1/10 of
a second to travel 100 feet.)