I know. Why would the decf guy be posting with a sound system idea?

I was out with some friends and a band was playing there. I noticeda very unusual looking speaker on the stage. I asked them about it and he gave me some inforamtion. The speaker is actually part of a sound system. It looks like a tall pole.

My idea is to build this into a back drop or jet set. What I'm thinking is that if you have this hidden behind the curtain and have a microphone that no one can see on you. You can use it for your shows and your audience will be able to hear you good. but they won't know any sound system is being used. It would be a subtle effect that they proable won't even notice. Well, they might think "How can I hear him so well from way back here with no mic?"

You can click here to see what I'm talking about.

Just thought I'd share that idea. Like I said. I'm deaf so I'm not sure if it'll work like I hope. It's not cheap so I want to explore it a little before picking one up. The guy I talked to was very happy with his though.

Ron Jaxon

The Bose system would probably work well for that use, as long as the material was such that it lets the audio pass through unaffected, which generally is something that good backdrop materials don't do.

They're not super-terrific sounding speakers from the reviews that I've read, but certainly doable for our uses--I wouldn't want to put a band on them, despite Bose's ads (then again, I say that about everytime I see a Bose ad...their ads never live up to the products in my experience, particularly on their "professional" products).

The nice thing is that they're mini line arrays, so the sound is more consistent over a wider area, and they're more resistant to feedback (a discussion of the physics behind this is beyond the scope of this forum by far, but basically, the physical distance a mic is from the array ends up being shorter than the acoustic distance, so while you're standing three feet away from it, acoustically the mic is effectively four feet away; also, the general physics of a line array cause the sound to fall off only 3 dB each time the distance from the speaker doubles, whereas normal speakers fall off at 6 dB).

--Andy

They are remote controllable, so that's good. You might want to just theme them in such a way that they look like props. I've never seen these. This is a pretty interesting idea! I can't see how you could get much bass response though, but those new powered subs could be made to look like just about anything resemling a crate or something like that, so between the two it might just work.
Dave

I am a design engineer for a pro audio manufacturer and the general consensus in the pro market is "no hi,s or lo,s its got to be Bose"
Seriously a lot of actors in plays wear Lavier mics and the sound system is integrated in many theaters, you are not going to fool an audience in to wondering were the sounds coming from if they can not see a mic or speakers people understand this stuff.

I agree with bloodyjack however I see the appeal in the basic concept of hidden room reinforcement.
If it is "cranked up" his statement holds very true as nobody in the 20th century thinks amplified sound is "magic". If however you use such a system in a subtle way just to bring up your voice level slightly above the ambient room noise it may make it simply more transparent and less of an issue that you are using a sound system at all. Does that make sense or am I sounding spacey?

I remember seeing a performer onstage once and the sound was so well defined that I forgot entirely about the mic (as we should) until he walked out into the audience. At that point I thought "wow what clarity I wonder where that mic is?"
Andy and others in this expertise obviously care about such things for the theater acoustics and make an occupation of doing that very well. For me, with my limited resources and knowledge, I simply make sure I am well heard, even at the cost of it being obvious to the audience.,

I understand every ones point. As a deaffy I can only guess on this so thanks for filling me in.

What made me think of it is I remember seeing Blackstone jr. every year as the Abbotts get together and people would talk about how his voice was so strong he could do the show for a large audience with no mic.

I wouldn't think of all this as a magic effect really. that's not what I was thinking. I was basically thinking that on a subconscious level this might add some dimension to the shows. It would certainly seem professional.

Ron Jaxon

I can see how some people could attribute the speaker with a great voice if it was just slightly re-enforced with an "Invisible" PA.
Dave

Well, one point I should add is that odds are very slim that this system would be able to provide sound that is transparent. That is to say, while you could use it and have it be physically invisible, the system doesn't sound good enough to be acoustically invisible. That isn't to say that there would or wouldn't be some psychological aspects involved in that if they can't see it, they might not "hear" it, but it's a stretch. My previous answer was just on the mechanics of it, not the effectiveness :o)

One question. Why would you want the audience to think you didn't have a sound system? what possible benefit is there?

In theatre, that's generally the goal. A killer sound design, from a sound reinforcement perspective, is one that the audience only notices if it's turned off. The idea is that it clearly reinforces the sound, but is not noticeable, and thus doesn't distract them from the performance.

A microphone is a psychological barrier between the audience and the performer. When it can be used invisibly/transparently, it gives a more intimate feeling to the performance, and allows the audience to connect to the performer much more easily.

Hear here!
I have hear the Bose system in question and was saddened that bose even put their name on it the system is aimed at small bands who play Gigs and but a lot of equipment from their retailers. I don't consider this system of the quality for a serious performer. There are better systems out there for less money That achieve the same goals. if you wish to hide your system use standard speakers and build them into your set. get some one qualified as a sound designer to help you as you could get serious sound problems if done wrong.
btw as "deafy" you might want to also explore loop systems and direct interpritation systems as well as a selling point to Deaf and Hard of hearing audience. There are state grants for that.

Would you happen to know of any good links on this? Don't spend any time looking because I'll do some searches. just wondering if you happen to know of any links off hand.

Also, thanks for the review of the Bose system I mentioned. It's good to ask before envesting. Especially for this "deafy"..

Ron Jaxon