"Nicole, thank you so much for the time you spent with me and the kids at the sound board, and thanks for the emergency replacement mics too, we couldn't have had such a success without them!   Your six mics worked perfectly.  We put them on the Beast and Belle and other important leads so we could feel confident that at least they could be heard every time." Dana Lowell - Technical Director, Center for the Arts

When is the last time you preformed any preventative maintenance on your audio, video and lighting systems? Do all of your wireless microphones work? Have you cleaned the filter and checked the lamp hours of your video projector? Have you checked to make sure all of you system settings are back to peak performance since Youth Sunday? Easter is just around the corner and that is one of the times of year we receive lots of requests for emergency service. It's not to late to sign up for our Maintenance Program. (Click here to see details)

Reverend Chubbs of Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro said, "Everything is Beautiful" since we performed our initial maintenance inspection, cleaning and tuning a couple of weeks ago. Call one of our account specialists now and make an appointment. Don't wait until it's broken.

Dear Soundman - Both when testing on the floor and with the one now hanging in the gallery, I’m noticing a pretty hot little 10 or 15 degree zone in more or less the center of the horn that seems to have a significant 1-2K peak. Is this typical of the QRX horns? Having a hard time getting those frequencies out to the seats around the center of the coverage area without killing the people in the center with 1-2K. Any tricks? -B-

Dear B,

I ran the following polars on your boxes in passive mode and they do exhibit some lobbing in the 1.25k to 2k region and then smoothes out again. This issue is not coming from the horn. The horn, by itself, does not have any beaming problems particularly at such a low frequency. What you are experiencing is, at the crossover point of the loudspeaker system the output from the horn is interacting with the output from the woofer and is causing comb filtering.

Using an active crossover, instead of the passive one built into the box, should do a better job of controling this behavior and reduce it to a minimum. I believe the specifications quote a crossover frequency of around 1.8k although the polars suggest suggest something a little lower. I doubt that the passive filter in the crossover is anything greater than a 2nd order (12db/oct) filter which would explain the lobbing as the horn and the woofer overlap in frequency response. The boxes are designed to be switchable to bi-amp mode by way of a switch on the back connector panel. Using an active system controller (crossover) with a 4th order LW filter (24db/oct) and time alignment (delay) should help smooth the polar response in the crossover region.

Sincerely - SoundMan -

Word of Reconciliation Ministries in High Point has recently completed upgrades to their sanctuary. Included in the upgrade was a MIDAS Venice 240 mixing console, Electro-Voice Zx-1 monitors and Elation Parnel light fixtures. The Zx-1 loudspeakers have quickly become a favorite with our customers for their amazing performance in such a small form factor.

The Electro-Voice ZX1 is the new standard of no compromise audio performance and versatility for compact sound reinforcement.

The high-tech enclosure is lightweight and extremely durable. The enclosure has been engineered to provide maximum rigidity and acoustic performance. The port design overcomes the limitation of many small loudspeakers and enables exceptional low frequency response without vent noise. The ZX1’s long excursion, high output 8" woofer with a weatherized treated cone delivers smooth low frequency performance with exceptional reliability.

A sophisticated crossover network integrates it with the EV DH2005, a 1-inch exit true compression driver with extended frequency response and high output capability. Full-bandwidth overload protection is provided for reliable, long term operation without audible effect.

I double dare you to call us NOW to have us bring you a pair for evaluation and prove to you they are everything we say they are.

Jay, this one is for you. We have added a new section in the About CareySound section. The Wayback Machine page will be an odd assortment of old pictures and remembrances and you can find it in the list to the right or click on Mr. Peabody.

Samson Audio has retired their S11 microphone. As many of you know, we have been using the S11 as our primary rental vocal microphone for years now and we have sold well over 1,000 of them. As one of our clients proclaimed, it was the "best cheap microphone I've ever owned." In a sea of inexpensive microphones it served us well. It didn't have great high or low frequency response and it didn't win any awards but not every situation calls for an expensive solution. It had decent handling noise and worked great in the wind without a wind screen, was built well and had the best mic clip around.

But never fear we are on a quest for it's replacement and we are narrowing down the field, so stay tuned for next "best cheap microphone I've ever owned."

John Carey over at TWISTEDSUN.NET, photographed and produced the EV/Blue Cardinal ad for us that I posted last week. He has turned another one of the many pictures he took during the photo shoot and turned it into a desktop picture (I understand that's wallpaper to you PC folks) for us to post. You can find more of his amazing desktops and photographs at his website twistedsun.net. Thanks John!

click here to download file

Across
1. Too many spoil the mix
3. E=IR
7. 1130' per sec / frequency
8. It holds a Soundman's life together
9. cycles per second
10. logarithm of a non-dimensional ratio of two power-like quantities

Down
2. back of stage
4. Soundmen don't build them
5. Soundman's favorite color
6. Three things it takes to make a Soundman happy. food, good motel room and _______