Accidental Line Array
Introduction.
At the start of the twenty-first century the "in" design for sound reinforcement systems is the line array. After a slow start, all the major manufacturers have got their own variation on the theme which of course confers some advantage over their rival's systems with no disadvantage The main selling point for all these systems is their ability to approximate a true theoretical line source that radiates cylindrically rather than spherically. This reduces the rate of level reduction for each doubling of distance, as one moves away from the array, from 6dB to 3dB, greatly improving the "throw" of a system in large venues. Not to be outdone, I designed my own line array loudspeaker back in 1995 albeit for very different reasons. At the time I was unaware of any major manufacturer producing similar designs and it wasn't until I became internet enabled a few years ago that I became aware of the success of the Vdosc system and the subsequent development of similar systems by the other manufacturers.
The idea for the design originated from when I was working as one of the house sound engineers at a local venue. The installed system was beginning to show signs of its age and the owner asked me to think about what might be a suitable replacement. I thus thought about it and also the possibility that I might be able to design and install one of my own systems. Not long afterwards, the venue closed because the owners of the building sold it and the new owners wanted to use it for their own purpose rather than lease it. So apart from a couple of prototypes my design got no further.