B1 Bass Module / Positioning: Difference between revisions

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=== Orientation, aiming and obstruction ===

Sound comes through the B1 grille only and then spreads out the same amount in all directions from that surface. So box orientation doesn't matter to the B1 sound. Sonically the B1 can rest on any one of its four sides and nothing will change. (Of course, for stacking, you want the "wide side down" in order to engage the nubs on the next B1.) Once you pick a side to rest it on, you can aim the B1 in any direction you want, forward, sideways, even firing backward toward a rear wall. If you hear a change, it is because you've moved the grille relative to other ~~B1s~~ or relative to boundaries. Don't shove the grille into a wall or into a big obstacle, because then the sound can't get out; leave at least 6 inches (15 cm) of space in front of the grille. The side of the box itself can be right against a wall, so long as the grille is not obstructed. We often start out placing our ~~B1s~~ on the floor, sideways against the rear wall, so that the first reflections from the floor and rear wall will not change the tonal balance in the bass. (Room modes will change the tonal balance anyway, but at least we eliminate one source of variability this way.)

Sound comes through the Bass Module grille only and then spreads out the same amount in all directions from that surface. So box orientation doesn't matter to the Bass Module sound. Sonically the Bass Module can rest on any one of its four sides and nothing will change. (Of course, for stacking, you want the "wide side down" in order to engage the nubs on the next Bass Module.) Once you pick a side to rest it on, you can aim the Bass Module in any direction you want, forward, sideways, even firing backward toward a rear wall. If you hear a change, it is because you've moved the grille relative to other Bass Modules or relative to boundaries. Don't shove the grille into a wall or into a big obstacle, because then the sound can't get out; leave at least 6 inches (15 cm) of space in front of the grille. The side of the box itself can be right against a wall, so long as the grille is not obstructed. We often start out placing our Bass Modules on the floor, sideways against the rear wall, so that the first reflections from the floor and rear wall will not change the tonal balance in the bass. (Room modes will change the tonal balance anyway, but at least we eliminate one source of variability this way.)

=== Arranging groups of Bass Modules that play the same signal ===

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For 4 B1s, we are most likely to stack all 4 on their wide sides, but sometimes we make two stacks of two, side by side. The stack of four takes up the least floor space, but it radiates a little less mid-bass upwards, which has not been a problem and might be beneficial. We don't lay all four in a line on the floor on their wide sides, since we expect this to weaken the midbass that travels left and right toward other band members or audience at the sides. You could probably lay all four in a line if you rest them on their handle sides, so that they make a short line. If you use the 2x2, keep the two stacks adjacent to avoid possibly weakening the mid-bass to the sides.

=== Locating the Group of ~~B1s~~ ===

=== Locating the Group of Bass Modules ===

Where to locate the group: If the group of B1s is far from its L1, the lows will come from one place and the highs from another and this is harder for everyone to hear clearly. More than about 5 feet (1.3 m) of separation is probably beginning to compromise your spatial quality. It's best if you can keep the B1s adjacent to or within a foot (30 cm) of the PS1. Since our preferred arrangements are stacks of 2 or 4 B1s, we also like to aim those stacks sideways and place them against the rear wall if we can, because this minimizes unwanted array effects with the first reflections. But we don't hesitate to aim the stacks forward when the best appearance is more important. In this case, we keep the B1s as close to the back wall as the connectors allow, but being careful not to stress the cables by bending them too sharply against the wall. Although we prefer to keep the B1s as close to the rear wall as we can, there are times when this is just not an option. In such cases, we try to get 7 feet (2.1 m) or more from a rear wall as a second choice because, in the 2-7 foot (0.6-2.1 m) range, the reflection from the rear wall tends to reduce some of the bass frequency range in the audience (an interference effect). Sometimes we have no choice but to place B1s in that 2-7 foot (0.6-2.1 m) range and we just live with the minor reduction in bass, perhaps compensating with a bass tone control boost.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 === Orientation, aiming and obstruction  ===
-Sound comes through the B1 grille only and then spreads out the same amount in all directions from that surface. So box orientation doesn't matter to the B1 sound. Sonically the B1 can rest on any one of its four sides and nothing will change. (Of course, for stacking, you want the "wide side down" in order to engage the nubs on the next B1.) Once you pick a side to rest it on, you can aim the B1 in any direction you want, forward, sideways, even firing backward toward a rear wall. If you hear a change, it is because you've moved the grille relative to other B1s or relative to boundaries. Don't shove the grille into a wall or into a big obstacle, because then the sound can't get out; leave at least 6 inches (15 cm) of space in front of the grille. The side of the box itself can be right against a wall, so long as the grille is not obstructed. We often start out placing our B1s on the floor, sideways against the rear wall, so that the first reflections from the floor and rear wall will not change the tonal balance in the bass. (Room modes will change the tonal balance anyway, but at least we eliminate one source of variability this way.)
+Sound comes through the Bass Module grille only and then spreads out the same amount in all directions from that surface. So box orientation doesn't matter to the Bass Module sound. Sonically the Bass Module  can rest on any one of its four sides and nothing will change. (Of course, for stacking, you want the "wide side down" in order to engage the nubs on the next Bass Module.) Once you pick a side to rest it on, you can aim the Bass Module in any direction you want, forward, sideways, even firing backward toward a rear wall. If you hear a change, it is because you've moved the grille relative to other Bass Modules or relative to boundaries. Don't shove the grille into a wall or into a big obstacle, because then the sound can't get out; leave at least 6 inches (15 cm) of space in front of the grille. The side of the box itself can be right against a wall, so long as the grille is not obstructed. We often start out placing our Bass Modules on the floor, sideways against the rear wall, so that the first reflections from the floor and rear wall will not change the tonal balance in the bass. (Room modes will change the tonal balance anyway, but at least we eliminate one source of variability this way.)
 === Arranging groups of Bass Modules that play the same signal  ===
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 For 4 B1s, we are most likely to stack all 4 on their wide sides, but sometimes we make two stacks of two, side by side. The stack of four takes up the least floor space, but it radiates a little less mid-bass upwards, which has not been a problem and might be beneficial. We don't lay all four in a line on the floor on their wide sides, since we expect this to weaken the midbass that travels left and right toward other band members or audience at the sides. You could probably lay all four in a line if you rest them on their handle sides, so that they make a short line. If you use the 2x2, keep the two stacks adjacent to avoid possibly weakening the mid-bass to the sides.
-=== Locating the Group of B1s  ===
+=== Locating the Group of Bass Modules  ===
 Where to locate the group: If the group of B1s is far from its L1, the lows will come from one place and the highs from another and this is harder for everyone to hear clearly. More than about 5 feet (1.3 m) of separation is probably beginning to compromise your spatial quality. It's best if you can keep the B1s adjacent to or within a foot (30 cm) of the PS1. Since our preferred arrangements are stacks of 2 or 4 B1s, we also like to aim those stacks sideways and place them against the rear wall if we can, because this minimizes unwanted array effects with the first reflections. But we don't hesitate to aim the stacks forward when the best appearance is more important. In this case, we keep the B1s as close to the back wall as the connectors allow, but being careful not to stress the cables by bending them too sharply against the wall. Although we prefer to keep the B1s as close to the rear wall as we can, there are times when this is just not an option. In such cases, we try to get 7 feet (2.1 m) or more from a rear wall as a second choice because, in the 2-7 foot (0.6-2.1 m) range, the reflection from the rear wall tends to reduce some of the bass frequency range in the audience (an interference effect). Sometimes we have no choice but to place B1s in that 2-7 foot (0.6-2.1 m) range and we just live with the minor reduction in bass, perhaps compensating with a bass tone control boost.