Placement is free performance. The same speakers positioned well and positioned badly produce dramatically different results, and no amount of processing closes the gap.
Get the high-frequency driver above standing head height, angle it down into the audience, and keep speakers in front of the microphone line. Aim energy at people, not at walls and ceilings.
| Aspect | Recommendation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Height | HF driver above standing heads | Avoids absorption by the audience |
| Angle | Tilted down into seating | Keeps energy off rear wall |
| Relative to mics | Always in front | Prevents feedback |
| Distance from walls | Away from corners | Reduces low frequency build-up |
| Spacing | Per dispersion angle | Even coverage without gaps |
Height and why audiences absorb sound
A crowd is an efficient absorber, particularly at higher frequencies. Sound travelling across heads loses energy rapidly with distance.
Raising the high-frequency driver above standing head height gives a clearer path to listeners further back and preserves intelligibility.
This is the main reason speakers on poles outperform the same cabinets on the floor, often by a very audible margin.
Angle: aim at people, not at architecture
Tilt cabinets down so the coverage pattern lands on the audience and stops at the back row. Energy that reaches the rear wall returns as reflection and reduces clarity.
In a raked or tiered room, the geometry is more forgiving. In a flat room, downward angle matters more.
A simple check: stand at the back and look at the speaker. If you can see straight into the horn, the aim is roughly right.
Spacing multiple cabinets
Space cabinets so their coverage patterns meet without excessive overlap. Too much overlap causes comb filtering in the crossover zone, which sounds hollow and phasey.
For distributed systems, aim for level to vary by no more than a few dB as you walk between positions.
Where two cabinets must cover one area from different positions, delay alignment becomes important or the overlap will sound smeared.
Walls, corners and low frequency build-up
Placing a cabinet against a wall increases low-frequency output; placing it in a corner increases it further. This is sometimes useful and often not.
Uncontrolled boundary reinforcement produces a boomy sound that no EQ fully corrects, because it varies with position in the room.
Where cabinets must sit near walls, expect to apply some low-frequency cut and verify the result at several listening positions.