Re: [theatre-sound-list] Digest for theatre-sound-list@googlegroups.com - 5 updates in 1 topic
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Jim Swonger
Oct 10, 2025, 9:35:09 PM (12 days ago) Oct 10
to theatre-s...@googlegroups.com
Hi,
We are trying out a speaker new to us for frontfills and it seems great so far. It also might work for you. It is an RCF Compact M 04 speaker. One caveat, it is 60w at 16 ohms, so work out the math for a proper amp.
Best,
Jim
Sent via a thundering herd of turtles.
On Oct 10, 2025, at 8:02 PM, theatre-s...@googlegroups.com wrote:
- Small Floor Monitors - 5 Updates
Art Zemon <a...@zemon.name>: Oct 10 07:57AM -0500
This list has been awfully quiet for a long time. I hope that I'm not the
only one still here. Where has this sort of conversation migrated to?
I'm looking for physically small speakers to use as floor monitors on the
front of a stage. Do you have suggestions? I am even open to repurposing
something like home theater surround speakers. I tried a TV soundbar
recently. It was plenty loud for the space but it flooded the audience with
sound out the backside so I won't do that again.
-- Art Z.
--
My blog: CheerfulCurmudgeon.com
*The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art
is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy,
it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s
indifference. - Elie Wiesel*
.
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Phil Johnson
Oct 10, 2025, 10:04:09 PM (12 days ago) Oct 10
to theatre-s...@googlegroups.com
We’re still here, lurking in Corpus Christi ha ha ha. I found the JBL control one speakers to be really good monitors. I’ve used them for bands and musicals. You might want to check them out if you’re looking for a tiny speaker. It would be better than TV speakers. I can’t remember the model, but there are some smaller JBL’s that I had as fills off my cat walk that worked really well too.
Phil Johnson retired
Corpus Christi, Texas
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 10, 2025, at 7:02 PM, theatre-s...@googlegroups.com wrote:
Art Zemon <a...@zemon.name>: Oct 10 07:57AM -0500
This list has been awfully quiet for a long time. I hope that I'm not the
only one still here. Where has this sort of conversation migrated to?
I'm looking for physically small speakers to use as floor monitors on the
front of a stage. Do you have suggestions? I am even open to repurposing
something like home theater surround speakers. I tried a TV soundbar
recently. It was plenty loud for the space but it flooded the audience with
sound out the backside so I won't do that again.
-- Art Z.
--
My blog: CheerfulCurmudgeon.com
*The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art
is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy,
it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s
indifference. - Elie Wiesel*
Kyle Jensen <kj12...@gmail.com>: Oct 10 10:20AM -0400
What's your budget? I've used Meyer MM4s, and UPMs, JBL AC15s, EAW JF60s, etc. for floor monitors to great effect.
— Kyle
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 10, 2025, at 08:57, Art Zemon <a...@zemon.name> wrote:
This list has been awfully quiet for a long time. I hope that I'm not the only one still here. Where has this sort of conversation migrated to?
I'm looking for physically small speakers to use as floor monitors on the front of a stage. Do you have suggestions? I am even open to repurposing something like home theater surround speakers. I tried a TV soundbar recently. It was plenty loud for the space but it flooded the audience with sound out the backside so I won't do that again.
-- Art Z.
--
My blog: CheerfulCurmudgeon.com
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. - Elie Wiesel
--
Please edit unnecessary quoted text out of your reply.
Take non-theatre-sound topics to private email.
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Nick Kourtides <nickko...@gmail.com>: Oct 10 10:33AM -0400
Maintaining mid-bass pattern control off the back of a small enclosure is
really difficult. Old-school solutions include heavy multi-ply construction
which provides a measure of damping. New-school measures include composite
cabinet materials to achieve similar damping without the size and weight.
There's almost nothing in the consumer universe of speaker construction
that attempts to tackle this, outside of expensive exotica.
This is also one of the reasons why downstage lip monitors aren't really
favored for musical theatre, typically. Beyond the visuals, keeping that
contamination out of the audience is difficult. And using something like
time delay to align it with acoustic source arrival or with front fills can
make a mess for the performers needing a solid time 0.
N
Nick Kourtides
Sound Design
(he/him)
+1 215 915 0159
nickko...@gmail.com
Chet Leonard <chet.l...@gmail.com>: Oct 10 07:52AM -0700
Galaxy Audio Hot Spots? they peter out at 150Hz.
On Fri, Oct 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM Nick Kourtides <nickko...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Mark Turpin <markp...@outlook.com>: Oct 10 02:53PM
There are quite a few options with 4” or 5” drivers. In addition to Kyle’s suggestions, you could also look at Renkus Heinz or Fulcrum. If you want a powered device, a Galaxy Hotpot might also work.
The back lobe will always be at least something of a problem, though, because it is hard to get much in the way of pattern control from a cabinet that is that small. A lot will depend on how much low frequency you need from the monitor for your application and how loud they need to be. Be prepared to high-pass them pretty aggressively. (See also Nick’s comments about pattern control. If you also have front fills, you may need to align the monitors to the front fills and that might create other problems for the performers.)
Depending on your sonic requirements and budget, you might also consider K-Array and Innovox, but be careful how they are fed. I had a client who tried using K-Array Anacondas for hidden monitors but didn’t have them adequately high-passed and toasted them by trying to squeeze too much LF out of them.
I often use Innovox micro-lines for recording talkback in a recital or concert hall setting. They work great for that application (voice only) but they won’t provide any LF at all – they are high-passed at 150 Hz or so.
From: theatre-s...@googlegroups.com <theatre-s...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Kyle Jensen
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2025 10:20 AM
To: theatre-s...@googlegroups.com
Cc: theatre-sound-list <theatre-s...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [theatre-sound-list] Small Floor Monitors
What’s your budget? I’ve used Meyer MM4s, and UPMs, JBL AC15s, EAW JF60s, etc. for floor monitors to great effect.
— Kyle
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 10, 2025, at 08:57, Art Zemon <a...@zemon.name<mailto:art@zemon.name>> wrote:
This list has been awfully quiet for a long time. I hope that I'm not the only one still here. Where has this sort of conversation migrated to?
I'm looking for physically small speakers to use as floor monitors on the front of a stage. Do you have suggestions? I am even open to repurposing something like home theater surround speakers. I tried a TV soundbar recently. It was plenty loud for the space but it flooded the audience with sound out the backside so I won't do that again.
-- Art Z.
--
My blog: CheerfulCurmudgeon.com<https://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/>
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. - Elie Wiesel
Christopher Dean
Oct 11, 2025, 1:13:48 AM (12 days ago) Oct 11
to theatre-sound
If you just want the monitors so the performers can hear enough for cues or to keep time to music, put a high pass filter on the mix going to them. Play with the frequency until you get a compromise between quality and rear radiation. The quality will be horrible, but the LF splatter from the back will be reduced or even eliminated. You may even be able to use the sound bar :)
If you’re expecting to use the monitors so the performers can hear themselves, it’s futile. You will just end up with massive feedback issues as they move around and they won’t like the sound and/mix anyway. The only practical solution for stage performers to hear themselves is to use in ear monitors. Not only expensive to buy, but lots of work to get the mix right because the next thing is everyone wanting them and they all want different mixes.
Good luck :)
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