Mackie DLM8 - Placement; Room Acoustics

DLM8/12 Powered Loudspeakers
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DLM8/12 Powered Loudspeakers
Placement
WARNING:Installationshouldonlybedone
byanexperiencedtechnician.Improper
installationmayresultindamagetothe
equipment,injuryordeath.Makesurethatthe
loudspeakerisinstalledinastableandsecureway
inordertoavoidanyconditionsthatmaybedangerous
forpersonsorstructures.
ADLMloudspeakerisdesignedtositontheoor
orstageaspartofthemainPAorasamonitor.Itmay
alsobepole-mountedviathebuilt-insocketonthe
bottomofthecabinet.Besurethepoleiscapableof
supportingtheweightoftheloudspeaker.TheMackie
SPM300isagreatoptionwhenusingaDLM12S
subwoofer,asitallowsforgreaterextensionthan 
mostotherpolesavailablenorthoftheSouthPole.
ADLMloudspeakermayalsobeownviaitsthree
integratedypointsasdetailedonthenextpage. 
BesuretoreadthePA-A3 Eyebolt Installation
Instructions,aswell.
OrmaybeyouprefertomountDLMloudspeakerson
thewall.ThisispossiblewiththeSWM300SwivelWall
MountKit.BesuretoreadtheSWM300 Swivel Wall
Mount Installation Instructions.
Checktomakesurethatthesupportsurface
(e.g.oor,etc.)hasthenecessarymechanical
characteristicstosupporttheweightofthe
loudspeaker(s).
Whenpole-mountingloudspeakers,besurethatthey
arestabilizedandsecuredfromfallingoverorbeing
accidentallypushedover.Failuretofollowthese
precautionsmayresultindamagetotheequipment,
personalinjury,ordeath.
Aswithanypoweredcomponents,protectthemfrom
moisture.Avoidinstallingtheloudspeakerinplaces
exposedtoharshweatherconditions.Ifyouaresetting
themupoutdoors,makesuretheyareundercoverifyou
expectrain.
Room Acoustics
Roomacousticsplayacrucialroleintheoverall
performanceofasoundsystem.Herearesome 
additionalplacementtipstohelpovercomesome 
typicalroomproblemsthatmightarise:
• Placingloudspeakersinthecornersofaroom
increasesthelowfrequencyoutputandcan
causethesoundtobemuddyandindistinct.
• Placingloudspeakersagainstawallincreases
thelowfrequencyoutput,thoughnotasmuch
ascornerplacement.However,thisisagood
waytoreinforcethelowfrequencies,ifso
desired.
• Avoidplacingthespeakersdirectlyona
hollowstageoor.Ahollowstagecanresonate
atcertainfrequencies,causingpeaksanddips
inthefrequencyresponseoftheroom.Itis
bettertoplacethemonasturdystanddesigned
tohandletheweightoftheDLMloudspeaker.
• Highlyreverberantrooms,likemany
gymnasiumsandauditoriums,area
nightmareforsoundsystemintelligibility.
Multiplereectionsoffthehardwalls,ceiling,
andoorplayhavocwiththesound.Depending
onthesituation,youmaybeabletotakesome
stepstominimizethereections,suchas 
puttingcarpetingontheoors,closing
draperiestocoverlargeglasswindows,or
hangingtapestriesorothermaterialsonthe
wallstoabsorbsomeofthesound.
 However,inmostcases,theseremediesarenot
possibleorpractical.Sowhatdoyoudo?
Makingthesoundsystemloudergenerally
doesn’tworkbecausethereectionsbecome
louder,too.Thebestapproachistoprovideas
muchdirectsoundcoveragetotheaudience
aspossible.Thefartherawayyouarefrom
thespeaker,themoreprominentwillbethe
reectedsound.
 Usemorespeakersstrategicallyplacedsothey
areclosertothebackoftheaudience.Ifthe
distancebetweenthefrontandbackspeakers
ismorethanabout100feet,youshoulduse
theDL2delaytotime-alignthesound.(Since
soundtravelsabout1footpermillisecond,it
takesabout1/10ofasecondtotravel100feet.)
KeepinmindthattheDL2channelandsystem 
processorisagreatwaytocompensateforsomeof
theseissues.Seepages12-13formoreinformation
[11,13].