Incredible Audiophile Imaging -- at a Concert!


I was just at a music festival in the mountains near the border of Portugal and Spain. One of the shows was the duo of Maria João (vocalist -- either an acquired tasted or too weird, depending on your preferences) and Mário Laginha (an excellent pianist). The concert was outdoors in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Ammaia. The sound system consisted of two line arrays, nothing more. But it was incredibly well mic'ed. A pic with the techs setting up is attached. We were seated very close to the sound boards.

About two songs into the concert, I realized that Laginha's piano was mic'ed so that an image of the keyboard, in incredible detail, was mapped from the left line array to the right. Closing my eyes, I could "see" this entire 70 foot wide keyboard image, to a level of detail that any musician who knows keys and scales could easily reconstruct exactly what Laginha was playing. It was absolutely amazing! I had never heard sound with that level of clarity, detail, and imaging in a concert before. The purpose-built San Francisco Jazz Center probably comes close in my experience, but a somewhat distant second place to this simple line array system.

I'm sure this effect was helped by there being no walls or ceiling to create any reflections. And I'm sure being right next to the sound engineers contributed. Did the altitude or cold temperatures matter? Regardless, it made Laginha's playing that much more enjoyable. It was such a treat compared to concerts held at stadium venues, or even large clubs, where the sound often sucks.

I read up on line arrays at https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/line-arrays-explained to get a better appreciation.

Wondering if any other 'goners have experienced something like this at a concert. If so, what was the venue? What do you think contributed to the stellar imaging?

sfgak

I apologize to the OP i had posted in the wrong thread then i deleted my above post...

 

@g2the2nd Thanks for the sample; the effect I'd relate it to is getting to be behind the pianist with the other players about the piano.  Your and others observations will vary, obviously. 😏
One could say 'nuevo 901's' and not be too far off.... *L*

Yes, the mics matter, the effect as an omni and dipole sort is the 'imagery' mentioned above.  When I had a set of surround Walsh, it gets spooky. No DSP, just some eq tweaks...  *G*

@noromance I've been to some sim venues that opted to 'overdrive' said spaces.
What typically happens is the clientele ends up talking louder as the db's rose.

Recent b'day gift by spouse was a string quartet playing covers of some iconic rock songs in a candle-lit stage decorated with branches and twigs.

Very 'gentile' and pleasant, some dressed for the symphony....

Spouse caught a good one... ;)  And no electronics involved. 👍

This is what we get at home in a good setting  with good synergy and excellent recordings , good equipment and lots of trial and error .

Have you read the article in The Absolute Sound about The Sphere in Las Vegas. The reviewer was blown away. It’s a sound system from German Holoplot 😀 

@ghdprentice +1000!

 

I’ve attended rock concerts in theaters with fancy new DSP systems and the sound was unlistenable. Especially when the systems get overdriven. I heard Tedeschi Trucks band at the Warner theater where I literally couldn’t tell the sound of a slide guitar from any other instrument. Hard, huge amount of high frequency distortion. The Warner Theater is very proud of their new system, especially in db level matching over the entire theater. In truth it’s awful.