Why so few high end line arrays?

Emailists,

I use Atma MA-1s with mine and the arrays are custom wired to yield 13 ohms nominal, 10 ohms minimum. I wasn't prepared for the difference that proper impedance matching makes with OTLs. You are likely in for a treat.

As for comb filtering, diffraction effects manifest in all manner of speakers - even single driver/baffle interactions occur. Not unlike our listening rooms themselves.

It is what we perceive that matters. I hear the bass nodes/nulls in my room quite well, ameliorated as best as possible with traps and PARC. Comb filtering in the "line array physics" sense is imperceptible in my setup. FWIW, I sit 10-11 feet back.

Emailists:

Your system is impressive. You take your vinyl as seriously as I do my cds!

Headsnappin:

Have you heard the effect of comb filtering in more than one line array model designed for home audio? Can you elaborate on what I should be hearing (or not hearing) that is deleterious to the music? How would you compare/contrast it to the comb filtering of the much more commonplace MTM designs?

Hi Ptmconsulting,

My arrays stand 5.5 feet tall, shorter than the really big 'uns. Image height is not noticeably exaggerated where I sit (the back of the "nearfield zone").

As well, the image "forwardness" at high volumes in my system goes away below 80 Hz, and is nicely centered/deep at my listening volume sweet spot (about 75 dB average).

In fact, one trait of my arrays is exquisite expression of low level detail and tight, (relatively) impactful bass at such modest spls. It's a benefit that perfectly suits how I prefer to listen. Most array discussions seem to focus on the clarity and dynamics at very high spls - yet at low/modest levels these characteristics transcend any other loudspeakers (lots) I've had in my systems.