Gallos how good are they?

Mapman,

I would agree with the statement that 'the dispersion pattern of most conventional speaker designs is nothing like that of live acoustic instruments', but I would stop there. Just as most speaker types have different radiation patterns, so do acoustic instruments. So in theory at least a horn will sound better (more realistic) thru a speaker with a strong direct sound field and a harp will sound better with a bidirectional dynamic, panel or electrostat, or and omni.

Now what kind of speakers would you choose if you wanted accurate replication of a horn/harp duet? Don't laugh now, one of my favorite jazz recording s is of a trumpet/piano duet, acknowledging a piano does have a lid which acts to direct the sound field, assumably forward.

Just a thought. :-)

Newbee,

Are you saying that a horn is more directional in nature than a harp?

Probably true in a relative sense, tough I'd argue the sound waves emitted from a horn still radiate largely in a 3 dimensional half sphere in front of the mouth of the horn and will reflect of venue walls and reach the ears of the listener from different directions at different times, depending on his/her location relative to the player.

However, an omni speaker can still handle directional sound which is just a simplified case of omnidirectional sound, so the speaker design is less of a limiting factor.

Not true the other way around because the dispersion pattern of conventional box speakers cannot match the omnidirectional sound pattern produced by the instrument.

Therefore I'd assert the omni design is inherently better able to handle a mix of instruments all the way from more directional to more omni-directional in nature, so , all other things aside, I would pick the omni for the trumpet piano case and for large scale classical or ensemble pieces as well.

Now with electronic instruments that normally produce their sound through conventional speaker design by nature, there is less of an argument there alone for omnis, but good omnis properly set up will do an equally fine job in the simplified case of electronic instruments as well.

Of course, every instrument has its own dispersion pattern, but there are many things about the dispersion pattern that most instruments and the human voice share: They are sort of omnidirectional with more treble thrown to the front because the player or singer's own body blocks some treble energy to the back. Some instruments, such as trumpet, have a stronger front-to-back bias in the treble region, but others, like cymbals and drums, are pretty much omnidirectional right up to the high treble. String instruments are fairly omnidirectional. Your ears don't have to be in line of sight of the soundhole to hear the upper overtones, as long as you're in reasonable proximity of the soundboard or spruce top. Again, the guitarist's body blocks some of the back wave, but still, quite a bit of it will disperse backwards and reflect off the back and side walls, and the ceiling as well.

The Mirage speakers with their Omniguide disperse the sound very similar to the average pattern--omnidirectional with more sound thrown forward and somewhat upward. It really works. The timbre of some instruments (such as piano) is shaped significantly by how the instrument energizes the room.

One speaker design can't duplicate the individual dispersion patterns of each and every individual instrument and singer, but the Mirage Omniguide-based speakers largely replicate the core of that dispersion pattern that they share, and averages out the rest.

It was just a passing thought. But on the subject of omni's vs direct radiating speakers, wouldn't your preference be somewhat influenced by the location you prefer when you are actually in the hall? Row A where the halls contribution from reflections is less influential vs Row M where you are hearing almost equal parts of direct sound and reflected sound? Isn't this an issue you would have to deal with in 'properly' setting up your omni's in your room as well?

I respect your reasons for your personal choice, but for others making these decisions I would suggest that most live unamplified performances are recording with a fair amount of hall sound, or reverbrant energy added into the mix by the recording engineers, so having omni's in your home may only be adding more indirect sound to the mix. If you like your music to sound as it might in row M you have probably made a very good choice. You could get a similar response from many good bidirectional speakers as well.

In my home I selected and set up my speakers to minimize the influence of my room so I could hear clearly what the engineers had put into the pits and grooves, probably reflecting what I would hear were I sitting in row A. Horses for courses. :-)

Newbee, yes like most of audio, its a personal choice thing.

TO my ears, the complex spatial queues captured in recordings from the live performance in concert hall or studio are reproduced more accurately by speakers that lean towards a more omni radiation pattern rather than those that tend to beam forward and in the case of bipolars, backwards as well.

In the case of box design speakers, wouldn't most agree though that wide dispersion is always better than beaming straight ahead only?

Some would disagree with this though and state a preference to minimize the interaction between the speaker and the room they listen in. Those folks should avoid Ohms, MBLs, Gallo reference, and the like.

All sound is subject to room acoustics, be it live music or reproduced on a system. My strategy is to accept the room I'm listening in as my own personal concert hall and then try to make it work for me as best as is possible rather than try to fight or avoid it. Why chose a strategy based on fighting the laws of physics?