Anyone gone from an 'array system' back to traditional speakers?

[Stratcat77]

It is cool. I’m getting one as a backup for tight setups. I usually bring two guitars....

[KevWind]

I have been seriously considering selling my Fishmann SA 220 and goin with a Line 6 Stage Source L2t I have not yet because it is 39 lbs. to lift which is doable but more than the 20 something the 220 weighs

Even though I choose the 220 over the various Bose offerings, which I don't care for particularly. IMO all of the stick type offerings (while certainly winners in the convenient department and produce a lot of sound ) BUT It's hard to put into words it just seems like there is the feeling of something not there in the sound , something missing , like they really do not have the presence of well designed traditional PA speakers

[YamahaGuy]

I bought a Bose L1C when they were on sale. For smaller venues, it is great. However, the main place I need a PA for has over 100 people in a low-ceiling social hall that's probably 40'×60' and though the Bose spreads the sound evenly around the room, it just doesn't have the SPL levels when you need to be really loud. (This is a community non-profit and the audience can be talkative and inattentive at times).

So, for now it's gonna be my MG8CX or MG06X with the DXR10.

[lkingston]

I just sold my L1 model ii system last weekend. It sounded great, but I’m playing mostly small places and clubs with House PA systems these days.

The Column type systems are really great in many ways, but there are a few things to be aware of. One is that they are best for a seated audience. As a general rule, if you can see the column, it is going to sound great where you are. In a venue where everyone is loud and standing, you start to lose all the highs and I’d rather have a horn on a pole mounted a little higher.

Two, I have a lot of hearing loss from years of loud sound systems, and as a rule I like my monitor to be as soft as possible. With a seated listening audience, the column behind you works out great. You hear what the audience hears just a little louder. Once the crowd noise goes up and you have to raise the levels, I want to monitor what I’m playing softer than what the audience is hearing, not louder. I can sort of do that by placing the column to the side of me and more towards the audience, but then I start losing the highs. In those cases I am really better of with some sort of monitor speaker.

Having said that, the column works well as a front of house speaker...unless the crowd is standing and the front people are absorbing all the highs.

A synopsis of my opinion of the L1 style column speaker is that it works incredibly well for a mostly seated listening audience of up to three hundred or so. For crowded noisy bar, I’d rather use an old fashioned sound system.