ProSoundWeb | John Meyer Transcript pg. 2

Transcript
PSW LIVE CHAT with John Meyer
January 7th, 2002

Moderated by Dave Dermont

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Felix: Hi John, Felix here from India! While agreeing that a LINE ARRAY is NOT the complete answer to a complete PA rig, do you think the line array is an ESSENTIAL part of a concert system today ?

John Meyer: Hello Felix! It's great to hear from you. Thanks for your question. Of course, line arrays can't solve every situation effectively.

But they have become a very important tool in situations where delays are difficult to install, for example. Obviously, since it takes a large number of elements to get the line array to work according to theory, they are not the solution for smaller-scale applications like club systems, theater, etc.

Chip Weinstein: How big does the line array have to be to be effective?

John Meyer: The length and spacing of the array determine its directional characteristics. The lower the frequency, the longer the array must be to maintain directionality. You can find a very complete discussion of line array theory on our website at www.meyersound.com.

Moderator: I'd like to move away from the cutting edge discussion for a bit and if you like, give you a few questions on ancient history

John Meyer: Okay.

Grampa: Where did the Pepperland/Glyph system wind up? It should be in a museum for all to see IMO.

John Meyer: Thanks for your kind comments. We have some of the original horns stored in our attic here.

Mr.Martin: Aloha John, Can you tell me what kind of desk is in the Maritime Hall in S.F.? It has Meyer tags on it but it looks suspiciously like a EX-56.

John Meyer: That's a board made by Acoustic Technical Laboratories (ATL), our Japanese distributors.

Tucci: You think you can find another band to push the envelope like the Dead did for sound reinforcement gear?

John Meyer: Returning to the Pepperland question for a moment, was the questioner ever there at Pepperland? For those who don't know, I made a pure exponential horn-loaded biamped, quadraphonic system for that hall.

Grampa: Yes, I mixed a couple of shows there, Big Brother with Nick Gravenites, and Elvin Bishop when the Pointer Sisters were singing backup.

John Meyer: Grampa, I'm pleased you're in on our discussion. Did you by chance catch the Pink Floyd show there in 1970?

Grampa: When they brought in all of their WEM columns.

John Meyer: Yes, yes.

John Meyer: In answer to Tucci's question, we work with a number of groups who push the envelope constantly. Our sponsorship of the Montreux Jazz Festival for the last twelve years has enabled us to work with a great number of groups and field-test our most cutting-edge systems.

Tucci: The directional sub you have is an interesting product. I wonder though, where does the energy that is a half wavelength away from the directional lobe go.

John Meyer: Excellent question. Let me see if I can explain this simply.

First, our sub does not simply have out-of-phase rear-facing drivers. In fact, these components are driven by a sophiticated phase manipulation circuit that allows for cancellation in the rear near field, but adds low-frequency power in the front. In other words, with the rear drivers on, you get greater SPL in front of the cabinet than when they are off.

Does that answer your question?

We use the same trechnology in our new M3D Line Array loudspeaker and its companion M3D-Sub subwoofer. Besides keeping sound off of the stage (behind the system), it allows you to place the system a few feet from a back wall without getting large cancellations in front of the speakers.

David B: John, about how many M3D systems are in use now?

John Meyer: Almost a thousand.

David B: I would assume units.

John Meyer: Yes, units.

Bob Rice: John, talk about McCune across the bay, and your time working there.

John Meyer: McCune found me at Pepperland. It was about 1971.

I designed a triamped, all-horn system for them for a Creedence Clearwater tour. The system was completely integrated, with processing electronics and dedicated power amplifiers.

Bob Rice: That, in my mind, started it all.

John Meyer: Yes, and the philosophy remains central to my product development today.

JimG: what are some of the things you do to stock drivers to meet your needs? Also, have you ever had problems with the epoxy/glue that holds the magnent on some speakers?

John Meyer: We build all of our high drivers ourselves, in-house. Low drivers are built for us OEM, and we modify them for greater power handling and lowest distortion, and we really pioneered building drivers that last a long time. For instance, in the '70s, drivers were built deliberately to wear out. The trade was fundamentally in a recone business. Some of it still is.

In the past, we have had trouble with glues outgassing and damaging the ferrofluids in the gap (oil cooling). Epoxies are good because they can be oven cured. However, speaker manufacturers don't like epoxies because their use creates a bottleneck in the manufacturing process.

All epoxies -- even the organic ones -- have to air dry before they can be cured.

Robintosh: what solution do you see in the future for the mechanical problems that speakers have?

John Meyer: It's always been a dream of speaker manufacturers to have no suspensions. So far, all attempts at some kind of purely magnet suspension have not borne fruit. Therefore, the art is to find materials that have a long life and can withstand a lot of flexure. Surprisingly, materials like wood and cloth are ideal for the bending part. However, lots of things like to eat them. So, chemistry is a big part of speaker manufacturing. Of course, having the electronics fully under our control can keep the speakers from being over-stressed, thus lengthening their useful life

Peter Czekaj: What is your life expectancy for your drivers?

John Meyer: We design for a minimum five year lifespan. In practice, we've seen systems in good shape after ten or more years.

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