Danley demo and review after first summer
This year we took delivery of a new Danley Sound Labs Sound system. After a product demo at our Bristol warehouse we were amazed at the high fidelity sonic properties of the loudspeakers and especially in the tops the output and coverage for the size. Over the events our new system went out on this summer we had amazing feedback (not the squeely kind) from both visiting engineers, enthusiastic crowd members and our clients. This system has allowed us to cover larger crowds than previous years and secure next years events after the success of this years. In particular the comments from band fans after the race and cider evening at Bath Racecourse featuring The Wurzles had fans saying that was the best sound they’d ever heard!
Our initial purchase consisted of…
X2 Danley J7
x4 Danley BC415
x6 Danley DNA20k amps in danley triple racks
x2 Danley 95HO infills
Danley J7-95
Danley BC415 subwoofer
Why not another line array?
Over the years we have been looking for ways to speed up deployment of our line array systems and maintain high standards for both FOH positions and rear noise rejection. Line arrays have been a great modular solution for us but time and time again after running calculations 90% of the open air productions we provide sound for were using the exact same angle settings every time (excluding overall tilt of the PA) This realisation has also been made by another well known European manufacturer with their latest touring product release.
With this in mind we looked back at why we and the industry moved from point source to line array. The main factor was the benefits of coupling multiple modular array elements into a coupled single source of energy for creating more consistent sound levels across a crowd. low mid to mid high range frequencies greatly benefit from this concept however each manufacturer would set them selves apart from the main issue of multiple HF sources and how to deal with comb filtering and consistency control from a line array. Some line array brands would rely on DSP and processing, Others would offer mechanical solutions with moving parts or phase guides.
During this industry change nearly all research and developments ceased on point source technology as the market demanded ‘line array’. One engineer that had provided many acoustical and vibrational solutions to NASA decided that there must be a better way. Tom Danley at Danley sound labs then took the benefits of driver coupling like you would find in a line array, along with careful placement in horn designs to make true single source PA speakers that can do larger crowds. One thing you will notice of Danley products is they do not do ‘me to’ products. They look at the problems of live sound situations and start from the ground up on their solution to this and not starting with someone elses homework.
After many technical breakthroughs in speaker cabinet design by the team the benefits of a true single source include lower distortion, Lower footprint (also reducing trucking) and quicker rigging.
“Could have done it with one Danley”
Personally i have always been skeptical of situations were manufacturers say “less is more” or “you can do big gigs with our small boxes”. You will often find in the live sound world people commenting on a situation with a large line array saying ‘you could have done that with one danley’. The reason for this is the shear spec of the loudspeakers and design. A single J7-95 for instance can continuously output 141db spl with a peak of 147db and inside every J7 you will find 8 x 1 Highs, 4 x 6.5 Mids and 6 x 10” Low frequency drivers.
Other manufacturers like to market the small system for big jobs solution by simply saying ‘theres a lot going on inside the box’ With Danley this is also true, however, there is a lot in the box to start with.
