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[Cody Crawford]

Hello, I have a Meyer M1D rig consisting of 16 cabs that I am looking at buying at a very good cost. The system was purchased for a church install and they ended up going t different route with their PA.  The system would be used in small touring rig with a group that travels to high schools, middle middle schools, and churches doing concerts and motivational speaking events.

My question is: Do you think this would be a good system to use for this type of application? It needs to be able to produce concert level sound for groups of up to 1500 people. I am looking at pairing the tops with 600hp subs and flying the mains on
genie lifts or ground stacking.

Thanks for your input

[Silas Pradetto]

Hi Cody,

I took a look at the specs for the M1D:

http://www.meyersound.com/pdf/products/m_series/m1d_ds.pdf

This is obviously an extremely compact line array element. Eight per side would definitely be fine for 1500 people for speech. It might handle a light concert, but it's not going to work for a real rock concert of any sort. The elements have 5" drivers in them, which is just too small.

One benefit of running 8 tiny elements per side would be a very configurable array--you could make it cover a space much more evenly than fewer large boxes.

Unless you're getting these for a complete steal, I think there are better options for your task.

[Mac Kerr]

Silas Pradetto wrote on Tue, 05 October 2010 15:13

Hi Cody, I took a look at the specs for the M1D: http://www.meyersound.com/pdf/products/m_series/m1d_ds.pdf This is obviously an extremely compact line array element. Eight per side would definitely be fine for 1500 people for speech. It might handle a light concert, but it's not going to work for a real rock concert of any sort. The elements have 5" drivers in them, which is just too small. One benefit of running 8 tiny elements per side would be a very configurable array--you could make it cover a space much more evenly than fewer large boxes. Unless you're getting these for a complete steal, I think there are better options for your task.

While I am generally a fan of Meyer's products, the M series arrays are not among my favorites. In my experience, the M1D will not cover 1500 people, even for a speech only system. Next week I will be using 2 arrays of 6 as delays for an audience of 1100, and I wish I had an alternative. Unfortunately the cupboard is bare and these are what is left.

I have not had success getting even front to back coverage with M1Ds in arrays of 6 or 8. Maybe they work better in arrays of 12 or 16.

If you are in a tropical area, I have had the fan modules die and put the speakers into thermal protection while idling. Changing them out in a lift was not fun.

Where they have been useful is singly as surround speakers, or as front fills. Unlike most manufacturers of line array elements, Meyer makes theirs as full range speakers that need low frequency cut when used in arrays. Most line array elements are a little bass deficient, counting on the low frequency coupling within the array.

I would not make the M1D your first experience with line arrays.

Mac

[Silas Pradetto]

Mac Kerr wrote on Tue, 05 October 2010 17:05

Silas Pradetto wrote on Tue, 05 October 2010 15:13 Hi Cody, I took a look at the specs for the M1D: http://www.meyersound.com/pdf/products/m_series/m1d_ds.pdf This is obviously an extremely compact line array element. Eight per side would definitely be fine for 1500 people for speech. It might handle a light concert, but it's not going to work for a real rock concert of any sort. The elements have 5" drivers in them, which is just too small. One benefit of running 8 tiny elements per side would be a very configurable array--you could make it cover a space much more evenly than fewer large boxes. Unless you're getting these for a complete steal, I think there are better options for your task. While I am generally a fan of Meyer's products, the M series arrays are not among my favorites. In my experience, the M1D will not cover 1500 people, even for a speech only system. Next week I will be using 2 arrays of 6 as delays for an audience of 1100, and I wish I had an alternative. Unfortunately the cupboard is bare and these are what is left. I have not had success getting even front to back coverage with M1Ds in arrays of 6 or 8. Maybe they work better in arrays of 12 or 16. If you are in a tropical area, I have had the fan modules die and put the speakers into thermal protection while idling. Changing them out in a lift was not fun. Where they have been useful is singly as surround speakers, or as front fills. Unlike most manufacturers of line array elements, Meyer makes theirs as full range speakers that need low frequency cut when used in arrays. Most line array elements are a little bass deficient, counting on the low frequency coupling within the array. I would not make the M1D your first experience with line arrays. Mac

Wow Mac, these things seem way more terrible than their specs would indicate!

As one that hasn't used them personally (I guess that's a good thing) I defer to your personal experience.

[Brad Weber]

It sounds like you may encounter a wide range of spaces and have somewhat limited rigging so you might want to think about whether a line array is the best approach for your applications.  Since you identify that as one of the type of venues for your performances, you might want to think about why the church selling the Meyer arrays went a different direction and how that might apply to your use.

[Jeff Babcock]

I'll agree with Mac's assessment.

I think 1500 people is a real stretch.  I've been in situations a few times where 6 per side was "enough" for about 500 people with moderate volume expectations.

I'd suggest looking into some high quality/high output trap boxes for the types of usage you're talking about.  Ground stacking is not ideal and taking lifts with you everywhere increases setup time, required pack space & weight, etc.