Fender PASSPORT P150 Owner's Manual page 13

MICROPHONES & SPEAKER SYSTEMS
Take the time to study the potential
audience area to be covered with
careful attention to the horizontal and
vertical angles the speakers will have to
cover.
above the audience is critical to
effective sound coverage and optimum quality. For
maximum sound quality and minimum room
interference, Passport's speakers have been
specially designed to work with tripod and speaker
support systems. Using the optional Passport
Tripod kit, set the speakers at the maximum safe
height that will allow listeners at the rear of the
audience area to get a clear "view" of the speaker
systems. Nothing absorbs sound better that a few
hundred people between you and the speaker
system. Always set up speaker support and tripod
systems in strict accordance with the owner's
manuals and safety requirements of those devices.
It is very important that the speakers are aimed and
positioned as far away from and in front of the
microphones as cables allow. A microphone is
designed to pick-up any and all sounds. Your
Passport P-51 microphones have a cardioid pick-up
pattern that is designed to reject as much sound
coming from the sides and rear of the microphone
as possible. If the loudest sound the microphone
picks-up is the sound from the speaker systems,
destructive feedback-howling will result. Position
the speakers and the microphones so the
minimum amount of amplified sound gets back
to the microphone(s), and the maximum amount
of the sound you wish to reinforce is input. In
this way greater volume before feedback can be
realized and disruptive howling-feedback reduced or
avoided.
The height of the speakers
For music and other types of entertainment, place
the speaker systems symmetrically either side of the
stage, in relation to the audience. For effective
"stereo" reproduction, all of the audience must hear
both speakers. For mono and speech applications,
consider placing the speakers as close together as
possible and angled for coverage of the audience
area. In this way greater output levels can be
reached and a more natural single point source is
created for the sound. Again, placement of the
speakers is a critical element in the successful use of
your sound system. Take time to carefully consider
the variables and by all means experiment. There is
no absolute right and wrong in sound, just what
works best for your application.
Finally, consider the proximity of the users to the
microphones. For example: a person holding a
microphone close to their mouth and
talking/singing even at a medium level, inputs
literally hundreds of times more signal power
than one using the mic at a distance of one
meter (three feet). The resultant difference in
control settings between these two examples
will significantly effect the quality and quantity of
sound you will achieve with your system.
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