Thanks for sharing Dave. I've been very curious about it as well, and like most things sound related, aren't really fully understood until you experience it yourself. I know a bunch of local heads that have gone, but everyone talks about the visuals.
I'd have to totally agree. The visuals are stunning. Absolutely stunning. There is no question about that. The sound was mid at best. It didn't have punch or hit you in the chest. But that being said, I would go back again. The visuals are really worth it!
Recently i worked in a venue in France with an holophonic system installed. Basically you can route every input channel of the console (direct outs via dante network) on a specific input of the holophonic processor, which, in turn, allows you to virtuallly place that input almost everywhere into the 3d space. Very nice, effective and impressive, but most of the touring bands are still completely focused on a traditional "front" show and most of them end up positioning the LR mains or a virtual center cluster, where they should be in a conventional arrangement. Looking at the impressive video screens of the sphere, a show should be planned and developed exactly with this unique space in mind to get the most fom the venue. Otherwise, a generic video content will play on the screens regardless of the music, i suppose.
Yeah I think each show that goes to the sphere spends quite a bit of time in the Burbank design studio where they can build their show visually to work in the sphere. Plus any video of real world needs to be filmed with the special camera that the sphere developed. There is a minisphere in Burbank that allows all this stuff to be designed and fine-tuned before it gets put into the real deal big one
I went in November and was blown away. I'm back in vegas this week and going again to see the replay of the U2 show. Definitely worth checking out, but the front of the 200/300 sections are a must so you can experience the entire ceiling. They're running replays of shows without the band present and also "The Sphere Experience" which is the Postcard from Earth Darren Aronofsky film almost every day which is a fantastic intro to the venue for only like $100
Awesome summary, thank you! You confirmed some of what I expected about the Sphere. I'm interested to see where the visuals will be after a few years of trial and error by the video guys.
I really appreciate your insightful but balanced, fair view on this new Location. I think (never been there but know someone at holoplot) that this can be a start to totally new user/media-experiences. The people behind those events in there surely need to try many things before they get the right balance of video vs sound vs livesound vs "what does the customer want and what can we give them that the customer didnt even knew they find interesting"
My wife and I recently bought tickets to see Kenny Chesney in May at the Sphere. After seeing your video I think it will be worth it. Even if it isn't we are going to Coachella in April so we will have all the high quality sound we need at that Festival. Thanks Dave!
Definitely an amazing visual experience and as long as you are not expecting the sound of a rock show and embrace the comfort and visual side, it's a win!
The Holoplot system is beyond anything I've encountered before and we have been fortunate to experience it back in 2019. What really stood by me is that even though the sound is loud, it doesn't deform and you can still have a normal conversation with someone without shouting. The guys doing the tech were pretty awesome as well showing how the zoning etc was done. You could literally have multiple point based sound sources, where someone a few feet from you could hear something very different. Their tech demo really showed this off where they had put spots on the floor where only on that spot you could hear a particular sound. To be fair, we couldn't get this segmentation effect with normal music as it needed lots and lots more bass speakers to get the same wave guiding. In the venue I was playing the sound was balanced, directly outside the tent it was relative quiet, but every so hundred meters the bass waves created a point of gathering causing the ground to literally shake. Some people in their tents described it as an earthquake 🤣
@@DaveRat aaah yes I recall you made a video before. It's in the members only section now , but a good motivation to join ;) That demo was indeed the demo they used with us as well.
Awesome and welcome! Also for channel members we have a telegram chat that you can get the link to from the Members dashboard. I've uploaded a bunch of files there and there's some chats going on and you can also message me directly there as well
Cool, and thanks for sharing. No idea they could do that on the video side, and the sound treatment everywhere is pretty mind boggling too, let alone what they were doing with the sound system.
Hi Dave, i went to the new Intuit dome to see the clippers v lakers a couple days ago, the same thing is going on there the visuals from the dp’s are practically overwhelming it takes a minute to adjust, i have no doubt they may even cause some people to get slight motion sickness. Visuals are prioritized over audio but there is an amazing system flown from overhead at the top of the dome, the distance to the floor makes for a low end with deep extension without being overtly loud and that was an interesting feeling to experience but the system lacked intelligibility the clarity needs to be improved, i had good seats in the vip section just off the floor and it was a smeared sound, i could clearly hear the announcer but i could not understand the lyrics of the half time artist, surprisingly from where i sat i could clearly feel and hear the different ADSR of the 808’s and low freq drum sounds through the night
The aluminum Diffractal like things are pretty neat, like the door of a microwave oven. Beats having a cabinet maker produce them with a zillion little blocks of wood then have them not work... Thanks for this informative video. Cheers.
That’s a pretty accurate assessment and similar to my experience. However, I was there on the opening night of U2 so completely different band energy. I was more eye-level with the stage off to the SL side, and just out in front of the eave so I wasn’t caught under the balcony. I too would agree that the audio system is more of am immersive movie experience than a rock concert, but it was in fact a good mix after the first song was dialed in . And even though the visuals are overwhelming, they managed to weave live camera feeds of the band, or perhaps some pre-recorded stuff, in with the graphics to make it a reminder that there was a (great) band in front of you.
Yeah, I could have done that but was unable to work out timing. Now that MSG has purchased holoplot and fired all the people I knew at holoplot, I think the tour is doubtful.
Reminds me of the Pink Floyd 50th anniversary Dark Side of The Moon 360 surround dome show saw in an IMAX dome last year, highly recommended for the visuals alone
Your description of your experience is similar to my experience of nose-bleed stadium shows. Peter Gabriel had an amazing stage production for the Us tour. Regardless of the size while live, the video of that concert “Secret World” is so much more engaging. I’m sure a 7th row ticket would have been best for live. I’m curious what the threshold distance is for feeling connected to a performance or not.
Agreed and that's one of the challenges of large venues. Is finding a way to connect the artist with the audience especially for the people located it greater distances. This takes quality sound and quality video and good sight lines and an attention to combining those in a cohesive way. I have been much farther from an artist playing and been more connected. But also I am biased towards sound over visuals. That said if you have really good sound far away and visuals you can see clearly the connection can be pretty solid. If you're far away and the sound also is far away and not clear and impactful even with quality video I have a hard time being connected
@@DaveRat Thanks for that Dave. I have chosen not to see a lot of shows because the price for close experience tickets was beyond my capacity and the attainable price tickets were not worth the cost of the experience. My loss. Perhaps I'll try again soon. I swear that the Gabriel sound was great - I might just not be a stadium customer.
Yeah. After demoing the holo system my only issue is they don't have a dedicated bass module. The full range modules don't have enough low end to match the amount of output from HF MF. Even with enough of these modules, it's still not enough low end.
And now that MSG has bought hollow plot I don't think we'll be seeing much more development. I think the focus now will be on making existing designs cheaper, smaller and lighter
@redvivid well, I am told that everyone I knew at holoplot and much of the design team have all been let go. Seems they are transitioning from a cutting edge development company to a manufacturing company that will focus on making products for all the spheres they intend on building.
Buddy of mine went about a week ago and said it was amazing, but not necessarily worth the cash. This was just one of the programmed shows and not a live band thing. I believe there was a U2 section, along with some other stuff. A hundred bucks or a little more I believe, and he was like, "cool but like...maybe not 100 bucks worth of cool." Seems very much like a tourist level thing (in Vegas? Imagine that eh) rather than a really good concert experience. Unless you're super close perhaps, but if you've got that kind of cash then it's probably no big deal either way. Overall from what I've seen on YT and heard from a handful of people who have been, I honestly don't think I'd go if I was in Vegas, unless I had some kind of hookup. Impressive setup to be sure, but this is more Disney World than a really great concert experience, if you've been to a lot of shows.
Did 3 shows last year mostly way back in the 'CHEAP" Seats. Loved the experience. Doing 3 more this Spring, got a 3 different vantage points as it could be my last time seeing Bobby. Geeked because I am a fan but I do expect better visuals and better sound this Spring. Peas'
Not anymore. When I was actively touring I would come across them somewhat often and mixed on cohesion systems. Clair is kind of the Walmart of ProAudio. A huge corporate conglomerate that buys up all the other companies
@ hrmmm that’s interesting. A bit like Jands. A brand that’s not a brand yet is a brand but anyways I must admit most bananas weather L’accoust, Meyer, d&b, JBL… pretty solid. However I ask because being here in the land down under last time I saw acca Dacca who were known for Big pa and were long time users of the EV pre array stuff but I saw them with Clair Bros and that show was 86k PAX and it was solid I was impressed. That was like 2014 but ten years a lot changes my last show was the gunners in 2022 I think that was JBL and prior to that was def leps on hysteria tour with the scorps that was L’accous I said to FOH Mr Rat would be pleased. lol Last cirque show that was d&b But for us I stuck with the advice you emailed me some 15 years ago or so regarding QSC and never looked back we are a SMALL SMALL time operation and never looked back FYI KV2 have a rather must listen approach to PA for small players like me. Stay safe as always and keep the great advice rolling out your like the Alice Cooper of the Sound Reinforcement world. 🤘
Interesting and not unexpected. That said, a well designed setup in a better acoustic environment than a sphere can offer, can sound clear and impactful and connect the audience with the artist and show at distances greater than the distances I roamed at the sphere. Even under the balcony where speakers were quite close, and high quality sound should not be too challenging to achieve, I don't feel sphere sound stood out as exemplary
Thanks for the objective review. I've read and heard a lot of hype about this venue, but I was skeptical. Physics are still physics at the end of the day. That being said, I wonder how much of your experience was down to the engineer and how he/she used the system vs the system/venue factors? I guess you'd have to visit multiple times with different acts to get a true impression.
Great point. I actually know the sound engineer and have been good friends with Derek for over 30 years. He mixes Primus when I met him. He is an amazing engineer. I tried to do my best to take the engineering aspect out of the equation. Overall it sounded like a 100,000 little speakers all somewhat working together but also doing different things. There is a diffused phasey sound overlay that I believe is I here t to Holoplot. That said, those 100,000 little speakers offer amazing control and capabilities. But unified clear clear pristine powerful impactful goose bump audio is not one of them.
@@DaveRat interesting. I think I can imagine how it might sound. Can you still use it like a standard PA if you want to? I heard U2 mainly used the centre speakers and the ones at the back, sides and above were for targeted effects only. It would be interesting to know what Derek thinks of the system
Yeah I'll ask him next time I talk to him I owe him a call. And you can emulate left and right and then control things as much or as little as you wish from there or all independently. They gave me the software and to be honest I never really dived into it but may do so at some point.
@ Cool. I don't know how Derek was using the Holoplot when you visited, but if the sound was coming from all over the place all at the same time, I could understand the "phasey" sound you were describing, however if he was using it such that the sound from each musician came from roughly where the musician is located on the stage, I would have thought that could work quite well, aligning with your philosophy of not having 2 identical copies of the sound coming from 2 different speakers. Perhaps he WAS doing that, but because each speaker is at a slightly different distance to each listener, everything sounds a bit "out" and that outweighs any advantage? Just thinking out loud here.
When having less concentrated sound come from more locations is more desirable then more concentrated sound coming from less locations, sound systems that distribute the sources are advantageous. When you want maximum focus in a certain direction and or maximum unified energy from a sound source then distributing the sound sources to a higher quantity of smaller sources is less desirable.
I wonder if the bands have really pushed the possibilities of what the audio and the video can achieve. It could take weeks if not months to upload then manipulate the data...are the bands allocating the resources for such demands???
Agreed and I am sure things will continue to evolve. Spherical acoustic environments are really problematic and overcoming that acoustically is going to be a real challenge or unsolvable. With the size and distances involved and shape of the venue I think visually you can reach the highest levels of quality and immersion but that happens at the expense of optimum audio due to the undesirable acoustic environment. In my mind I was kind of referencing going to an Afterlife show And no it wasn't my musical tastes it was jaw-dropping visually and acoustically truly mesmerizing. I see the sphere being able to match or beat that visually and not even come close acoustically due to the size and shape of the venue and distances and so on
It's a different experience. When I get given tickets, a lot of times that comes with some extra baggage where I need to meet people or be in a certain spot. I think by paying to get in it helps keep things really objective and separate and I was able to be more of an observer than an industry insider
@@DaveRat I went 2 nights, they only used one night on drums. The part where Mickey plays that giant bass string, feels like you are about to levitate or maybe it was the 🍄...
Awesome! Yeah it looks like family and friends are headed back for another round and will keep an ear out for that and other adventures while I'm there
Everyone i know who has interacted with the holophonic stuff went in wide eyed and eager like a kid on Christmas, ready to play with a brand new toy...but they all left with a kind of "oh yeah, its...its, good...like, really controlled....I'll stick to line arrays for now" I use a beam steered system in one of my main venues and I'm just always underwhelmed with the results. holophonic is certainly more fancy than the column beam steered stuff I've used, but i just feel the benefits are outweighed by the negatives and that is the phasy, anemic sound that comes with the concept of beam steering. We're manipulating the phase relation to steer and angle the beam, then being surprised when the sound is thin and phasy...
I mixed a show on a holoplot rig at another Venue in Vegas in October 2024. 2 X1 80-s over 2 X1 96 per side paired with 4 meyers subs on the ground, attendance at the venue was around 1500. It was okay - my mix translated fairly well but I would have definitely preferred the Meyer Leopard rig that was installed prior to the Holoplot - the house engineer felt the same way.
That kind of summarizes how I feel about it as well. It's a cool system with wonderful features and I would still rather have a nice clean simple system with power and clarity
Yeah, I know from whence you come. I was F.O.H. for Blue Oyster Cult, Dokken, Anthrax and other harder bands and I have used your excellent system (in L.A. for Dokken). I know the feeling of creating an audio event impossible to replicate outside the venue environment. I have not "Sphered", nor do I intend to at those prices! I imagine the sound is polite, professional and pristine, but THAT is not what we did.
With audio like everything you don't get something for nothing. The system has amazing control, the ability to focus sound wise and narrow, to beam different sounds in different directions and more. To do that they need to have 1000s of small speakers. All those small speakers when all doing the same thing can sound pretty good, but to do all the cool stuff, you need to have all those small speakers doing different things and that creates cool effect and also issues. It's the Swiss army knife vs Bowie knife scenario Jack of many trades master of none. A more simple cohesive system with less bells and whistles can sound better. But also, all the cool stuff the sphere system can do is cool as well. So... Proper tool for the desired application I looked at the system from the sound quality and intensity and ability to fully connect with the audience perspective. There are of course other perspectives wherein the system may be much more desirable
@@DaveRat u can use it as a kind of line array… as well.. but have horizontal an vertical control…. And no loss of sound level…(within a certain range of course) is the sound issue, u did not like so much in the sphere about the mix and compression, or is it about the distribution of the sound?
@frankangermann6460 I worked on the EAW Anya and Otto as a consultant. And am quite familiar with beam steering and the capabilities. Also went to a demo of the Holoplot as well as work with Powersoft who makes the amplifiers for Holoplot The issue is Swiss army knife syndrome. With audio and life you rarely get something for nothing and the sacrifice made with a system with so much control is you need loads and loads of small drivers. If they all work together in unison, you have no control but the sound quality is quite high, but not as high as using less drivers that are more optimized. As you push the system to do more steering or divide things up for multiple imaging, you add phase and time interactions that diminish fidelity and volume capabilities. A system that has all the speakers arrays and pointed in the desired directions to achieve desired coverage will outperform a system where the speakers are using time and phase to force the coverage. Combine that with the fact that a sphere is a very unfriendly acoustic environment. For clarity, quality and impact, a less complex system in a better acoustic environment will better connect the artist with the audience. But, as fast as fancy bells and whistles, acoustic tricks and fun, the Holoplot is truly amazing. All that said, I am not sure a more conventional line array systems would do better in that big ball, I just know that I have mixed in and attended bigger venues and was experienced more impactful clear exciting sound How do I know sphere's sound is an uphill battle? Oh, check out the Globen in Sweden. There is another sphere venue that has been around for many years. I have mixed there several times. The Globen Sphere sounds considerably worse though
Sphere just purchased the Holoplot guys so there won't be any other systems sold to the outside world at this point. Only MSG venues. That's ok. It can't punch me in the chest with plosives.
Yeah I heard about that and it's an interesting development. It also feels like with MSG owning holoplot the R&D push will be diminished and replaced by cost-effective repetition and manufacturing for specific applications will replace it
Yes and the sound inside of a ball always sounds worse than the sound in an actual desirable acoustic environment Much of the cost and energy of the sound system and sonic insulation is focused on trying to make the inside of a ball not sound like the inside of a ball
@@DaveRat Yeah we had a similar structure built here in 2000 called the millennium dome, it's more the top 1/4 of a ball with an outter diameter of 365 metres (about 1.5 the size of a top team soccar stadium, including the building around it), but also suffered from acoustic issues when left wide open inside. They struggled to find uses for it for some time, and it even became a homless shelter after being left empty for some time (for over a year at one point iirc) just 5 years after it was built, costing around $1 Billion (with a B) to build (about £700 million), a chunk of which was tax payers money, and where taxpayers were continuing to pay £1 million per MONTH, for that first 5-6 year period, many of which it was left empty, or suffering from vastly under performing expected turn out numbers when it did have things going on. Mostly because it couldn't hold music events in that form that anyone would want to experience - I mean even the audio+visual exhibitions they put on only got half the expected numbers, including the whole reason it was built - for "the millenium experiance" for the first year of it's opening at the dawn of the new Millenia! Eventually it got sold to AEG (well leased for 299 years) for a few hunderad million less than it cost to build, (not including all the burnt millions per month on maintainance of an empty building) and then it's naming rights got bought out for a couple of decades by the mobile phone service provider and live events company O2. Who IMMIDIATELY turned it into an arena style set up, closing off the vast majority of the dome structure with downwards slopes covered in seating, installing a flat roof inside the domed one with a stage at one end. Only THEN did the place actually become sucsessful at pulling crowds, for nearly 2 decades at this point, making a cool 200 milli profit during the time they had control over it. Partially (and a big part at that) because of the shape of the dang thing >.
The system is well beyond stereo. It has the ability to radiate multiple sounds from multiple directions - front side rear up high or down low. Plus it can radiate sounds in different directions from each of those locations. I did another video on the sphere demo that maybe you should check out. The system has the ability to send different sounds in different directions from a single group of speakers. And there are lots of groups of speakers all over the place
Your characterization of the sound, more hifi, lacking the visceral feel and sound of a quality rock show, ... would you associate that with the dome tweets, or insufficient LF energy, or steering summation? Your thoughts?
I think it's related to several things. 1) spheres are terrible acoustic environments so the sound system is setup to minimize any sound from hitting curved surfaces that cause issues. That requires significant steering of the the sound. 2) in order to really steer the sound you need lots of small sources with time and phase offsets 3) lots of small sources with time and phase offsets will never sound as clear and impactful as few and larger sources that are operating in unison
@@DaveRat It's akin to the old Name That Tune game show. - Host; "𝘖𝘬, 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘴 167,000. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘥?" - Player Two; "𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴 ... 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘣". - Host; "𝘰𝘬 𝘔𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘶𝘯𝘦!" ---------Score-------- Holo-------------Danley 167k---------------3 Just having a little fun, 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, ....if the system is anything less than stellar, subjectively, then it should be addressed/bolstered in some way to make it so. I'm sure the original intent was equally impactful experience both visually and audibly.
Can one as experienced as you ever go to a concert or festival as a attendee and enjoy the show? Or are there always "Analyzing Brainactivities" going on? Can you let go and enjoy so to speak? Also from a quality and mixing perspective, is the a lot of judging (not necessarily in a bad way) going on in your brain when you are a visior instead of at FoH? Personally, as a drummer, I really have to actively stop from overanalyzing every beat and pattern and force myself to just let go and enjoy the show.
Yeah a bit of both similar to your adventure. I definitely survey and analyze sound And I used to be filled with a desire to fix problems and have to suppress that or act on them. But now I am really comfortable just observing things as they are and either enjoying or ear plugging or leaving accordingly. Unless it's a show my company's providing sound for or there are close friends involved with the positive outcome, in which case I become obsessed with fixing or helping. And truly awesome experiences even if it's not down my line of music, things that are truly impressive I am able to really enjoy. Saw an Afterlife EDM show and it was jaw-dropping impressive visually and sonically. Roger Waters playing Coachella gave me goosebumps. No Doubt at Coachella and pretty much every time I've ever seen Iggy Pop. Most of the radiohead shows I've seen. So yeah there are shows that I stopped thinking about it, and just truly enjoy the experience. But those are few and far between. I really tried to let go and immerse in the sphere and visually it took me there but sonically it was just a cumbersome acoustic environment that I don't believe any amount of speakers would have solved.
It's a big wonderful visual experience and for the 90% of the population who cares more about visuals than audio, it is a win. And putting sound into one of the worst acoustic environments, a ball is bound to end up with less than ideal audio no matter how much money is spent on sound
You know that's an interesting thought. Spherical acoustic spaces are a real challenge and create a lot of problems. I think giant line arrays could increase the fidelity and impact but also it could get very tough too get the coverage and you would lose the features and flexibilities that holloplot offers, where in different sounds can be focused in different directions and sounds can be moved around the venue and sound can be focused in such a way as to minimize the amount of energy pointing in directions that will cause issues. I just don't know if it would be better or worse but my guess is it would both be better and worse
So, weed is legal in LV. And yet there were more people sharing, smoking grass at shows in the 70s and even 80s for the Dead than any of these events in modern times. People have lost their balls.
You allude to this (I think?). The irony is the sound system is built to PREVENT the attendee from listening to the sound. The problem of all modern amplified large concerts is the farther away you are the muddier the auditory experience. Whereas, as you point out, the farther you are away from the screen the clearer the image. If they didn't put up that don't-pay-attention-to-sound system then the attendee would experience the directional sound (from a point in the front) which would distract them from their wider visual view of the screen. You're such a positive energy person Dave. Not having that talent ;) ... The SPHERE USES THE CELEBRITY OF MUSICIANS TO PULL PEOPLE INTO A (FREAKISH) LIGHT SHOW. The visuals are everything. The expense of the sound system is to keep the viewer literally mesmerized by the screen. I remember my uncle, sadly gone, who was outraged with Jose Feliciano was playing at an amusement park and everyone was talking and not paying attention. There's something similar going on here. One the one hand, everyone gets paid. Everyone has a good time. But.... Glad you went so I don't have to go ;) I've find it fascinating for 5 minutes but then, honestly, I'd be bored and would leave--unless the visuals worked with the sound to create an independent work of art.
Yes it summarizes it well and is a good analogy. This was a great way to get a historical perspective of the achievements and awesomeness of the Dead. And I went with people that have been to many grateful Dead shows and the consensus was that this was not a grateful Dead show. It was a show about the grateful Dead with the grateful Dead playing. But, that said they enjoyed it as a differing perspective and dead and company are slated to come back to the sphere and there's talk already about returning. And if so I will probably join them and do an update if I learn something new and interesting to share
I think maybe the best way to experience the venue would be to see a band that is visually based and go down and lay on the floor looking up. My understanding is they actually had an area where people could lay on the floor at the dead and company show. Back in my more adventurous days, that would be something I would be inspired to experience
I went and saw 'Postcard From Earth' in there last year. Overall I felt pretty meh about it. 1.) Lobby: Very crowded. AI Robot demonstrations seemed glitchy and already outdated. HoloPlot speaker demo was pretty neat, but not totally WOW. 2.) Seating in venue was ungodly uncomfortable in upper section. I had absolutely zero legroom and was basically forced to sit sideways. 3.) Audio inside sphere - like you said - not very impactful. To me not any better than an Atmos cinema. 4.) Screen - sure big, bright and vibrant, but really not that much more impressive than a big IMAX. In some of the scenes the lines between the tiles were quite visible and distracting to my production eye. Plus IMAX has more comfortable seats. Can't help but think that seeing a concert in there wouldn't be my cup of tea. To quote Vince Gill about playing in there with the Eagles '“It's the most people I've ever been ignored by when I play"
Agreed and fortunately was able to wander to various upper levels. Will head to the floor next time. Though I have been doing sound for over 4 decades in venues ranging from clubs to stadiums around the world, I've only been to a handful of dead shows over the years. That said, The group of people I was with have been following the dead for as long as I've been doing sound or longer and have attended hundreds if not thousands of dead shows. The consensus was somewhat mixed, ranging from being quite happy to somewhat disappointed. One person who has been to many many shows said "this isn't a dead show, it doesn't feel right, but I love the dead and I'd go again but this isn't a dead show" And I felt that kind of summed it up that this was a commercialized polished for Vegas movie theater visual experience version of a concert. Enjoyable but it didn't have that excitement and feel of being at a concert which for me is one of the best parts.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
we've evolved from wall of sound to sphere of sound
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Wow Dave, thanks for sharing your story! Nice to see a pro reviewing this! 🙂
Thank you Edwin!
"visual experience...that also had sound" lol
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Thanks for sharing Dave. I've been very curious about it as well, and like most things sound related, aren't really fully understood until you experience it yourself.
I know a bunch of local heads that have gone, but everyone talks about the visuals.
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Thanks Dave, I worked in a 40 seat Planetarium for a while - interesting to see the other end of the spectrum. Sound is a nightmare in domes
I'd have to totally agree. The visuals are stunning. Absolutely stunning. There is no question about that. The sound was mid at best. It didn't have punch or hit you in the chest. But that being said, I would go back again. The visuals are really worth it!
Yeah, I would go back if friends are going but would not seek it out. Except if Roger Waters was playing, then I would seek it out
I love that yo're doing exactly what I do when I go to a new venue haha. Thanks for making me feel less weird.
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Sweet BTS! All we needed to see about the sound. Now where’s the best way to sneak in? Hehe
Fun and figuring that out needs a younger pup than I.
Recently i worked in a venue in France with an holophonic system installed. Basically you can route every input channel of the console (direct outs via dante network) on a specific input of the holophonic processor, which, in turn, allows you to virtuallly place that input almost everywhere into the 3d space. Very nice, effective and impressive, but most of the touring bands are still completely focused on a traditional "front" show and most of them end up positioning the LR mains or a virtual center cluster, where they should be in a conventional arrangement.
Looking at the impressive video screens of the sphere, a show should be planned and developed exactly with this unique space in mind to get the most fom the venue. Otherwise, a generic video content will play on the screens regardless of the music, i suppose.
Yeah I think each show that goes to the sphere spends quite a bit of time in the Burbank design studio where they can build their show visually to work in the sphere. Plus any video of real world needs to be filmed with the special camera that the sphere developed.
There is a minisphere in Burbank that allows all this stuff to be designed and fine-tuned before it gets put into the real deal big one
I went in November and was blown away. I'm back in vegas this week and going again to see the replay of the U2 show. Definitely worth checking out, but the front of the 200/300 sections are a must so you can experience the entire ceiling. They're running replays of shows without the band present and also "The Sphere Experience" which is the Postcard from Earth Darren Aronofsky film almost every day which is a fantastic intro to the venue for only like $100
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Interesting idea to play it back, wonder if it will be exciting and soulful experience
Thanks for the trip Dave!
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Awesome summary, thank you! You confirmed some of what I expected about the Sphere. I'm interested to see where the visuals will be after a few years of trial and error by the video guys.
Agreed
I really appreciate your insightful but balanced, fair view on this new Location. I think (never been there but know someone at holoplot) that this can be a start to totally new user/media-experiences. The people behind those events in there surely need to try many things before they get the right balance of video vs sound vs livesound vs "what does the customer want and what can we give them that the customer didnt even knew they find interesting"
Agreed.
My wife and I recently bought tickets to see Kenny Chesney in May at the Sphere. After seeing your video I think it will be worth it.
Even if it isn't we are going to Coachella in April so we will have all the high quality sound we need at that Festival. Thanks Dave!
Definitely an amazing visual experience and as long as you are not expecting the sound of a rock show and embrace the comfort and visual side, it's a win!
Thx for getting out like a curious sound human, going to the movies!
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Thanks for the review!!
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The Holoplot system is beyond anything I've encountered before and we have been fortunate to experience it back in 2019. What really stood by me is that even though the sound is loud, it doesn't deform and you can still have a normal conversation with someone without shouting. The guys doing the tech were pretty awesome as well showing how the zoning etc was done.
You could literally have multiple point based sound sources, where someone a few feet from you could hear something very different. Their tech demo really showed this off where they had put spots on the floor where only on that spot you could hear a particular sound.
To be fair, we couldn't get this segmentation effect with normal music as it needed lots and lots more bass speakers to get the same wave guiding. In the venue I was playing the sound was balanced, directly outside the tent it was relative quiet, but every so hundred meters the bass waves created a point of gathering causing the ground to literally shake. Some people in their tents described it as an earthquake 🤣
Cool cool and thank you. Here is a link to a video I did on the capabilities of the system. ua-cam.com/video/EnRE2AcM7iY/v-deo.htmlsi=2dWh01A6MYkUnO2G
@@DaveRat aaah yes I recall you made a video before. It's in the members only section now , but a good motivation to join ;)
That demo was indeed the demo they used with us as well.
Awesome and welcome! Also for channel members we have a telegram chat that you can get the link to from the Members dashboard. I've uploaded a bunch of files there and there's some chats going on and you can also message me directly there as well
Cool, and thanks for sharing. No idea they could do that on the video side, and the sound treatment everywhere is pretty mind boggling too, let alone what they were doing with the sound system.
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what an amazing venue - the nosebleed seats look great !
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Hi Dave, i went to the new Intuit dome to see the clippers v lakers a couple days ago, the same thing is going on there the visuals from the dp’s are practically overwhelming it takes a minute to adjust, i have no doubt they may even cause some people to get slight motion sickness.
Visuals are prioritized over audio but there is an amazing system flown from overhead at the top of the dome, the distance to the floor makes for a low end with deep extension without being overtly loud and that was an interesting feeling to experience but the system lacked intelligibility the clarity needs to be improved, i had good seats in the vip section just off the floor and it was a smeared sound, i could clearly hear the announcer but i could not understand the lyrics of the half time artist, surprisingly from where i sat i could clearly feel and hear the different ADSR of the 808’s and low freq drum sounds through the night
Yeah, getting speakers closer to people would be helpful but hits visuals
The aluminum Diffractal like things are pretty neat, like the door of a microwave oven. Beats having a cabinet maker produce them with a zillion little blocks of wood then have them not work... Thanks for this informative video. Cheers.
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That’s a pretty accurate assessment and similar to my experience. However, I was there on the opening night of U2 so completely different band energy. I was more eye-level with the stage off to the SL side, and just out in front of the eave so I wasn’t caught under the balcony. I too would agree that the audio system is more of am immersive movie experience than a rock concert, but it was in fact a good mix after the first song was dialed in . And even though the visuals are overwhelming, they managed to weave live camera feeds of the band, or perhaps some pre-recorded stuff, in with the graphics to make it a reminder that there was a (great) band in front of you.
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Honest review. thanks
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Thank you Dave.
I was there on U2 show and sound was horrible 😭.
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The visuals are a trip, but now you need to find someone to give you a tour of the system?
It would be so cool if you could get a personalized tour of the system. I suspect a concert doesn't show the system to its fullest possible effect.
Yeah, I could have done that but was unable to work out timing. Now that MSG has purchased holoplot and fired all the people I knew at holoplot, I think the tour is doubtful.
@@DaveRat That is an interesting insight.
Reminds me of the Pink Floyd 50th anniversary Dark Side of The Moon 360 surround dome show saw in an IMAX dome last year, highly recommended for the visuals alone
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Your description of your experience is similar to my experience of nose-bleed stadium shows. Peter Gabriel had an amazing stage production for the Us tour. Regardless of the size while live, the video of that concert “Secret World” is so much more engaging. I’m sure a 7th row ticket would have been best for live. I’m curious what the threshold distance is for feeling connected to a performance or not.
Agreed and that's one of the challenges of large venues. Is finding a way to connect the artist with the audience especially for the people located it greater distances. This takes quality sound and quality video and good sight lines and an attention to combining those in a cohesive way.
I have been much farther from an artist playing and been more connected.
But also I am biased towards sound over visuals.
That said if you have really good sound far away and visuals you can see clearly the connection can be pretty solid.
If you're far away and the sound also is far away and not clear and impactful even with quality video I have a hard time being connected
@@DaveRat Thanks for that Dave. I have chosen not to see a lot of shows because the price for close experience tickets was beyond my capacity and the attainable price tickets were not worth the cost of the experience. My loss. Perhaps I'll try again soon. I swear that the Gabriel sound was great - I might just not be a stadium customer.
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Yeah. After demoing the holo system my only issue is they don't have a dedicated bass module. The full range modules don't have enough low end to match the amount of output from HF MF. Even with enough of these modules, it's still not enough low end.
And now that MSG has bought hollow plot I don't think we'll be seeing much more development.
I think the focus now will be on making existing designs cheaper, smaller and lighter
@DaveRat I hope you're wrong on that but it seems possible knowing how MSG runs it's businesses.
@redvivid well, I am told that everyone I knew at holoplot and much of the design team have all been let go. Seems they are transitioning from a cutting edge development company to a manufacturing company that will focus on making products for all the spheres they intend on building.
@@DaveRat wow that's so infuriating.
Yeah, agreed
I love you Dave Rat !
Tell it like it is !
NOT the best thing since sliced bread !
In the immortal words of Chuck D “Don’t believe the hype”!!!
Love you Hoover!
....the 5 shows I attended sounded perfect each night.
the Music fills the room quite well.....
Agreed the sound was very good. In my opinion, it was tame movie good not live concert exciting impact good though
thanks for sharing
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Buddy of mine went about a week ago and said it was amazing, but not necessarily worth the cash. This was just one of the programmed shows and not a live band thing. I believe there was a U2 section, along with some other stuff. A hundred bucks or a little more I believe, and he was like, "cool but like...maybe not 100 bucks worth of cool." Seems very much like a tourist level thing (in Vegas? Imagine that eh) rather than a really good concert experience. Unless you're super close perhaps, but if you've got that kind of cash then it's probably no big deal either way. Overall from what I've seen on YT and heard from a handful of people who have been, I honestly don't think I'd go if I was in Vegas, unless I had some kind of hookup. Impressive setup to be sure, but this is more Disney World than a really great concert experience, if you've been to a lot of shows.
I think you pretty much describe this exactly with what I agree with
How far we have come from Laserium with Dream Weaver cranked in a planetarium.
Wow that's a blast from the past and yes!
'shrooms and Floyd's Echoes 🙃
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@@keithsquawk "Everything is green, and submarine..." ; ))
Did 3 shows last year mostly way back in the 'CHEAP" Seats. Loved the experience. Doing 3 more this Spring, got a 3 different vantage points as it could be my last time seeing Bobby. Geeked because I am a fan but I do expect better visuals and better sound this Spring. Peas'
Perfect and yes, I think we are headed back for aanother round. Will get e different angle as well.
Engineering Audio WOW. You have much playtime on Clair Bros Rigs?
Not anymore. When I was actively touring I would come across them somewhat often and mixed on cohesion systems.
Clair is kind of the Walmart of ProAudio. A huge corporate conglomerate that buys up all the other companies
@ hrmmm that’s interesting. A bit like Jands. A brand that’s not a brand yet is a brand but anyways I must admit most bananas weather L’accoust, Meyer, d&b, JBL… pretty solid. However I ask because being here in the land down under last time I saw acca Dacca who were known for Big pa and were long time users of the EV pre array stuff but I saw them with Clair Bros and that show was 86k PAX and it was solid I was impressed. That was like 2014 but ten years a lot changes my last show was the gunners in 2022 I think that was JBL and prior to that was def leps on hysteria tour with the scorps that was L’accous I said to FOH Mr Rat would be pleased. lol
Last cirque show that was d&b
But for us I stuck with the advice you emailed me some 15 years ago or so regarding QSC and never looked back we are a SMALL SMALL time operation and never looked back FYI KV2 have a rather must listen approach to PA for small players like me. Stay safe as always and keep the great advice rolling out your like the Alice Cooper of the Sound Reinforcement world. 🤘
It really makes a difference where you are inside. 205-207 sections were by far the best seats.
Interesting and not unexpected.
That said, a well designed setup in a better acoustic environment than a sphere can offer, can sound clear and impactful and connect the audience with the artist and show at distances greater than the distances I roamed at the sphere.
Even under the balcony where speakers were quite close, and high quality sound should not be too challenging to achieve, I don't feel sphere sound stood out as exemplary
Thanks for the objective review. I've read and heard a lot of hype about this venue, but I was skeptical. Physics are still physics at the end of the day. That being said, I wonder how much of your experience was down to the engineer and how he/she used the system vs the system/venue factors? I guess you'd have to visit multiple times with different acts to get a true impression.
Great point. I actually know the sound engineer and have been good friends with Derek for over 30 years. He mixes Primus when I met him.
He is an amazing engineer.
I tried to do my best to take the engineering aspect out of the equation.
Overall it sounded like a 100,000 little speakers all somewhat working together but also doing different things.
There is a diffused phasey sound overlay that I believe is I here t to Holoplot.
That said, those 100,000 little speakers offer amazing control and capabilities. But unified clear clear pristine powerful impactful goose bump audio is not one of them.
@@DaveRat interesting. I think I can imagine how it might sound. Can you still use it like a standard PA if you want to? I heard U2 mainly used the centre speakers and the ones at the back, sides and above were for targeted effects only. It would be interesting to know what Derek thinks of the system
Yeah I'll ask him next time I talk to him I owe him a call. And you can emulate left and right and then control things as much or as little as you wish from there or all independently.
They gave me the software and to be honest I never really dived into it but may do so at some point.
@ Cool. I don't know how Derek was using the Holoplot when you visited, but if the sound was coming from all over the place all at the same time, I could understand the "phasey" sound you were describing, however if he was using it such that the sound from each musician came from roughly where the musician is located on the stage, I would have thought that could work quite well, aligning with your philosophy of not having 2 identical copies of the sound coming from 2 different speakers. Perhaps he WAS doing that, but because each speaker is at a slightly different distance to each listener, everything sounds a bit "out" and that outweighs any advantage? Just thinking out loud here.
Can you imagine standing in line to get in , looking to aside and seeing Dave waiting in line with you?
I can, it seems to happen to me every time.
@ Ha! Thanks for all the content you share and the great humor! I know I have learned a lot!
Cool cool Stephen and thank you!!!
would like to know your thoughts / experiences with L-ISA and d&b Soundscape stuff!
When having less concentrated sound come from more locations is more desirable then more concentrated sound coming from less locations, sound systems that distribute the sources are advantageous.
When you want maximum focus in a certain direction and or maximum unified energy from a sound source then distributing the sound sources to a higher quantity of smaller sources is less desirable.
I wonder if the bands have really pushed the possibilities of what the audio and the video can achieve. It could take weeks if not months to upload then manipulate the data...are the bands allocating the resources for such demands???
Agreed and I am sure things will continue to evolve.
Spherical acoustic environments are really problematic and overcoming that acoustically is going to be a real challenge or unsolvable.
With the size and distances involved and shape of the venue I think visually you can reach the highest levels of quality and immersion but that happens at the expense of optimum audio due to the undesirable acoustic environment.
In my mind I was kind of referencing going to an Afterlife show And no it wasn't my musical tastes it was jaw-dropping visually and acoustically truly mesmerizing.
I see the sphere being able to match or beat that visually and not even come close acoustically due to the size and shape of the venue and distances and so on
looks like a video game which i can do without but im sure it sounds great...
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Dave, you should never pay.. you're one of the best
It's a different experience. When I get given tickets, a lot of times that comes with some extra baggage where I need to meet people or be in a certain spot.
I think by paying to get in it helps keep things really objective and separate and I was able to be more of an observer than an industry insider
@@DaveRat I understand 👍👍
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Under the balcony is probably the worst seat in the house. Did they kick in the subs in the seats when you were there?
I wandered quite a bit so not sure if they used the seat subs there.
@@DaveRat I went 2 nights, they only used one night on drums. The part where Mickey plays that giant bass string, feels like you are about to levitate or maybe it was the 🍄...
Awesome! Yeah it looks like family and friends are headed back for another round and will keep an ear out for that and other adventures while I'm there
Everyone i know who has interacted with the holophonic stuff went in wide eyed and eager like a kid on Christmas, ready to play with a brand new toy...but they all left with a kind of "oh yeah, its...its, good...like, really controlled....I'll stick to line arrays for now"
I use a beam steered system in one of my main venues and I'm just always underwhelmed with the results. holophonic is certainly more fancy than the column beam steered stuff I've used, but i just feel the benefits are outweighed by the negatives and that is the phasy, anemic sound that comes with the concept of beam steering. We're manipulating the phase relation to steer and angle the beam, then being surprised when the sound is thin and phasy...
Agreed
I mixed a show on a holoplot rig at another Venue in Vegas in October 2024. 2 X1 80-s over 2 X1 96 per side paired with 4 meyers subs on the ground, attendance at the venue was around 1500. It was okay - my mix translated fairly well but I would have definitely preferred the Meyer Leopard rig that was installed prior to the Holoplot - the house engineer felt the same way.
That kind of summarizes how I feel about it as well. It's a cool system with wonderful features and I would still rather have a nice clean simple system with power and clarity
What did you mean by when they use that control in the sound system? Panning/routing?
Way more than that. Maybe check out thos video ua-cam.com/video/EnRE2AcM7iY/v-deo.htmlsi=Ips5OeCLVBm4hLim
Yeah, I know from whence you come. I was F.O.H. for Blue Oyster Cult, Dokken, Anthrax and other harder bands and I have used your excellent
system (in L.A. for Dokken). I know the feeling of creating an audio event impossible to replicate outside the venue environment.
I have not "Sphered", nor do I intend to at those prices! I imagine the sound is polite, professional and pristine, but THAT is not what we did.
Super cool and that brings back some fun memories!
Description is dead on
This brakes my brain
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I‘ve seen a Demo from Holoplot at ISE in Barcelona…..it’s just amazing….
It has amazing capabilities, it's just all about finding applications where those capabilities bring advantages to make up for the deficiencies.
@@DaveRatwhat do you think are its deficiencies?
With audio like everything you don't get something for nothing. The system has amazing control, the ability to focus sound wise and narrow, to beam different sounds in different directions and more.
To do that they need to have 1000s of small speakers.
All those small speakers when all doing the same thing can sound pretty good, but to do all the cool stuff, you need to have all those small speakers doing different things and that creates cool effect and also issues.
It's the Swiss army knife vs Bowie knife scenario
Jack of many trades master of none.
A more simple cohesive system with less bells and whistles can sound better.
But also, all the cool stuff the sphere system can do is cool as well.
So...
Proper tool for the desired application
I looked at the system from the sound quality and intensity and ability to fully connect with the audience perspective.
There are of course other perspectives wherein the system may be much more desirable
@@DaveRat u can use it as a kind of line array… as well.. but have horizontal an vertical control…. And no loss of sound level…(within a certain range of course) is the sound issue, u did not like so much in the sphere about the mix and compression, or is it about the distribution of the sound?
@frankangermann6460 I worked on the EAW Anya and Otto as a consultant. And am quite familiar with beam steering and the capabilities. Also went to a demo of the Holoplot as well as work with Powersoft who makes the amplifiers for Holoplot
The issue is Swiss army knife syndrome.
With audio and life you rarely get something for nothing and the sacrifice made with a system with so much control is you need loads and loads of small drivers.
If they all work together in unison, you have no control but the sound quality is quite high, but not as high as using less drivers that are more optimized.
As you push the system to do more steering or divide things up for multiple imaging, you add phase and time interactions that diminish fidelity and volume capabilities.
A system that has all the speakers arrays and pointed in the desired directions to achieve desired coverage will outperform a system where the speakers are using time and phase to force the coverage.
Combine that with the fact that a sphere is a very unfriendly acoustic environment.
For clarity, quality and impact, a less complex system in a better acoustic environment will better connect the artist with the audience.
But, as fast as fancy bells and whistles, acoustic tricks and fun, the Holoplot is truly amazing.
All that said, I am not sure a more conventional line array systems would do better in that big ball, I just know that I have mixed in and attended bigger venues and was experienced more impactful clear exciting sound
How do I know sphere's sound is an uphill battle?
Oh, check out the Globen in Sweden. There is another sphere venue that has been around for many years. I have mixed there several times.
The Globen Sphere sounds considerably worse though
Even across UA-cam it sounds like listening to a portable speaker placed some way away. Quite weird sound aesthetic.
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Heard holoplot a couple of years ago, extremely clever, but does not sound anything close to good. Potential maybe, but doesn’t fully work yet
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Have you ever been that high at a Dead show before, Dave? 😂😂😂
Ha! Vertically no. Mentally my days of striving for non vertical elevation have long passed
@ well I’m glad you’re helping us all achieve some professional mental elevation through your channel/videos - much appreciated, sir!
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Cool
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Lobby system sounds much worse than the venue. I enjoyed the venue. Have fun!
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Sphere just purchased the Holoplot guys so there won't be any other systems sold to the outside world at this point. Only MSG venues.
That's ok. It can't punch me in the chest with plosives.
Yeah I heard about that and it's an interesting development.
It also feels like with MSG owning holoplot the R&D push will be diminished and replaced by cost-effective repetition and manufacturing for specific applications will replace it
Just goes to show, more expensive doesn't always mean more betterer, especially when not used in the correct context. 😊
Yes and the sound inside of a ball always sounds worse than the sound in an actual desirable acoustic environment
Much of the cost and energy of the sound system and sonic insulation is focused on trying to make the inside of a ball not sound like the inside of a ball
@@DaveRat Yeah we had a similar structure built here in 2000 called the millennium dome, it's more the top 1/4 of a ball with an outter diameter of 365 metres (about 1.5 the size of a top team soccar stadium, including the building around it), but also suffered from acoustic issues when left wide open inside.
They struggled to find uses for it for some time, and it even became a homless shelter after being left empty for some time (for over a year at one point iirc) just 5 years after it was built, costing around $1 Billion (with a B) to build (about £700 million), a chunk of which was tax payers money, and where taxpayers were continuing to pay £1 million per MONTH, for that first 5-6 year period, many of which it was left empty, or suffering from vastly under performing expected turn out numbers when it did have things going on.
Mostly because it couldn't hold music events in that form that anyone would want to experience - I mean even the audio+visual exhibitions they put on only got half the expected numbers, including the whole reason it was built - for "the millenium experiance" for the first year of it's opening at the dawn of the new Millenia!
Eventually it got sold to AEG (well leased for 299 years) for a few hunderad million less than it cost to build, (not including all the burnt millions per month on maintainance of an empty building) and then it's naming rights got bought out for a couple of decades by the mobile phone service provider and live events company O2. Who IMMIDIATELY turned it into an arena style set up, closing off the vast majority of the dome structure with downwards slopes covered in seating, installing a flat roof inside the domed one with a stage at one end.
Only THEN did the place actually become sucsessful at pulling crowds, for nearly 2 decades at this point, making a cool 200 milli profit during the time they had control over it. Partially (and a big part at that) because of the shape of the dang thing >.
Is the entire system stereo or something else ?
The system is well beyond stereo. It has the ability to radiate multiple sounds from multiple directions - front side rear up high or down low. Plus it can radiate sounds in different directions from each of those locations. I did another video on the sphere demo that maybe you should check out. The system has the ability to send different sounds in different directions from a single group of speakers. And there are lots of groups of speakers all over the place
Your characterization of the sound, more hifi, lacking the visceral feel and sound of a quality rock show, ... would you associate that with the dome tweets, or insufficient LF energy, or steering summation?
Your thoughts?
I think it's related to several things.
1) spheres are terrible acoustic environments so the sound system is setup to minimize any sound from hitting curved surfaces that cause issues. That requires significant steering of the the sound.
2) in order to really steer the sound you need lots of small sources with time and phase offsets
3) lots of small sources with time and phase offsets will never sound as clear and impactful as few and larger sources that are operating in unison
@DaveRat
Much appreciated
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@@DaveRat
It's akin to the old Name That Tune game show.
- Host;
"𝘖𝘬, 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘴 167,000. 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘸𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘥?"
- Player Two;
"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴 ... 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘣".
- Host;
"𝘰𝘬 𝘔𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘶𝘯𝘦!"
---------Score--------
Holo-------------Danley
167k---------------3
Just having a little fun, 𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, ....if the system is anything less than stellar, subjectively, then it should be addressed/bolstered in some way to make it so.
I'm sure the original intent was equally impactful experience both visually and audibly.
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Can one as experienced as you ever go to a concert or festival as a attendee and enjoy the show? Or are there always "Analyzing Brainactivities" going on? Can you let go and enjoy so to speak?
Also from a quality and mixing perspective, is the a lot of judging (not necessarily in a bad way) going on in your brain when you are a visior instead of at FoH?
Personally, as a drummer, I really have to actively stop from overanalyzing every beat and pattern and force myself to just let go and enjoy the show.
Yeah a bit of both similar to your adventure.
I definitely survey and analyze sound And I used to be filled with a desire to fix problems and have to suppress that or act on them.
But now I am really comfortable just observing things as they are and either enjoying or ear plugging or leaving accordingly. Unless it's a show my company's providing sound for or there are close friends involved with the positive outcome, in which case I become obsessed with fixing or helping.
And truly awesome experiences even if it's not down my line of music, things that are truly impressive I am able to really enjoy.
Saw an Afterlife EDM show and it was jaw-dropping impressive visually and sonically. Roger Waters playing Coachella gave me goosebumps. No Doubt at Coachella and pretty much every time I've ever seen Iggy Pop. Most of the radiohead shows I've seen. So yeah there are shows that I stopped thinking about it, and just truly enjoy the experience. But those are few and far between.
I really tried to let go and immerse in the sphere and visually it took me there but sonically it was just a cumbersome acoustic environment that I don't believe any amount of speakers would have solved.
Sounds like a place to show movies. I guess famous live bands fill more seats?
It's a big wonderful visual experience and for the 90% of the population who cares more about visuals than audio, it is a win. And putting sound into one of the worst acoustic environments, a ball is bound to end up with less than ideal audio no matter how much money is spent on sound
Would have loved to have seen pink Floyd there if they were still together, maybe some of that live visual projection art in the sphere
Agreed and same!
So all it needed was a good line array
You know that's an interesting thought. Spherical acoustic spaces are a real challenge and create a lot of problems.
I think giant line arrays could increase the fidelity and impact but also it could get very tough too get the coverage and you would lose the features and flexibilities that holloplot offers, where in different sounds can be focused in different directions and sounds can be moved around the venue and sound can be focused in such a way as to minimize the amount of energy pointing in directions that will cause issues.
I just don't know if it would be better or worse but my guess is it would both be better and worse
So, weed is legal in LV. And yet there were more people sharing, smoking grass at shows in the 70s and even 80s for the Dead than any of these events in modern times. People have lost their balls.
👍🤙👍
This venue doesn't really interst me UNLESS it was a Pink Floyd reunion. Then I would be all in
Fully agreed! And also if it was just Roger Waters there the same thing goes for me.
Make it 4 ohm for the dead
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You allude to this (I think?). The irony is the sound system is built to PREVENT the attendee from listening to the sound. The problem of all modern amplified large concerts is the farther away you are the muddier the auditory experience. Whereas, as you point out, the farther you are away from the screen the clearer the image. If they didn't put up that don't-pay-attention-to-sound system then the attendee would experience the directional sound (from a point in the front) which would distract them from their wider visual view of the screen. You're such a positive energy person Dave. Not having that talent ;) ...
The SPHERE USES THE CELEBRITY OF MUSICIANS TO PULL PEOPLE INTO A (FREAKISH) LIGHT SHOW. The visuals are everything. The expense of the sound system is to keep the viewer literally mesmerized by the screen.
I remember my uncle, sadly gone, who was outraged with Jose Feliciano was playing at an amusement park and everyone was talking and not paying attention. There's something similar going on here. One the one hand, everyone gets paid. Everyone has a good time. But....
Glad you went so I don't have to go ;) I've find it fascinating for 5 minutes but then, honestly, I'd be bored and would leave--unless the visuals worked with the sound to create an independent work of art.
Yes it summarizes it well and is a good analogy. This was a great way to get a historical perspective of the achievements and awesomeness of the Dead. And I went with people that have been to many grateful Dead shows and the consensus was that this was not a grateful Dead show. It was a show about the grateful Dead with the grateful Dead playing.
But, that said they enjoyed it as a differing perspective and dead and company are slated to come back to the sphere and there's talk already about returning. And if so I will probably join them and do an update if I learn something new and interesting to share
It seems to be more about the venue than the band, a great experience but i dont think i would want to watch my favourite group there
I think maybe the best way to experience the venue would be to see a band that is visually based and go down and lay on the floor looking up. My understanding is they actually had an area where people could lay on the floor at the dead and company show. Back in my more adventurous days, that would be something I would be inspired to experience
I went and saw 'Postcard From Earth' in there last year. Overall I felt pretty meh about it.
1.) Lobby: Very crowded. AI Robot demonstrations seemed glitchy and already outdated. HoloPlot speaker demo was pretty neat, but not totally WOW.
2.) Seating in venue was ungodly uncomfortable in upper section. I had absolutely zero legroom and was basically forced to sit sideways.
3.) Audio inside sphere - like you said - not very impactful. To me not any better than an Atmos cinema.
4.) Screen - sure big, bright and vibrant, but really not that much more impressive than a big IMAX. In some of the scenes the lines between the tiles were quite visible and distracting to my production eye. Plus IMAX has more comfortable seats.
Can't help but think that seeing a concert in there wouldn't be my cup of tea. To quote Vince Gill about playing in there with the Eagles '“It's the most people I've ever been ignored by when I play"
Most expensive doesn’t always equate to better 😎👍
Yeah, it's a cool and fancy sound system but the wow was all video
LSD has a much better carbon footprint ..
True and funny
Dodo. 167000 speakers. Dead play soft w finess. Your video about graphics. Dodo, seats under balcony are cheaper...
Agreed and fortunately was able to wander to various upper levels. Will head to the floor next time. Though I have been doing sound for over 4 decades in venues ranging from clubs to stadiums around the world, I've only been to a handful of dead shows over the years.
That said, The group of people I was with have been following the dead for as long as I've been doing sound or longer and have attended hundreds if not thousands of dead shows.
The consensus was somewhat mixed, ranging from being quite happy to somewhat disappointed.
One person who has been to many many shows said "this isn't a dead show, it doesn't feel right, but I love the dead and I'd go again but this isn't a dead show"
And I felt that kind of summed it up that this was a commercialized polished for Vegas movie theater visual experience version of a concert.
Enjoyable but it didn't have that excitement and feel of being at a concert which for me is one of the best parts.