I've been around long enough to see every faddish approach come and go, and the current obsession with big sound system speakers has me wondering what all the fuss is really about. Every new show seems to push enormous, "state-of-the-art" speaker rigs as if bigger always means better, but my experience tells a different story.
Sure, there's a place for large setups in massive outdoor venues where you need to overcome serious acoustic challenges. But for most gigs—even in sizeable halls—I've seen systems with a more thoughtful, modular design outperform these behemoths in clarity, controllability, and even cost-effectiveness.
Is this push for gigantic speakers just a marketing angle or does it hold up to real-world scrutiny? Does the extra size actually translate to better audio quality and listener experience, or are we just buying into the notion that "if it's bigger, it's better"?
I'd like to hear from others who have worked with both ends of the spectrum. Has anyone actually experienced a noticeable difference in performance that justifies the extra bulk and expense? Let's have a real discussion about whether these big systems are truly a step forward or just a bleed of hype into our increasingly loud and cluttered industry.