I’m not an expert in PA systems, having dwelt more in the seclusion of recording studios. But I’ve read a lot and observed masters at work enough to know when things are not going right. In my experience, some of the worst sound systems I’ve heard are in small parties and school programs. I avoid complaining so as not to offend the hosts/organizers, but I have my limits. So here are three examples of the type of nightmares I’ve had to put up with this past year.
At a Christmas party of about 70 people, one of the attendees volunteered his sound system. He is apparently a hardcore karaoke enthusiast, and he brought stuff accumulated over the years. The system was composed of a local all-in-one karaoke mixer/amp/effects unit, unbalanced RCA and 1/4” plugs all around, 2-way karaoke speakers with dead tweeters, one home subwoofer, and a pair of fake Sennheiser E-series mics. There was a lack of high frequencies from the start, and the hosts ended up having to shout into the mics just to be understood. The sound became progressively more distorted as the night wore on, no doubt because the poor underpowered amp’s descent into thermal distress. Placement of components was limited because of short cables. Mixing position was on the improvised stage facing the audience, so the operator could not hear the front-of-house. The party was fun in spite of the “ngongo” sound system though. Apparently nobody cared except me. But who was I to complain? The owner is one of the nicest people I know, and the party got it for free.
A few weeks ago, I attended a small program in school, and while the school-owned equipment was decent, the way it was set up was weird. Two 2-way karaoke speakers about the size of a pair of bookshelf home speakers, placed side by side with the podium on the floor. What were they thinking? Was the audience composed of ants? On top of the speakers was a small karaoke mixer/amp, with the front panel controls facing the audience. Every time levels had to be adjusted, the operator had to kneel in front of the audience to twiddle with dials. The coup de grace was the four-channel no-name wireless mic receiver, placed on top of the amplifier, most probably blocking all the ventilation holes of the amplifier, and with all its LED displays brightly facing the audience. But I did not intervene no matter how senseless it all seemed, because I was just part of the audience and not an organizer. Again, no one else seemed to care except my wife and I. All of this was a pity because the speeches and musical intermission number were wonderful and meaningful.
Lastly, I always cringe during kid’s birthday parties in fast-food restaurants. These are usually held in relatively small rooms with a capacity of about 50 people, in which a oldskool karaoke machine used to suffice. But in a recent party of a grand-nephew, the house system was composed of Raon counterfeit components, with speakers big enough to fill a conference hall. The restaurant had no technician, so the system is was turned on by one of the crew members. At first the system was so loud that one of my grand-nephews left the room weeping. His parents asked that the crew put the volume down. But even with the loudness reduced, the sound was so distorted that the child stayed out, and I ended up sitting as far away and as off-axis from the speakers as possible. In Filipino culture, noise is an indication of celebration. The noisier, the more fun people are having. This is fine if all the sound were person-made voices. But a sound system distorting badly is a different story. This is evident during party parlor games. The host ends up raising the loudness of the sound system to stay above the screaming and yelling of the partygoers. Thank heavens these parties only last a couple of hours before people are herded out to make way for the next one.
I would call all three basta tumunog systems. The first involves an enthusiast whose equipment has serious limits which cannot cope with the demands of a sustained public event in anything bigger than a living room. The second involves a venue with slightly better equipment, but is set up by people who simply don’t know any better, and/or don’t take the trouble to learn. The third subscribes to the idea that noise is a sign of celebration, and those working the venue need it to project an image of a place where fun reigns.
Professionals actually have a better term for PA systems. They call it sound reinforcement. My computer defines reinforcement as "strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material"*. I interpret to mean the original sound is strengthened so the audience/attendees can hear what's going on clearly. But instead of clarifying the proceedings, small-event PA systems usually either fail miserably at intelligibility, and/or bludgeon people’s senses with extreme loudness and distortion. I’m not the first, and most probably won’t be the last to complain about this. I guess I’ll just have to figure out an inoffensive way of telling whoever operates sound systems that their sound sucks. That, or find a way to make a teachable moment out of it.
*Apple Dictionary Version 2.3.0 (294)
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