Is THIS what it sounds like in Lucas Oil Stadium?

[skywhopper]

I posted the video below in a couple of Crown threads before I listened to it far enough to get to the percussion and articulation portions, so my apologies for triple posting it. I've never been to LOS for Finals, but I have to ask, is the sound on that video indicative of what the audience is hearing? The echo from the battery in particular but also the brass in quick sections is appalling. It appears this video was taken from pretty high up, and I've heard the sound is worse from up there. But is this representative of the quality of sound people are getting in LOS? If so... YIKES.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjadtT78NsY

Edited August 16, 2013 by skywhopper

[ShortAndFast]

Yeah, it's realistic. Sound is ok - not great but tolerable - in 240, just in front of the judges, but that's a little too low to really appreciate the drill. Section 440 & up give good views on the visual, but the sound is atrocious. You lose a ton of articulation, percussion parts, contra parts, etc to the echo. If the corps loves their goo that just makes it worse.

[Kamarag]

Honestly, yes and no.

I know that's vague, but the truth is that the sound is different depending on where you are in the facility. Unlike most domes, where the sound is pretty much the same no matter where you go (example: Atlanta), Lucas Oil is a giant rectangle with an angles roof. The acoustics in there change dramatically.

There are a lot of seats where the sound is very good, particularly up the middle, between the 35 yard lines. There are seats where it's really bad as well, like seats outside the 20s and in the upper deck. Sound quality also varies dramatically depending on sound output by the corps. The corps that actually sound the best (speaking in a very general way) are the slightly smaller or slightly less powerful World Class corps (say, 11th - 20th) and the top three or four Open Class corps.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Kamarag

[Lead]

I've sat pretty much everywhere in the stadium, and I honestly don't think this video is representative of THE GIVEN seat location at all. That location is pretty darn good acoustically.

[mingusmonk]

That spot is better on the ears in person. A little lower is better yet.

But if you stress about sound, don't get outside of the 40's.

[oldbandguy]

The sound on this video is MUCH worse than what I hear from my seats. The first year finals was held at LOS I sat in every level to get an idea of what I felt was the best for sound. By far the echo and boom were much worse in the 600-500 levels. The visual was very good in the 300-400 level, but the sound was considerably better in the high 100-200 level.

Every year since then that's where my tickets have been as sound is the MOST important issue to me. Seats in high 140 or 240 are excellent for sound...much better than this recording.

[garfield]

The high camera view of that rotating pyramid is the most unbelievable drill move I think I've ever seen in my life! I just can't stop watching it over and over and over! Stunning! Amazing! Stupendous!

As to the sound, YUCK! That's horrible up there! It sounds like this was done on a Handycam or something but, yes, the sound is about that bad up there.

That said, however, I was in 240 for all three nights and the first night was for my ears to adjust to the acoustics after having been outdoors most all season. By Friday night, after spending 8 hours watching on Thursday, the sound had cleared up in my ears pretty dramatically. By Saturday the sound was much more palatable because 'I' had adjusted to the goo.

At no time was the sound where I was ever as bad as what's on this recording. I can verify with my 53 year old ears that yes, the higher you go, the worse it sounds coming close to this example up in the 500's and 600's. And, for what it's worth, my brother was in the 400's for all of finals and came down to my section for the encore. His first comment was "The sound is MUCH better down here". (I just smiled at his cheapness for buying nose-bleed seats :tongue:/>/> ).

Edited August 16, 2013 by garfield

[ajlemm]

I have gone to every Finals at LOS and I have sat near the top and down at the bottom, both within the 35's. The sound up high has a lot of echo like the video, but since I moved to the lowest level (always end up in 138 for some reason), the sound has been very good. However I lose seeing the drill, so there are tradeoffs as others have said. Then again, I enjoy getting my face peeled off, so...

[ajlemm]

The sound on this video is MUCH worse than what I hear from my seats. The first year finals was held at LOS I sat in every level to get an idea of what I felt was the best for sound. By far the echo and boom were much worse in the 600-500 levels. The visual was very good in the 300-400 level, but the sound was considerably better in the high 100-200 level.

Every year since then that's where my tickets have been as sound is the MOST important issue to me. Seats in high 140 or 240 are excellent for sound...much better than this recording.

agreed.

[George Dixon]

Yeah, it's realistic. Sound is ok - not great but tolerable - in 240, just in front of the judges, but that's a little too low to really appreciate the drill. Section 440 & up give good views on the visual, but the sound is atrocious. You lose a ton of articulation, percussion parts, contra parts, etc to the echo. If the corps loves their goo that just makes it worse.

I sat in 440 row 1 - have for several years - and the sound was good / as was the view

Sat in 240 before - it's louder because you're closer but as you say, a little low for drill

Edited August 16, 2013 by George Dixon