Who should own this checklist?

One person on your side and one on the production side. Shared ownership of a pre-show checklist is how items quietly go unconfirmed — assign it to a named individual with authority to escalate.

When should each item be confirmed?

Equipment and crew at booking, power and rigging after the recce, timings two weeks out, and content 72 hours before. Anything still open 48 hours out should be treated as a risk, not an action.

How is a line array different from a stack of conventional speakers?

A line array couples multiple closely spaced boxes into a single controlled source, so you can shape vertical coverage with splay angles and push level to the back rows without destroying the front. A conventional stack radiates much more widely, which means more energy on walls and ceilings and far less control over who hears what.

When do I actually need delay towers?

Roughly once the audience goes deeper than 50 to 60 metres from the main array. Beyond that the direct sound has lost level and high-frequency content, so speech stops being intelligible. Each tower is timed against its measured distance so the main system still arrives first and the stage remains the apparent source.

What coverage tolerance should I expect?

We design for within about ±3 dB across the defined audience area, which is where a crowd stops noticing position. Tighter than that is achievable in a modelled indoor room; looser is what happens when box count or trim height is compromised for sightlines or budget.

Do you provide rigging load calculations?

Yes, as standard. Every hang comes with a point-load figure and a rigging plot, and we ask the venue or a structural engineer to sign it off before load-in. Where the structure will not take the load, we quote a ground-support tower instead rather than proceeding on assurances.

Line Array Systems Checklist: What to Confirm Before Show Day

Category: Checklists
Read time: 7 min
Sections: 3
Updated: Aug 2026

Key takeaway

Before show day, confirm the line array systems equipment list with exact model numbers, the spares that travel with it, sanctioned power and generator changeover, rigging sign-off, named crew, the load-in and rehearsal slots, final content files and a single named show-caller. Missing any one of these causes most event AV failures.

Key takeaways

Exact models, not categories, on the equipment list
Spares for anything that would stop the show
Power sanction plus generator changeover confirmed
One named show-caller holding the cue sheet

Line Array Systems: pre-show checklist

Equipment & specification

Prediction software confirmed: L-Acoustics Soundvision, d&b ArrayCalc, Meyer MAPP
Coverage tolerance target confirmed: ±3 dB across the defined audience area
Array sizes confirmed: 6 – 24 boxes per hang, single or double hangs plus outfills
Delay timing constant confirmed: ≈2.9 ms per metre, temperature-corrected on the day
Delay position spacing confirmed: Every 50 – 70 m of audience depth beyond the main hang
Itemised list naming exact models, not categories
Spares for mics, cables, processors and any single point of failure

Power & safety

Venue sanctioned load confirmed in writing against the rig's draw
Silent generator sized with automatic changeover
Earthing check completed and logged
Rigging certification and load calculations signed off
Cable covers on every walkway and crowd line

People

System designer named and briefed
System engineer named and briefed
Lead rigger named and briefed
Amplification technician named and briefed
Delay position technician named and briefed

Timings

Load-in slot agreed with the venue in writing
Sound check and line check scheduled
Full technical rehearsal booked with real presenters and real content
Venue curfew and strike window confirmed

Content & handover

Soundvision or ArrayCalc coverage model with SPL prediction map
Box-by-box splay angle schedule for every hang
Rigging plot with point loads and bridle calculations
Measured Smaart traces from the audience positions used for alignment
All video, audio and slides delivered 72 hours ahead in the agreed format

What this checklist is protecting you from

What can go wrong

How we prevent it

What can go wrong
The venue's published rigging capacity turns out to be theoretical and will not take the hang.
How we prevent it
We require a point-load sign-off from the venue or a structural engineer at T-2 weeks, and keep a ground-support tower design as the fallback.
What can go wrong
Delay towers are timed at noon and sound wrong at 9 pm as the air cools and the speed of sound drops.
How we prevent it
Delays are computed with the forecast show-time temperature and re-measured just before doors, which typically moves each tower a fraction of a millisecond.
What can go wrong
Low frequency from ground-stacked subs rolls straight into the nearest housing and triggers a complaint.
How we prevent it
A cardioid or end-fire sub array cuts rearward output by 15 dB or more in the problem direction, measured at the boundary before the show.
What can go wrong
Coverage is modelled for the drawn seating plan, then the client adds 1,500 chairs on the flanks the day before.
How we prevent it
We design the hang with outfill capacity in reserve and keep the splay schedule adjustable, so flank coverage is a change of angle rather than a change of system.
What can go wrong
The array is flown too low, so the front rows are loud and the back rows are thin.
How we prevent it
Trim height is derived from the prediction model and non-negotiable; where sightlines force a low trim, box count and splay are re-modelled rather than fudged on site.
What can go wrong
A single amplifier network cable is damaged by a forklift and takes a whole hang silent.
How we prevent it
Ring-topology networking with redundant paths, armoured or trenched cable runs, and a documented failover test performed before doors.

Want this tailored to your event?

Get an itemised quote from Prime AV Solutions within 24 hours — call +91 93093 80958 or WhatsApp our producers.

Published 19 August 2026 by the Prime AV Solutions production team.

FAQ

Line Array Systems Checklist: What to Confirm Before Show Day: FAQs

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