Concert Sound baffles?

[robcat2075]

Check out these devices perched behind two string players.

They have the appearance of something intended to deaden sound but I am doubtful they are of a size or substance sufficient to do much of that.

No one else seems to be equipped with them.

??

baffles.jpg

and...

original link :
A cinema turns into a symphony hall

[Posaunus]

Perhaps they are neck pillows?

[Doug Elliott]

They protect the player to the left when their heads explode.

[JohnL]

So the horn player sees no need for protection, but the two string players in the next row up do?

Who is sitting behind the horn player? Trumpets? Those look like they might be mute trays.

[harrisonreed]

Those look like vocal microphone baffles. You know, the kind YouTube artists use to keep the crappy reflections of their closet out of the recording.

If would only work as they want it to work if they had their head about 1" away from the foam, inside the baffle diameter. If anything, the foam is absorbing a lot of the two violins' sound, and preventing it from reflecting off the back of the stage. Seems dumb.

[robcat2075]

BTW, notice how you can always tell where the trap door is in these "Scooby Doo" cartoons... it never quite matches the rest of the floor:

tdoor.jpg

[BGuttman]

Given the position of those two violinists (back of the 2nd Violins), maybe those things are intended to serve as sound absorbers

[robcat2075]

Those look like vocal microphone baffles. You know, the kind YouTube artists use to keep the crappy reflections of their closet out of the recording.

Yup, it looks very much like that, although without a microphone sheltered inside. Very mysterious.

isobaffle.jpg

[Kdanielsen]

They are definitely there for hearing protection although they are likely too far away from the player’s heads to do much. Used correctly they take the edge off for sure.

It’s possible they are just set up as default and those two players don’t care if they are there. I see these around at gigs from time to time. They are generally requested by the back row woodwinds and strings.

[Kdanielsen]

They are definitely there for hearing protection although they are likely too far away from the player’s heads to do much. Used correctly they take the edge off for sure.

It’s possible they are just set up as default and those two players don’t care if they are there. I see these around at gigs from time to time. They are generally requested by the back row woodwinds and strings.

[baileyman]

Seems the horn player would be much more at risk than the strings.

[Kdanielsen]

I've never seen the brass use them. As the worst offenders it would open you up to far too much irony. Ear plugs yes, hand to the ear yes, but shields no.

[Matt K]

Is it possible there's a wireless mic in them? I'm not sure what the purpose of being on the wrong side of the viola would be exactly but...

[timothy42b]

I would have thought they should be reversed, with the convex side toward the sound input and the concave side toward the player. You'd have to swap the foam maybe.

Maybe that would reflect the sound around the player and forward.

I've wondered if you could do something similar to a rifle to protect the shooter's ears. It wouldn't decrease the overall sound but might keep the shock wave going forward rather than back.

[robcat2075]

The only shields I've seen on orchestra concert stages are the clear lucite panels attached to the backs of chairs. Those are at least a few feet wide and tall. And maybe bullet proof.

The size of the above shells appears inadequate for sound blocking, as if someone expected sound to only propagate in straight lines.

[harrisonreed]

Yeah they are not being used correctly. Those are 100% meant to keep reflections from getting into the radius of the foam material. You use those for vocal recordings in really small rooms, or to keep some of the reverb out of a recording of whatever source in a larger room.

Maybe it works a little bit, but the clear plastic material Rob is talking about is cheaper, bigger, and more commonly used for that purpose.

[whitbey]

I had a bad time with some larger plexi baffles. I could not hear the rest of the orchestra and the directors stick was distorted.
The Director started ragging on the bones for not being in time..... after I had complained. So I set my horn on the floor, got up and moved a few of the plexi monsters out of the way so I could see and hear. Then we played and nailed it.
A string player wanted to put them back. I asked the Director what do you want good playing or bad antiphonal?
I have not seen those plexi things not for several years. I believe they were returned.

Those baffles look like mic holders.