Configurations
Two configurations that are rarely used are the straight and curved array.The problem with curved arrays is that they are not very well suited to the average venue. While the bottom half will be angled down to provide extra coverage at locations close to the front of stage, the top half will be angled upwards at the ceiling. Also, the problem with straight line arrays is that the beam is far too narrow at high frequencies. A solution to utilise the best features of both arrays is to use a ‘J’ array. This is made up of a straight line portion and a curved portion, normally at the bottom. This provides a long throw straight line component for people relatively far away, while the curve at the bottom acts as an in-fill for the area underneath the array that would otherwise be neglected
Spiral arrays are the next development from J-arrays, and have a superior frequency response due to their similar polar pattern at shifting frequencies, while still retaining the long throw and in-fill benefits that J-arrays provide. The concept is that spiral arrays are curved all the way along the array, but the curve is progressive. This means that the top of the array is almost straight with angles of 1° between boxes, and increases at the bottom to between 6° and about 10°. A well designed spiral array could have an almost constant directivity pattern with frequency, with some small lobes exhibited at low frequencies.
Read more about this topic: Line Array