Hoovi H1 Deeflexx sound deflectors review

If you're playing large gigs with amps at high volumes, a sound deflector like the Hoovi H1 Deeflexx could change your tone for the better.

Sound waves are more directional at higher frequencies - not good news for us guitar players, since the average 12-inch loudspeaker tends to be very directional above 4kHz.

This leads to a phenomenon called 'beaming', where you only hear the speaker's full frequency range if your ears are directly in line with the centre of the cone.

The idea of a 'beam blocker' - a device that sits in front of the cone and blocks or diffuses the highs - isn't new, but Austrian entrepreneur Hubert 'Hoovi' Hochleitner has taken the concept and run with it.

In Use

The Deeflexx doesn't block, rather it deflects sound waves to achieve a homogenous frequency response over both horizontal and vertical axes. Made from tough shatterproof Perspex, it's designed to look impressive under stage lights.

A tongue extends underneath your cabinet, which you can either wedge or bolt-fix using T-bolts and wing nuts. We were quite surprised to find just how effective it is at redistributing highs and lows for a uniform frequency response in a variety of different venues.

In situations where you can use your backline amp at a decent volume, the Deeflexx will make a significant improvement to what you and your audience hear. However, such gigs are getting rarer, with in-ear monitoring and offstage isolation cabinets now the norm for many stages.