@Bill said:
Perhaps it's a recent trend, but I've never seen an orchestra setup that way, either in the US or in Europe...
Since several years I have a concert abo in the Konzerthaus Großer Saal named "Orchestra International" with up to ten concerts per year.
Here I have the chance to listen to national and internaional top orchestras like Vienna, New York, Berlin Philaharmonics, performing in the same venue (the main venue which is also available for MIR and MIRx)
I have seen basses on each location you might imagine on the stage: left, right, in front, back and very often placed in the middle.
Usually concerts with basses in the middle are sonically the better ones. By the way my seating place is also exactly in the middle of the hall. I don't give Dietz advises where he should place the basses for any of his factory setups. But it's not surprising for me that he has chosen exactly this position.
best
Herb