ProAudio Review - May 2008 - (Page 17) Tardo, transducer engineer at Peavey Electronics. In addition to neodymium magnets, Tardo notes that Peavey’s “proprietary planar manifold technology allows us to place more drivers in a very compact space without incurring acoustic interference patterns that you would get with traditionally spaced drivers.” The Versarray 212 line array enclosure packs 16 components—two 12inch woofers, four ribbon drivers and 10 midrange speakers—in one small box without compromising performance. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY MADE EASY With a broader range of line arrayequipped venues comes a pool of engineers with a broader range of skill sets. Therefore, designers must make sure that even the most complex loudspeaker management systems and modeling software have a reasonable learning curve to ensure proper alignment. “The way a line array works acoustically is not as straightforward as it might appear,” says Webb. “Correct set-up is critical, both in terms of the curvature of the array and the signals fed to it. At Martin Audio we develop an accurate, virtual acoustic model of the line array in 3-D based on high-resolution measured data. This is fed into our DISPLAY 3-D software, which will compute the correct splay angles of the array for each particular venue and the electronic controller settings required.” In JBL’s VerTec line, as well as their compact constant-curvature VRX line, designers work to create easy-to-assemble suspension hardware. “The customer does not have to make choices or decisions about optional, add-on suspension accessories,” says Scheirman. “The ease of assembling and reconfiguring the array, which is especially important for portable applications, is an inherent feature of the product line. The VerTec’s software calculator allows the user to quickly make decisions about coverage, SPL capabilities, and directionality for the line array. This puts some of the complex technological decisions within the reach of many more people.” Peavey’s Versarray Series line array enclosures feature an adjustable rigging system that allows easier setup and teardown. Users can adjust the angles between the array modules from 0 degrees (straight) to 10 degrees, and quick-release pins are available for the rigging hardware to provide efficient field adjustments or reconfigurations. The company also wants to make it easy for their systems to sound good. “The linking hardware is designed to optimize the arrays by keeping the pivot point between the two boxes where it belongs,” says Tardo. “It maintains the integrity of the high-frequency line by minimizing the separation between the manifolds in adjacent arrays. This gives you the proper spacing for the horn manifold.” For Meyer Sound, ease of use goes handin-hand with their self-powered products. “The linear systems that we’ve created are optimized for being plug-and-play; they are very straightforward so all you really need to do is plug in and go,” says president John Meyer. “In addition, we have the Galileo Loudspeaker Management System, which has been designed to make it very easy to ‘dial-up’ the size of the array and drive line array system with audio.” EAW offers loudspeakers with three levels of usability. “With the NTL720 Series, we’ve actually worked a lot of features into the input panel that allow you to emulate some of the software functionality without LINE ARRAY continues on page 18 ➤ PERFORMANCE - with Style Performance High-performance components and enclosures Great musical sound quality and voice intelligibility Enough output for the most demanding applications “G Lounge”, Philadelphia, PA Versatility 2-way, 3-way, subwoofer and under-balcony models 6-rotatable horn patterns Wide variety of mounting accessories Visit communitypro.com/iBOX to download iBOX specifications and receive a precision Architect’s rule. Style communitypro.com Black, white and unfinished versions 3-standard sizes for uniform clusters Classic designs blend with decor www.proaudioreview.com May 2008 | ProAudio Review | 17 http://www.loudspeakers.net/main/index.php?option=articles&task=viewarticle&sid=47 http://communitypro.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
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