With tube compressors for recording, old is cool. Doubt it? Just check out the winning bids on eBay for vintage Fairchild or Teletronix units in good working condition.
With loudspeakers, however, old is not so cool. Aging loudspeakers tend to be recycled downward—from youth room to cash-strapped church plant to garage band—until they're scrapped. That's because, for most of us, with loudspeakers newer means better. So what we present here is a roundup of the newest main loudspeaker systems appropriate for a wide range of worship facilities.
The loudspeakers covered here were introduced within the past year or so, with most making their debut at either the January NAMM show in Anaheim, Calif., or the March PL+S show in Germany. Only those loudspeakers—portable or installed—that are generally appropriate for use as main loudspeakers in worship applications for 200-plus congregants are included. Subwoofers are not covered per se, although we'll footnote a few that are part of a new series.
To put everything in perspective, we've grouped loudspeakers by type and application. Also, along the way we'll highlight how “the newest of the new” illustrate trends, developing technologies, and emerging product niches in the ever-changing world of worship sound.
Passive point-source
If you're looking for a low-cost system for a portable church, small church plant, youth room or fellowship hall, we'll add a few more to your already plentiful array of options. This is a volume market, with performance inching upward while costs are stable or even dropping slightly. Most are designed for strictly portable use, though some have fly points for permanent installation.
Unveiled earlier this year at PL+S in Frankfurt, Germany, Mackie's new S500 Series presents a tough trio of road-ready boxes that are targeted for portable church or touring youth band action. Three sizes are offered—12-inch, single 15-inch and dual 15-inch woofers—all with a 1-inch compression driver on a 90 x 50-degree horn. Wood enclosures are covered with a tough PVC coating, and corners have thick bumpers with cups for stacking. Connections are via ¼-inch jack and Neutrik NL4, with parallel thru for connecting two cabs to one (appropriate) amp channel. A matching single 18-inch subwoofer completes the series.
Also taking a bow at PL+S was the STX-800 Series from JBL, comprising six beefy models—four full range and two subs—designed to bridge the gap between “music store” systems and the company's elite touring products. Internal components are top-line, including woofers with Super Vented Gap cooling and robust three- or four-inch high-frequency (HF) drivers. The single 12-inch and 15-inch models have pole sockets and asymmetrical cabinets for house or monitor applications. All full range units are set up for passive or bi-amplified operation. Construction is heavy-duty poplar-birch plywood with proprietary DuraFlex coating, and the full range cabinets have multiple M10 fly points.
A pair of passive/actives
A mushrooming trend in the industry is the passive/active loudspeaker line, wherein each model is offered in two versions: one with built-in amplification and one without. Two noteworthy examples made their debut at this year's NAMM Show.
Peavey is known for delivering bang-for-the-buck, and their modestly priced but feature-laden PVX Series is no exception. Suited for small and portable church use is the PVX(p)-15, which offers a 15-inch (2.3-inch voice coil) woofer and a 1.4-inch titanium HF driver housed in a molded polypropylene enclosure shaped to double as a floor wedge. Both pole socket and fly points are included, allowing easy transition from portable to permanent install applications. The powered version adds an 800 W amplifier with built-in compression/speaker protection with ¼-inch/XLR combo input and parallel thru connectors.
Electro-Voice offers some variations on the theme with its Live X Series. Three full range passive models are offered (12-inch, 15-inch and dual 15-inch woofers) in tandem with a 1.5-inch titanium HF driver. Cabinets here are wood with hard shell finish, handles and pole sockets but no fly points. In the powered versions, Live X stakes out a middle ground by offering a 1,000 W dual-channel amplifier coupled with basic mixing and control features, including dual mixable inputs (mic/line and ¼-inch/RCA inputs line), adjustable limiting, and selectable input link output.
Self-powered plus
Last January's NAMM show witnessed the debut of three new self-powered loudspeaker series, from dB Technologies, Line 6 and Yamaha, that together push forward the trend toward an ever-increasing level of on-board mixing and DSP capabilities.
Aimed squarely at a range of portable applications, the new Sigma line from Italy's dB Technologies comprises both single and double 15-inch woofer cabinets along with a companion 18-inch subwoofer. Each cabinet incorporates a high-efficiency (better than 90%) digipro G2 amplifier module—1,000 W for the S115 and 1,400 W for the S215—with built-in limiters for speaker protection. Highs for both come from a 2.8-inch diaphragm compression driver coupled to a 60 x 40-degree horn. Both also have on-board DSP that includes user presets for different applications and/or acoustical environments.
Processing pioneer Line 6 enters the loudspeaker fray with, not surprisingly, a bucket load of advanced DSP capabilities. The three-way, 1,400-watt L3t incorporates an integrated mixer featuring three-band EQ (with swept mids), intelligent effects, acoustic guitar modeling and feedback suppression. Six DSP presets optimize the output for various applications: PA, monitor, electric guitar, keyboards, etc. A built-in digital network links this “speaker-plus” to Line 6's companion StageScape mixer.
Yamaha's DXR Series loudspeakers may look more conventional at first glance, but the four full-range models (8-inch, 10-inch 12-inch and 15-inch woofers) also carry a high level of on-board DSP capabilities. The active crossover, for example, utilizes 48 digital FIR filters to optimize phase alignment, and DSP also provides sophisticated protection features. Also housed in the non-resonant ABS enclosure are an 1,100 W Class D amplifier, a three-channel mixer with mono or stereo link mode, a 90 x 60-constant directivity horn, and a dual-angle pole mount. And although it might seem odd to hang all those operating functions out of reach, the cabinets do have standard rigging points.
The self-powered CF101LA and unpowered CFX101LA Modular Point Source Array systems from Renkus-Heinz can be flown, ground-stacked or pole-mounted. Up to four CF/CFX101-LA cabinets can be arrayed to provide a 90- x 60-degree coverage pattern, delivering up to 9 dB more output and tighter vertical pattern control than a conventional single cabinet. According to the company, “The CF/CFX Point Array is a true-point-source arrayable system offering the benefits of both line and point-source arrays.”
Line array lineup
New line arrays keep popping up as well, offering controlled vertical coverage in a variety of shapes and powering options.
For modular line array functionality on a budget, TOA's new SRC line is worthy of consideration. Each module packs dual 8-inch low-mid drivers along with a 2-inch compression driver, and both passive and bi-amp modes are available. The module comes in two versions: a short-throw with a 15-degree vertical pattern, and a long-throw with a five-degree vertical. Rigging options are available for either ground-stacked or flown applications. A companion 15-inch subwoofer extends system response to 40 Hz.
For upscale permanent installations requiring a compact line array, d&b audiotechnik steps up with its new 10AL, part of the xA Series. Each module incorporates a single 10-inch low-mid driver and dual one-inch HF drivers. Two versions are offered, the 10AL with a 75-degree horizontal coverage and the 10AL-D, with 105-degree coverage for spreading sound at the bottom of an array. Cabinets are marine plywood with impact resistant finish available in custom colors. Side panels have an integrated rigging, and the rear panel has both NL4 and screw terminal connectors. As always, d&b audiotechnik specifies use with its own D6 and D12 amplifier and DSP units.
Also shouldering into the upper echelons of the line array market is the MLA Compact from Martin Audio. A self-powered three-way system, this downsized version of the tour-proven MLA system incorporates dual 10-inch woofers, dual five-inch midrange drivers and four 0.7-inch exit HF compression drivers along with five channels of class D amplification totaling—gulp!—4.2 kW peak output. All that power is precisely controlled by the onboard DSP with remote control using VU-NET software via the U-Net network. Martin says a wireless tablet is supplied standard with each system. Nice touch.
Making yet another NAMM debut was RCF's new HDL-20A, which joined a growing crowd of smaller yet full-featured active line array systems. The composite cabinet houses dual 10-inch low-mid drivers plus a three-inch diaphragm HF driver. Power is supplied by a dual-channel 1,200 W amplifier, and the DSP-driven crossover is set to keep the entire vocal range in the HF driver. The DSP functions also include presets for indoor use and high curvature configurations. The rigging mechanics allow for two-degree resolution on splay angles for flexible configuration of spiral or J-shaped arrays to suit venue layout and acoustics.
Throwing with a curve
Fixed curvature arrays are the latest phenomenon in the loosely defined line array arena, and two new entries reflect the growing popularity in portable and installed applications.
The new Paraline PSA-1 active full-range module from Yorkville of Canada employs four six-inch neodymium magnet woofers along with dual 1.75-inch compression drivers to deliver a consistent (and exceptionally wide) 110-degree horizontal by 15-degree vertical pattern. Despite the considerable driver load, the lightweight ABS cabinet allows stacking of two cabinets on a standard pole mount—which conveniently mates with the companion dual 12-inch subwoofer. The PSA-1 packs a total of 700 W program power (1,200 W peak), with 75W for the highs and 625 for the lows. High-efficiency amplifiers draw under three amps per cabinets, so the loop-through AC connections can be used to power four cabinets on a single standard circuit. Optional hardware is available for permanent installations.
Fresh out of France are two new constant curvature enclosures from L'Acoustics: Arcs Wide with a 30- by 90-degree pattern, and Arcs Focus with tighter 15- x 90-degree coverage. By adding elements to an array, you can extend your coverage in the “additive” plane while maintaining a consistent 90 degrees in the other plane. With the same number of cabinets, Arcs Focus would have a longer throw, while the Arcs Wide would be preferred if you wanted to cover a wider area with fewer boxes. These were just unveiled at PL+S and L'Acoustics has yet to release specifics, other than you need to couple them to their own LA4 or LA8 amplifier/processor units. Watch for more details coming soon.
Introduced just over a year ago, QSC's KLA Series fixed arcuate active line array system is designed for easy set-up and easy system tuning. A rear-mounted dial on the KLA12 allows users to select the total number of boxes deployed. The Ar-Q (Arcuate Equalization) frequency optimization then makes frequency compensation adjustments to create an evenly balanced and accurate tonal curve.
An affordable angle
In the category of line source columns, Tannoy has introduced three new models in its VLS Series. Line source columns remain a popular solution in reverberant environments where aesthetics are a concern, and here Tannoy offers an intriguing, cost-effective alternative to pricey digital beam steering columns arrays. Employing a proprietary analog technique called Focused Asymmetrical Shaping Technology (F.A.S.T.), VLS loudspeakers bend the coverage downward toward the lower quadrant of the vertical axis, often eliminating the need to tilt the column when mounted above audience level. The VLS 7 (7 x 3.5-inch drivers) is targeted at voice-only applications, while the VLS 15 (7 x 3.5-inch plus 8 x 1-inch) and the VLS 30 (15 x 3.5-inch and 8 x 1-inch) are suitable for full-range applications.
Finally, employing acoustical technology that seems both intuitive and radical, we have the RoomMatch array modules from Bose. Basically, the system uses a unique “mix and match” approach, coupling driver assemblies to any combination of five vertical and four horizontal waveguide patterns. The idea is to custom tailor the coverage pattern to any room dimension. In larger church applications, a narrow, high directivity waveguide would be attached to the drivers at the top of an array for the long throw, with progressively wider waveguides employed as the array descends to the short throw to closer seats. It does require computer modeling to configure correctly, with proper algorithms transferred to the companion PowerMatch PM8500 amplifier/DSP unit. In sum, it's an intriguing middle ground between fixed pattern loudspeaker modules and totally custom horn arrays.
So there you have it—a roundup of new loudspeakers, all ready for your newest worship sounds. After all, we wouldn't want to pour new sounds into old sound systems. The outcome may not be as catastrophic as new wine into old wineskins, but … why take chances?
