“Every live and installed sound application has different audio requirements,” says Preston Gray, director of marketing, Yamaha Professional Audio. “With the addition of the new P15 cabinet, the P+ Series now offers engineers and system integrators the widest range of flexible loudspeaker options for configuring a sound system.
Nexo is expanding its P+ Series of point-source loudspeakers with the new P15, a 15” coaxial loudspeaker built for front-of-house (FOH) and monitoring applications. The new model from Nexo, a Yamaha company, joins the P8, P10 and P12 speakers to complete a full range of powerful compact speakers combining scalability and versatility for sound reinforcement applications in multiple markets.
"....this is one of the most anticipated launches in our 40-year history,” - François Deffarges for Nexo.
The new speaker arrives 25 years after the launch of the Nexo PS15, arguably the most ubiquitous 15” point-source cabinet of all time, according to the company announcement. The P15 features all the performance and design hallmarks of its P+ Series counterparts. Its curvilinear enclosures of custom birch and poplar plywood are unique to the P+ Series, with the bent wood significantly enhancing the lightweight cabinet’s robustness.
The powerful 2-way passive/active speaker delivers 139 dB (Passive) to 141 dB (Active) SPL from its purpose-built 15” Neodymium magnet coaxial driver with a 3.5” voice coil. The new speaker’s frequency response is 57Hz-20kHz. The P15 weighs 23 kg (approx. 2.2 pounds) and measures 600 x 483 x 352 mm (approx. 24 x 19 x 14 inches).
“Every live and installed sound application has different audio requirements,” adds Preston Gray, director of marketing, Yamaha Professional Audio. “With the addition of the new P15 cabinet, the P+ Series now offers engineers and system integrators the widest range of flexible loudspeaker options for configuring a sound system. Plus, these speakers match seamlessly with our consoles, amps and full line of audio technologies to form end-to-end audio workflow solutions.”
“The versatility of the P+ Series is especially relevant at this time,” says Gareth Collyer, Nexo’s sales and marketing director. “As venues and production companies redefine indoor and outdoor audience areas to accommodate social distancing, the portable power and interchangeability of the P+ Series cabinets are useful. The P15 is the ideal multipurpose audio product for theaters, cultural venues and sports venues, extending their ability to handle different repertoires of performance and events.”
“This has been the most challenging of assignments for our R&D team,” says François Deffarges for Nexo, “in terms of how to design a successor to a product that is still in our warehouse, still sells in large numbers and still routinely wins shootouts. Most audio engineers have had their hands on Nexo PS15s at some point in their careers, so this is one of the most anticipated launches in our 40-year history.”
According to Nexo’s director of R&D, Joseph Carcopino, Nexo received valuable feedback from the market during the first year of the P+ Series’ availability. “Since the launch of the P12, we evolved the design of our components to optimize the cone and voice coil, providing the perfect balance between power and weight, even achieving an extension of the frequency response in the low end. Bass-reflex tuning is done through two specially designed and shaped ports to guarantee ultra-low distortion, even at high levels.”
The P15 is so versatile that it can transform inventory. Unusual for the 15” category, a switch on the back of the cabinet enables the P15 to be reconfigured from passive to active mode, taking SPL output from 139 dB to 141 dB (peak). Horn flanges, with their variable directivities, can be interchanged from the 60° x 60° provided as standard to a 90° x 40° or an asymmetrical 50°- 100° x 40°. (The interchangeable flanges are marketed as accessories.) Switching between different directivities is achieved by removing the steel grille and replacing the flare, which uses a magnetic fixing.
The ergonomic design of the P15 includes large comfortable handles on each side with a 35mm pole-mount fitting with a Speakon connector and threaded inserts to connect mounting accessories. The backplate holds two more Speakon connectors and the recessed switch to change the cabinet from passive to active mode. The Installation version of the P15 is passive only, with a cable gland for a two-core cable for audio input, ensuring IP54 protection.
L18 COMPACT SUB
The new P15 speaker can be used independently or with its companion subwoofer, the new L18.
This sub is a compact horn-loaded sub-bass model with a high-excursion 18” woofer. It matches the efficiencies of the P15, offering an extremely high output level (140dB Peak) and an impressive power-to-weight ratio. The P15 can be used either on a pole-mount with the L18 cabinet, wall-mounted, or flown in landscape mode beneath an L18 enclosure, using a specially designed yoke bracket.
Built around a custom-made 15mm bent plywood shell, the L18 is robust yet weighs only 50kg (approx. 110 pounds). “The 18” Neodymium transducer with 4.5” voice coil offers extreme stiffness and a high displacement capacity,” said Carcopino.
Like all Nexo subs, the L18 is scalable, allowing it to be used with the smaller P12 point-source cabinet. It shares the same range of accessories with other models in the P+ Series, making it an attractive option for rental company inventories. This combination represents a cost-effective alternative to small line array configurations, with the ability to fly one or two L18s above a P15 cabinet.
Like its P15 companion main speaker, the L18 precisely matches the Nexo NXAMP4x2mk2 controller amplifier’s output power. New processing algorithms optimize the match between the L18’s maximum excursion with the NXAMP4x2mk2’s output voltage capacity, producing highly dynamic sound without triggering the driver’s thermal limit. The NXAMP4x2mk2 also offers a dedicated minimum latency set-up, compatible with the monitor set-ups on the P15. The result is an efficient drum-fill system in a compact footprint.
The P15 and L18 models are available in black and white structural paint finishes (all other RAL colors by request) and Installation and Touring versions.
For more information, visit nexo-sa.com.
