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44 l November 2013


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livefeature


EXTREEEEEEME EXTREME!


FBT Mitus 152A


Blues Bar in Harrogate, which runs “as a café during the day, necessitating background music, and then becomes a live music venue six nights a week. The system has been put through many thousands of operation and nothing has needed to be changed, so it’s really proven to be a very durable solution.” The speaker also continues to


show its worth out on the road, where it has recently been specified by Richard Brooker Sound Design for a new 24-week UK theatre tour of classic musical Fiddler on the Roof.


3. FBT MITUS 152A One of the latest launches to feature in this round-up, having been launched at Prolight + Sound in March 2013, the Mitus 152A active speaker has also been developed to handle live sound and fixed install applications with equal adeptness. A two-way, biamplified, bass reflex design, the 1,100W + 250W RMS speaker includes a 380mm B&C neodymium magnet woofer with 75mm voice coil, 50mm B&C HF driver with 64mm voice coil, and a 60 (H) x 40 (V) degree rotatable HF horn. Mark Parkhouse, managing


director of FBT Audio (UK), highlights the “roadworthiness” of a speaker that owes its robustness in no small part to its “birch cabinet plywood and scratch resistant paint. As with all FBT products, it’s constructed in- house at the factory in Italy to a very good standard.” The Mitus 152A isn’t IP55-


rated for water and dust protection (although Parkhouse reports anecdotally that some purchasers have been acquiring rain covers to allow the speakers to be used outdoors), but this requirement is catered to by another of FBT’s recent introductions – Shadow. “IP55-


Here’s what some of the specialist installation brands have to go through. At the top, Technomad Vernal loudspeakers, installed by systems integration company Watt & Volt Sverige AB, at the SkiStar resort in northern Sweden. The speakers are part of an installation that communicates the history of SkiStar, deliver atmospheric audio in eight locations. Niklas Hamrin, managing director, of Watt & Volt, says of Technomad: “Their loudspeakers provide the


rated, Shadow comprises a line of full range and horn-loaded loudspeakers that provide music and voice reproduction for applications where extreme weather resistance is a priority,” notes Parkhouse.


4. QSC ACOUSTICDESIGN SERIES S8T, S10T, S12 QSC’s senior communications & public relations manager, Phil Sanchez, nominates the fixed install-oriented, 70/100V, two- way S8T, S10T and S12 surface mount loudspeakers from the manufacturer’s AcousticDesign series. “The enclosures are built out of ABS plastic, which is an incredibly durable bit of material, and the design also lends the speaker to being deployed in tough environments,” he says. Alongside a spec that includes


a 1.4” diaphragm, 1” compression driver to ensure detailed high- frequency reproduction, a variety of features have been included to make the speaker suitable for demanding install applications. All three meet IEC60529 IP-54 for dust and splash resistance, with sealed input panels and powder coated aluminium grilles provided for added weather resistance. Meanwhile, the versatile X-Mount hardware makes it easy for the installer to mount the bracket and then simply lift the loudspeaker onto the mount and lock it into place. But above all, Sanchez highlights the robustness of the ABS plastic, which he describes as “an incredibly well-wearing material. Combined with an aluminium bracket and grill, and it’s clear this product will be rust-resistant.” Accordingly, demanding public space installations – including retail outlets, casinos, houses of worship and healthcare facilities – feature prominently in the list of suitable applications.


Vernal: snowy


appropriate protection considering the large snow amounts and extremely low temperatures, which can drop to between -30 and - 40 Celsius.”


As a footnote, QSC famously


threw a first-generation Acoustic Design speaker (and an RMX amplifier) off the roof of the Costa Mesa HQ in 2005, and filmed the whole event. Both speaker and amp performed perfectly after the encounter with the car park concrete.


5. D.A.S. AUDIO WR SERIES Introduced to the market earlier this year, the WR (Weather Resistant) series products from D.A.S. Audio have – as their name might suggest – been developed specifically to suit adverse outdoor installation


Community: watery


Middle, ‘ingress protection’ procedures by Intertek at its Life Safety & Security testing facility in Leatherhead, Surrey for EN54-24 certification of


applications. Comprising four two-way passive models, the range is available with two exposure ratings in order to comply with IP55 and IP56 environmental ratings as per IEC 529. Roberto Giner, marketing


director for D.A.S. Audio, explains: “‘Covered Exposure’ (CX) is for applications where cabinets are covered or protected, while ‘Direct Exposure’ (DX) is for situations where cabinets are unprotected and directly exposed to the environment.” CX versions, notes Giner, are


protected with a thick Iso-Flex coating on both the exterior and interior surfaces. The DX versions, meanwhile, augment the protection rating by employing a fibre-glass exterior and a gel coat sealed interior. Additionally, stainless steel fittings and mounted hardware are offered on both versions. The evolution of new


D.A.S. WR 6412


weatherproofing methods has fed into the WR series, confirms Giner: “Clearly, new materials and techniques lead to changes in production as these products are integrated. In our case, the WR products take advantage of the new paints and finishes and waterproofing solutions to offer true all-weather durability.” And although it’s a new range, the WR products have already found their way into several challenging environments – not least the outdoor terrace of multi- use venue Stage 48 in New York City, where the WR products have been selected to resist NYC’s notoriously harsh winters.


Peavey Elements


6. PEAVEY ELEMENTS SERIES “Gone are the days of hanging so-called enclosures outside only to replace the speaker in a year or two” is among the claims made by Peavey on behalf of its freshly- minted Elements series. Built for


Technomad: army


Community’s R-Series R1, R2 and R6 loudspeaker systems. And bottom… Technomad boxes on a US Army Humvee. Need we say more?


long-term usage, the Elements weatherproof enclosures combine innovative cabinet construction and weatherised components designed for direct contact with the elements in the most demanding climates. There are two distinct strands to the Elements range. The five- model-strong Elements C series features composite enclosures constructed from an advanced composite fiberboard material that is dimensionally stable in wet conditions and resists contamination, yet has the resonant properties of wood. Additionally, the aluminium grills of the Elements C enclosures include a barrier membrane that repels water but allows moisture to escape without affecting the sonic performance of the loudspeaker. Comprising six models, the Elements M series, meanwhile, incorporates rugged moulded cabinets and a variety of speaker sizes and horn options. All cabinets feature an IP45 environmental rating as a result of stainless multi-fly-point hardware, sealed terminal connections, weather-resistant grills and weatherproof speaker cones. “Both the M and C series are


fully weatherised, so they really can handle all kinds of conditions,” says James Kennedy, operations manager, Peavey Commercial Audio. By way of example, Kennedy points to a public test at InfoComm in June that saw discrete Elements speaker drivers being topped to the brim with water with ducks floating around. “It went to show that you could completely submerge the speaker cones in water and they would be unaffected.” www.dasaudio.com www.fbtaudio.co.uk www.jblpro.com www.kv2audio.com www.peaveycommercialaudio.com www.qscaudio.com





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