New PA first test

We tested the new PA for the first time last night and let’s just say we were blown away! The sound was both massive and clear, with the high frequencies finally getting spread all around rather than just thrust straight forwards.

One 115E sub with two 835 tops absolutely filled the room to the point that it was fingers in ears territory! I now can’t wait to gig using them and finally clear pretty much two thirds of the van out!

So what are the benefits so far?

• Reduced size – by a huge amount. Not just in weight of speakers, but with the amount of gear we’ll be carrying to gigs going forward. We’ll no longer need the huge power amps rack and the speaker cables can be sold.
• Reduced width – they’re much smaller width wise and we can put them at more positions without them blocking the view of the stage. No more “behind the speakers” moments.
• Improved clarity – getting rid of 15″ speakers for the tops reduces the response time of the diaphragm and improves frequency response. This can only be a benefit.
• Line array design – maximum dispersion around the venue rather than a single direction of throw.
• The system has very intelligent protection against overload and starts applying a soft compressor when we push it too far.
• Ridiculously fast setup ! We were up and running within a couple of minutes.
• Saving our backs! A 12 person job (2 men per speaker, 6 cabs) becomes a 3 person job (2 bags of tops – 1 lift), 2 subs – (one man lift each). Whilst the weight drops from around 350kg to 70kg.
• Saving fuel – the van will be lighter and the centre of gravity of it will become much lower so it’ll be more stable.

So what are the drawbacks?

• It doesn’t look as impressive having a stick on top of a box rather than a huge array of speakers.
• The cost is rather high – approximately £2500 a side.
• We have had to sort tripods for our lighting display as the old pole mounts are no longer usable.

In all, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks!