Completing The Package
The loudspeaker rigging system allows up to 24 enclosures to be suspended via its 2-point-lift flybar, and the same hardware can also be used for single point lifting of up to 12 cabinets, as well as ground stacking up to six high. Inter-cabinet connections utilize custom quick-release pins.
All loads are borne by the integral metalwork and release pins – not the enclosure. Accompanying software determines the safe limits and tilt angles of a specific array, with BGV C1 safety calculations done on the fly.
The enclosure is made of birch and poplar ply construction and finished with a thick polyurea coating. The enclosure sides are fitted with replaceable, steel-reinforced rubber moldings with integral interlocking skids, and an ergonomic bar-handle facilitates rigging and general handling. MLA Compact is supplied in flight-cased pairs, with the base doubling as the wheelboard for the pair.
The companion DSX subwoofer offers is a dual-18-inch (4-inch voice coil) ferrite drivers in reflex-loaded enclosure with four flared ports, designed to improve linear airflow. Each driver is housed in its own separate chamber to move any cabinet resonances out of band. The onboard Class D amplifier module can deliver up to 6 kW of peak power. DSX sub arrays can be designed with specific directional properties and DSP settings uploaded via the VU-NET network.
A flying version, the DSX-F Sub, can be flown alongside or at the top of MLA Compact arrays, as well as being ground stacked. A maximum of 15 DSX-F can be suspended from the MLA flying frame and symmetrical rigging allows flown DSX-F cabinets to face backwards—enabling directional flown as well as directional ground stacked arrays to be configured. The ground-stack DSX can be upgraded to the DSX–F by the addition of an easy-to-fit accessory kit.
What all of this adds up to is a compact, highly flexible package that provides startlingly consistent frequency response when listening off-axis and “walking the field.” In both mobile and permanent applications for audiences ranging up to 5,000, this is no small feat.
Jason Baird is research & development director at Martin Audio. After completing a degree in Electronic Engineering at Leeds University in England in 1991, he worked in the production industry until he was employed by Wharfedale Loudspeakers in ‘94. After starting his career in hi-fi, he spent 18 months at Fane Acoustics, designing pro audio transducers, subsequently joining Martin Audio in 1998.