UK - Studiomaster has widened its FOH loudspeaker portfolio coming out of Q1, with a line-up of new and uprated replacement series and new product type designs, including several revealed during the NAMM and ISE shows at the beginning of the year.
Four completely new active loudspeaker series offer compact columns, two-way point-source cabs, and vertical and horizontal compact line arrays, with designs offering significantly improved feature sets, utility and price to performance advantages, increasing the brand’s competitive edge in key market segments.
The Direct MX series column array is a highly versatile, 127 dB / 2000 W column array design, available in two system configurations; with the 6x 3” mid frequency / 1x high frequency 1” precision compression unit armed column array, respectively (and literally) coupled with a compact 10” and 12” reflex sub enclosure in the Direct 101 MX and Direct 121 MX.
The Direct MX boasts a complement of on-board power and control features, enabling it to function as a stand-alone sound-reinforcement solution without the requirement for any outboard equipment.
The Vortex series is Studiomaster’s latest iteration of the active two-way, mid/top portable PA format. Vortex combines ‘innovative electro-acoustic and digital electronic technologies in creating a new loudspeaker with a structurally ergonomic, lightweight form-factor, making these sonically exceptional cabinets the most affordable PA offering in the brand’s new PA line up’.
The injection-moulded cabinets sport full-face steel mesh grilles and are designed around a proprietary-developed, high precision coaxial driver. Vortex 10A, 12A and 15A models are loaded with 10”, 12” and 15” variants of this transducer, respectively.
Pole mounting and rigging are provided for with dual top-hats and five M10 flying points. While integral top and side handles make for easy lifting and carrying. The cabinets’ asymmetrical trapezoidal form, provides a horizontal axis tilt, enabling the cabinets to be used in stage monitoring applications.
The accompanying 15SA and 18SA active compact sub bass cabinets offer a choice of LF reinforcement, with 2400 W (peak) onboard amplification delivering up to 132dB and 134dB LF SPLs, down to 45 Hz and 43 Hz respectively. Onboard DSP provides for high-pass filter, gain and delay line control.
Two new V-series ultra-compact active line array systems were also debuted at NAMM and ISE. The V26, comprising the miniature V26A horizontal array element and V26SA compact 15” sub, and the V6 lightweight, PP injection-moulded, 2-way conventionally configured line array and V6SA compact 15” sub.
Studiomaster general manager Patrick Almond comments, “These new models are already having a positive impact on our order books, with the Direct MX and Vortex series in particular making significant inroads in the mobile DJ sector; undoubtedly due to their combination of outstanding performance, versatile features, aesthetic appearance and highly competitive price points. The V26 and V6 systems bolster our line array offering with our first truly compact systems, offering the option of line array solutions within a much wider range of application environments and project budgets.”
