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MB/HF System
Xf Two-Way, MB/HF System
2
tion as imbalance in the frequency re-
sponse, and will attempt to electronically
adjust the system to restore the spectral
balance. However this electronic equaliza-
tion has the negative effect of changing
the program material itself.
Ring-Mode Decoupling (RMD
™
) addresses
mechanical resonances with mechanical so-
lutions, and acoustical resonances with
acoustical solutions. In the Xf develop-
ment, RMD
™
was applied at every level –
to the individual high-frequency and mid-
bass drivers and horns, the mid-bass en-
closure chambers, the interaction between
the high-frequency and mid-bass fre-
quency bands and the interaction between
multiple enclosures. The design process
included, for example, the driver diaphragm,
cone, suspension and phase-plug geom-
etry and materials, horn geometry and ma-
terials, enclosure geometry and materials,
absorptive materials, etc. The result is a
dramatic improvement in clarity and with a
much more neutral sound (a lack of colora-
tion), with the loudspeaker system main-
taining its sonic integrity from the very-
lowest sound-pressure levels, to the very-
highest sound-pressure levels. This means
that the front-of-house engineer will not
have to retune the EQ and level settings as
the SPL is increased throughout the show.
This also means that the sound system
performance will remain consistent in dif-
ferent array configurations and from venue
to venue.
The X-Array
™
systems utilizes a unique rig-
ging system. A hinge assembly is used to link
cabinets together at their rear corners, while
wire-rope/fitting assemblies are used at the
front to adjust the relative angle between
systems. (See the Flying the X-Array
™
Sys-
tems section for more details.)
The durable Xf enclosure is constructed of
18-mm, 13-ply birch plywood and has a
wear-resistant black, textured paint finish.
The system is trapezoidal, forming an 18°
wedge and includes a heavy-duty steel grille
with a water-resistant charcoal-gray foam in-
terlining. The enclosure features vinyl
bumper pads on the front corners and feet
on the bottom to resist wear.
A variety of accessories are available for the
X-Array
™
loudspeaker systems, including
rigging hardware, dollies, covers, electronic
crossovers, amplifier racks and speaker ca-
bling. Consult the X-Array
™
Accessories
section for a complete listing of the avail-
able accessories.
Applications
The X-Array
™
loudspeaker systems were
designed for optimal performance in both
concert-sound and permanent-installation
applications where studio-monitor sound
quality is required at concert-sound lev-
els. The X-Array
™
loudspeaker systems
work well individually, in small arrays and
in large arrays. The high acoustic output
from these compact, lightweight systems
provide the highest acoustic-power-to-
weight ratio, the highest acoustic-power-
to-frontal-area ratio, and the highest acous-
tic-power-to-bulk-volume ratio in the in-
dustry. That means that X-Array
™
systems
will be considerably smaller and lighter
compared to competitive systems having
equivalent acoustic output. The 40° H x
20° V coverage pattern of the Xf makes it
ideal for sound-reinforcement applications
with long-throw requirements. With its re-
sponse from 125-20,000 Hz, is recom-
mended for mid-bass-/high-frequency ap-
plications and should be used with an
X-Array
™
bass box (like the Xb, Xds or
Xcb) for full-range applications. The Xf may
be used individually or in multiples to con-
struct arrays. In addition, the Xf may be
used with the MB/HF or LF/MB/HF
X-Array
™
loudspeaker systems (like the Xn
or Xcn) to construct large full-range arrays.
The Xf enclosure shell and rigging are iden-
tical to the other full-size X-Array
™
systems
for easy array integration. The 40° H x 20° V
coverage pattern offers precise pattern con-
trol, and would be well suited for front-of-
house, front-fill, side-fill and delay applica-
tions.
The Xf is a two-way active system that re-
quires an active electronic crossover. Both
the Electro-Voice Dx38 and Klark Teknik
DN8000 digital crossovers are recom-
mended for signal control. (See the Cross-
over, Equalization and Signal Delay Con-
troller section.) The Electro-Voice P3000
amplifier is recommended for powering the
Xf. (See the Amplifier Recommendations
section.)
Power-Handling Capabilities
The Xf systems are rated as per the
“ANSI/EIA RS-426-A Loudspeaker Power-
Rating, Full-Range Test,” which uses a
shaped-random-noise signal to simulate typi-
cal music to test the mechanical and thermal
capabilities of the loudspeakers. A digital
crossover was used to provide the appropri-
ate filtering and equalization. The test pa-
rameters are as follows:
High-Frequency Section:
PE
(MAX)
:
150 watts
Test Voltage:
30.1-volts rms
60.2-volts peak
R
SR
(1.15 R
E
):
6.04 ohms
Mid-Bass-Frequency Section:
PE
(MAX)
:
600 watts
Test Voltage:
45.5-volts rms
91.0-volts peak
R
SR
(1.15 R
E
):
3.45 ohms
Amplifier Recommendations
Power amplifiers with the following ratings
are recommended for use with the Xf loud-
speaker systems:
HF:
800 watts per channel
into 8 ohms
93-volts peak
MB:
800 watts per channel
into 8 ohms
93-volts rms short term
132-volts peak
Xf loudspeakers may be paralleled with other
Xf systems as long as the amplifiers can drive
the lower impedances. To maintain a suffi-
cient damping factor with long cable runs,
amplifier loads of four ohms per channel are
recommended. The Electro-Voice P3000 am-
plifiers are ideal for powering the X-Array
™
systems.
Crossover, Equalization and Signal
Delay Controller
The Xf is a two-way active loudspeaker sys-
tem requiring an active crossover, equaliza-
tion and signal delay controller. For basic ap-
plications, the Electro-Voice Dx38
2-in/4-out controller is recommended. For
more sophisticated applications, the Klark
