Returning after InfoComm 2015, David Croxton of KV2 is still enjoying the success of the company’s reveal of the new VHD5.0 Constant Power Point Source Array. He says there was considerable interest in the whole new approach to large venue sound.
“We are still in the final stages of development with VHD5.0, but so far our tests are providing amazing results in respects to both clarity and SPL over distance,” Croxton reports. “We believe this system will have a significant impact on the line array trend that has dominated the market for the last two decades.”
The other big news is KV2 has a new distribution deal.
KV2 is based in Milevsko, Czech Republic, south of Prague. Croxton says that while they are committed to supporting the U.S. market, it’s taken a while to get national representation and support in place. “Our new distributors, PlusMusic, have a long association with the brand through their involvement with the distribution of our products in Europe,” he says.
KV2 reports that clients in the New York EDM market have already reached out to PlusMusic for large KV2 systems. “In collaboration with ISI, we have established a strong and credible team to support and service the U.S. market with KV2 Audio,” says PlusMusic’s CEO Stefano Trevisan. “KV2 continues to grow globally especially as more people discover the sound quality of these products. Some of Europe’s theatres are already installing KV2 point source systems instead of high end line arrays.”
At KV2, Trevisan says, the true reproduction of the original sound and its dynamics are the key elements in the development of the company’s products. “We have bucked industry trends and broken industry standards to find the best possible audio solutions both analog and digital.”
New Approach
As for Croxton, he was dialing in bands in the 1980s and worked his way from the pubs and clubs to the international concert touring arena. He left the road and formed his own pro audio distribution company down under in Australia.
“I have been associated with KV2 since they started, meeting the two founders George Krampera and Marcelo Vercelli during their time at Mackie,” he says, noting his own role in distributing Mackie products at the time. “When they left Mackie to start KV2 in 2002, I took on the distribution of the brand.” He would sell his company and was asked to help with the development of KV2 global distributor and company direction.
“I was excited to work with George Krampera, one of the great designers of pro audio equipment in modern times,” Croxton says. “Through George’s vision, KV2 Audio has made real advances in sound reinforcement through maintaining certain principles which form our SLA [Super Live Audio] standard. These advances have seen KV2 deliver products of uncompromised quality.”
KV2’s offers encompasses speaker systems of all sizes both active and passive. Each product is somewhat unique, he says. “For instance, our passive range has a built in analog delay, which ensures phase integrity and our active speakers use trans coil speaker technology to lower intermodulation distortion,” Croxton says. “Our EX and ES ranges have been in the market for over decade now and still continue to be extremely popular around the globe.”
The line array system in general was an improvement over composite box-type systems, but did not solve all audio challenges, Croxton adds. “Having all components in a single axis array solved certain issues in respect to the comb filtering problems in the horizontal plane but did not overcome the destructive interference occurring vertically and the loss of high frequencies through air disturbance caused by wind and audience heat. Manufacturers have attempted to correct these problems in numerous ways both through acoustic design and DSP however destructive interference of HF in the vertical axis is still a major issue for line arrays along with poor impulse response due to multiple arrivals of the sound to the listener both reducing definition.”
The team at KV2 does not believe these problems can be fixed merely with software. “DSP puts a ceiling on resolution,” Croxton continues. “People continually ask how do we achieve such clear HF in our systems. The simple answer is we don’t use DSP.” They do use digital processes for time alignment of components in their system, but they are not PCM-based and the 20 MHz-sampling rate used is significantly higher than industry standards, he says.
“We believe that definition equals distance and the higher the quality reproduction of the source, the better the intelligibility over distance,” Croxton adds. “To achieve the high definition needed to cover long distances, we have focused on developing unique hybrid processing which takes the best technologies in both analog and digital advancing speaker design to a whole new level.”
Enter the KV2 VHD5.0
The thought process behind the VHD5.0 is this: Covering large crowds requires an equally large system capable of delivering high SPL running multiple components. The KV2 philosophy is that doing this as one large point source enclosure is limiting, and such a system would be almost impossible to move around or transport. That solution comes in the form of the VHD5.0 large-format concert system, which KV2 claims will change the face of large-scale sound reinforcement.
“With the development of the VHD5.0 Constant Power Point Source Array, KV2 has focused on creating a modular system that has minimal destructive interference when utilizing multiple components in a number of cabinets, says Croxton. “High frequencies are carefully separated while the midrange horns are coupled providing maximum output and coverage. VHD8.10 Low Mid Expansion Boxes are arrayed around the 5.0 Mid-High enclosures providing the extra headroom needed to deliver the low mids and keep the sound balanced. In essence, the system is pieced together to represent one very large point source rather than placing multiple narrow dispersion speakers next to each other such as those found in line arrays or other Point Source Arrays. Together with state of the art electronics specially designed to optimize output, the end result is extremely consistent audio reproduction over large distances with virtually no phase anomalies.”
Everything in the VHD5.0 comes down to a systems approach. “It is designed so each part of the system is proportional in size to the frequency wavelengths it reproduces,” Croxton explains. “The radiated power of each bandwidth therefore remains consistent and balanced in relevance to the overall frequency response. This ensures the sound remains the same in every seat in the house.”
History
When looking at the country of KV2 origin, it’s good to remember that prior to World War II, Czechoslovakia was one of the most industrialized countries on earth. Those technicians and artisans took a long, hard road back to rise again, particularly in anything to do with music for which it was well known. But the country is once again prospering.
Krampera grew up there, building his first radio when he was ten. That led to power amps and other gear for local Prague bands. He lived through the Russian invasion of 1968, leaving for Austria in 1983. He then landed in Canada, where he worked for Yorkville Sound, designing guitar and keyboard amplifiers in addition to the company’s Elite line of processed speaker systems. He returned to Europe to work for Italian speaker maker RCF, making a number of breakthroughs including the development of the silicone spider for long-excursion woofers and designing products in RCF’s popular Art Series of active speakers.
As noted, Krampera also worked for Mackie, including designing products in its high-end Fussion line, but in the late 1990s, he would return home. With friend Marcelo Vercelli, he launched KV2 (“K” for Krampera, “V” for Vercelli, and “2” as this was their second venture together).
Today KV2 is based in a state-of-the-art, 100,000 square-foot facility. It features one of the largest anechoic chambers in the world. Other products that have come out of KV2’s R&D lab include the EX Active and ESD Passive Range, the ES, ESR and SL Series and the popular VHD2.0 System.
“We don’t simply gauge our systems’ performances on published specifications,” says Trevisan. “We gauge it by the smiles on people’s faces.”
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Company Snapshot
KV2 Audio
- Founders: George Krampera, Marcelo Vercelli
- When Founded: 2002
- Product Line: Active and passive speaker systems
- Latest Focus: VHD5.0 constant power point source array system
- Where Based: Milevsko, Czech Republic
- Distributors: PlusMusic US/ISI
- More Info: www.kv2audio.com, www.plusmusic.ch.
