Founded just four years ago by a team of industry veterans who played major roles in shaping the course of modern sound reinforcement system designs over the past four decades, VUE Audiotechnik continues to break new ground in product innovation.
Products don’t always follow specific timetables. So when the latest addition to VUE’s family of scalable line arrays — the new flagship al-12 — was ready to debut to the world, the launch took place at the Prolight + Sound show in Guangzhou, China, held Feb. 29 through March 3, 2016. The al-12 extends VUE’s al-Class to new large-scale applications and also emphasizes VUE’s Continuous Source Topology (CST™) technology.
The al-12 is really just a single component into what is a complete turn-key system. This is comprised of the al-12 Acoustic Elements, the new rack-mount V3 Systems Engine along with the al-12SB subwoofer and a complete family of rigging and transport accessories. The V3 combines a powerful DSP architecture with networking capabilities that permit the simple assembly of sophisticated networks. This allows remote management and control via SystemVUE software with audio transport over detente.
The system is powered in blocks of two al-12 elements, using a single V3 amplifier, which supplies 1,600 watts sine wave (4,000 watts burst) for each of the low- and mid-frequency channels, and 500 watts sine wave / 1,000 watts burst to the HF section. The V3 has analog, AES and Dante inputs with Ethernet-based SystemVUE remote control.
The system approach extends beyond the al-12 family through, VUE’s Continuous Source Topology, which allows the al-12 to be seamlessly integrated into systems with a all other al-Class members. Versatile hybrid arrays can be created without sacrificing coherency and symmetry, while expanding array vertical coverage and reducing weight. For more bass-intensive requirements, VUE’s line of subwoofers can be added to the array. Additionally, the al-Class provides a scalable path to easily expand the system to meet future needs.
A three-way, double-12 system, the al-12 itself employs a total of 10 drivers in a relatively compact 14 x 42.1 x 16.9-inch (H x W x D) birch plywood enclosure that weighs in at just 129 pounds. The al-12’s rated frequency response is 62 Hz to 19 kHz (±2.5 dB) or 47 Hz to 27 kHz (-10 dB).
Beyond the Spec Sheet
However, specs only tell part of the story. To go deeper and get some insights into the al-12, we spoke with VUE Audiotechnik’s design chief, Michael Adams.
Adams is an engineer whose approach to design combines both science and some 40 years of experience as a mixer with top artists, such as Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne and Emmylou Harris, and as a systems tech for leading touring and installation firms. As a co-founder of Audio Composite Engineering (ACE), he worked in developing some of the most successful sound reinforcement speakers in use today for a “who’s-who” list of major pro audio manufacturers.
Regarding the al-12, “It’s a whole new animal, but it’s an extension of the al-series product line,” Adams says. “In terms of components, there is nothing shared, except for the horn flare itself and the spacing used to maintain symmetry. So when you combine systems with the al-12, the al-8 and the al-4 — like al-12’s over al-8’s or al-8’s over al-4’s, the sound is consistent and the line remains unbroken. The horn flare on all have the same horizontal dispersion, and the 4’s and 8’s use the identical wave formers behind the horn.”
The beryllium HF compression drivers are mounted to a tightly coupled, precision waveguide that reduces acoustic lobing and for improved line array consistency.
Dispersion for a single al-12 is given as 90° (horizontal) and 10° (vertical). But probably equally important are other factors. “I spent a lot of time on the al-12 working on the on-and off-axis response,” notes Adams, “so it pretty much sounds the same 45° off-axis as it does on-axis, but just less loud. A lot of design time was put into optimizing the clarity of that off-axis behavior, down to say 500 Hz and below.”
The al-12 provides a 10 dB increase in maximum output compared to VUE’s al-8, while the al-12 enclosure is only 50 percent larger. Like the al-4 and al-8 in the al-Class, the al-12 line array system utilizes VUE’s advanced technologies and innovative designs. And to keep the al-12 system down to its svelte 129 pounds, all the drivers have neodymium magnet structures and were engineered from the ground up for higher efficiency and power handling with less power compression.
The ten drivers in the system include two 12-inch woofers with 3-inch voice coils; six 4-inch Kevlar cone mids with impregnated linen surrounds; and two 1.4-inch exit HF compression drivers with pure Truextent® beryllium diaphragms.
“The al-12 uses a new 4-inch mid that looks similar to the one used in the al-8 and al-4, but has a larger magnet structure, larger voice coil, a stiffer cone and handles double the power,” Adams explains. “The high-frequency components use an OEM motor structure with a new 3-inch Truextent beryllium foil diaphragm and a newly designed, new-topology phase plug that offers extended HF response and reduced harmonic content in the upper ranges. Yet from a sonic signature, all are similar. In our tests, we were able to achieve a seamless under-hang with the al-8’s used below the al-12’s.”
The Beryllium Edge
VUE Audiotechnik has long been one of the leading proponents of the advantages that beryllium affords in terms of a diaphragm material for HF compression drivers. Of metals typically employed for HF compression driver diaphragms, Beryllium has the lowest density-to-mass ratio, and one advantage of this lower-mass material is greater acceleration for improved efficiency and extended frequency response. At the same time, Beryllium’s stiffness-to-mass ratio can significantly lower mechanical deformation and shift resonant frequencies outside the audible range.
“Over the years, my testing has shown that beryllium is highly damped compared to titanium; and here, aluminum is better than titanium,” says Adams. “Beryllium has lower distortion than either titanium or aluminum. Compression drivers are notorious for distortion. A lot of large-format drivers exhibit random breakup modes at 10 kHz and above, so anywhere where we can improve on that makes a discernable difference. I’m always trying to keep harmonic content to a minimum and beryllium helps me do that. The result is apparent in the detail and depth of the high frequencies, you can hear reverb tails that are lost in most high output systems. “
Practical Considerations
Given Adams’ on-the road, real-life background, plenty of attention was paid to how the al-12 would function in the lives of working professional.
“I’m a touring sound guy who started working at Sound Image in 1974 and everything I do is based on those experiences. In 1980, I started doing design work for all Sound Image touring systems. So I know that systems have to fit in the truck and they have to fly and be practical,” he recalls.
“Everything I design has that in mind, in terms of size or weight or rigging. The rigging is designed to be pretty simple. We took a system up to Sound Image and asked them to hang it without me telling them how. It didn’t take them long to figure it out. There are no dials or slide rules involved in putting this up in the air.”
Getting Down… Way Down
For applications requiring extended low frequency reproduction, VUE Audiotechnik offers the flyable al-12SB, a companion subwoofer system with two 18-inch neodymium woofers optimized to provide solid LF response down to below 40 Hz. The compact enclosure can be flown in arrays along with the al-12s, or in sub-only adjacent arrays.”
“The subwoofers are a bass-reflex, twin-18 box with each driver in a separate chamber, Adams adds. “From a volume standpoint, it’s not as deep as you might want, because it’s designed to fit on the same beam as the al-12 top boxes. We use an 18-inch driver with a 5-inch voice coil that we designed to work in smaller box volumes, so we still get a respectable -3 dB down-point that’s under 38 Hz. Each will handle 1,800 watts AES, so you can put a lot of pop into them. And when you couple some of these together, that will lower your -3 dB down-point, even more.”
The entire design process began with these factors in mind. “We started with the box size we needed in terms of certain parameters — such as loading into trucks or fly together — and I optimized the speaker for the box,” says Adams. “The Al-12 boxes alone get down into the 50 Hz range with some DSP, but even without that, they are flat down to 60 Hz. Now if you want 25 Hz or 30 Hz, you’d probably want to use our hs-221 on the ground. But as a front of house guy, I never had much use for 30 Hz in an arena.”
Overall, Adams is pleased with the final result of the al-12, this latest addition to VUE Audiotechnik’s al-series of high-definition line arrays. “The al-12 has a good deal more output than the al-8. It will hit in the 129 dB range with a single cabinet — and that’s sustained max SPL’s, and not peaks. We put a lot of effort into the ergonomics and the al-12 is a great-sounding box that definitely has the output and punch to perform.”
At a Glance
VUE Audiotechnik al-12
Format: Three-way
LF: (2) 12” neodymium woofers
MF: (4) 4” Kevlar cone neodymium mids
HF: (2) 1.4” exit neodymium drivers with 3” beryllium diaphragms
Response: 62 Hz to 19 kHz (±2.5 dB)
Dispersion: 90 x 10 degrees (H x V)
Dimensions: 14 x 42.1 x 16.9” (H x W x D)
Weight: 129 pounds
Companion Subwoofer: al-12SB dual-18”
Website: www.vueaudio.com.
