Nexo PA Systems
New Hire Inventory
05/03/11 07:59
We've recently added a large number of Nexo PS10R2 speakers to out hire inventory. These are suitable as a high powered speaker on stand system, or as a good compact stage monitor. They also dove-tail well as front fills for our GEO S12 systems.
The PS10R2 is a significant upgrade on the original PS10, itself an amazing compact speaker. They come as standard as left and right pairs, with integrated flying points for use with PS/GEO S12 rigging equipment. The NXAMP now contains DSP for the use of the speaker as a monitor as well as standard FOH duties. In common with the predecessor, the PS10R2 has a rotatable horn for FOH or monitor applications.
We've also added some more RS15 subs and S1210's to our stock of Nexo GEO S12 system. So in the week just ended we were able to service theatre venue seating 750 at one end of the country as well as a stand up hip-hop gig for 900 at the other.
We've also made the long-term rental of a second SC48 from SSE Audio permanent as well as adding some more SSE MB4 monitors to our existing inventory.
The PS10R2 is a significant upgrade on the original PS10, itself an amazing compact speaker. They come as standard as left and right pairs, with integrated flying points for use with PS/GEO S12 rigging equipment. The NXAMP now contains DSP for the use of the speaker as a monitor as well as standard FOH duties. In common with the predecessor, the PS10R2 has a rotatable horn for FOH or monitor applications.
We've also added some more RS15 subs and S1210's to our stock of Nexo GEO S12 system. So in the week just ended we were able to service theatre venue seating 750 at one end of the country as well as a stand up hip-hop gig for 900 at the other.
We've also made the long-term rental of a second SC48 from SSE Audio permanent as well as adding some more SSE MB4 monitors to our existing inventory.
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Druid Theatre Company Purchase Nexo/Yamaha Touring system
19/01/11 09:32
Galway theatre company, Druid, have recently completed the purchase of a Nexo PS10R2 touring system from Alex Fernie Audio Ltd. The purchase, which includes Yamaha/Nexo NXAMPs, a Yamaha LS9-16 with MY16AT card as well as cable looms and line systems from Van Damme, will form the backbone of their touring audio system.
Having being a regular hirer of PS10 and Nexo systems from Alex Fernie Audio Ltd since 2005, it made sense for the company to invest in the new PS10R2. Druid Theatre are currently en route to the US, where "The Cripple of Inishmaan" will tour for the next five months. 2011 promises to be a busy one again for the theatre company, with new productions in the pipeline for the second half of the year.
The combination of the Yamaha LS9-16 with MY16AT card and an Echo Audio AudioFire12 will allow the company to run the sound for shows from a Apple Mac running Qlab Pro via MIDI as they have been doing for the past 2 years. The AudioFire12 is a 12in/12out firewire interface.
The purchase also includes a range of flightcases for amplifiers, consoles, cable and speakers.
Druid have also purchased some EV ZX1's, amplification and microphones for their redeveloped theatre space which, when not in use by Druid, is available to hire for theatre shows, as a rehearsal space or as a venue for press-calls or media receptions.
www.druidtheatre.com
www.nexo-sa.com
www.yamahaproaudio.com
www.echoaudio.com
Having being a regular hirer of PS10 and Nexo systems from Alex Fernie Audio Ltd since 2005, it made sense for the company to invest in the new PS10R2. Druid Theatre are currently en route to the US, where "The Cripple of Inishmaan" will tour for the next five months. 2011 promises to be a busy one again for the theatre company, with new productions in the pipeline for the second half of the year.
The combination of the Yamaha LS9-16 with MY16AT card and an Echo Audio AudioFire12 will allow the company to run the sound for shows from a Apple Mac running Qlab Pro via MIDI as they have been doing for the past 2 years. The AudioFire12 is a 12in/12out firewire interface.
The purchase also includes a range of flightcases for amplifiers, consoles, cable and speakers.
Druid have also purchased some EV ZX1's, amplification and microphones for their redeveloped theatre space which, when not in use by Druid, is available to hire for theatre shows, as a rehearsal space or as a venue for press-calls or media receptions.
www.druidtheatre.com
www.nexo-sa.com
www.yamahaproaudio.com
www.echoaudio.com
Designing a Nexo Tangent array
13/10/10 11:11
A Note to Professionals: This piece is aimed at the non-professional user in an effort to explain, in layman’s terms, the science and procedure for rigging and tuning a high performance PA system. It is written to show potential clients that there is a difference between the same speaker systems if they are badly designed or deployed. Therefore, there will be some details abbreviated, simplified or omitted for clarity.
Setting up a PA system is easy right? Put the speakers on stands, face them at the audience as you would with your home stereo and you’re good to go, right. Well yes, sort of. The problems arise when you put multiple speakers together in a room in order to cater for larger audiences. If not properly designed, large PA systems can affect tone and clarity as well as having differing tonal characteristics in different parts of a room.
At Alex Fernie Audio, the design of the system begins before we even load the truck. Firstly, the room is measured by a human using a laser measure. We measure the length, width and height of a venue. We measure the width of the stage and the distance from the first line of the audience to the stage. Luckily, over the years we have built up a database of these dimensions for most of the main venues in Ireland, but for new or unfamiliar venues, we look for architectural drawings or send someone to take these measurements for us.
For our Nexo systems, we use Nexo’s proprietary design and prediction software NS-1. Firstly, we tell the program the venue dimensions. As you can see, we work along all 3 dimensions to give a 3-D picture.
As you can see from the picture above, the room we are looking at is a 20 metre by 20 metre square. The Z axis allows us to factor in any slope in the room, to take account of seating banks or balconies. In this room the room is a flat open space.
Next, we open the speaker selection dialogue box and begin adding speakers:
This is the most important part. Here, we not only calculate the quantity and type of speaker we will use, but also the exact position of the speaker in the room (the GPS tab at the bottom) and the angles between each speaker cabinet. On the left of the dialogue box above, we see the speaker type and the various angles between each box. To the right, we see a guide to where each individual speaker is aimed and the lower diagram shows how the speaker system is performing. The basic idea is to design a system which is as loud at the front as it is at the back. This is done for all speaker systems, i.e. left and right and also for the sub-bass cabinets underneath the main PA.
The “mechanics” tab at the bottom of the speaker selection dialogue box ensures that the rigging we are using will be safe and mechanically possible. It tells us how many speakers we will be packing and how heavy the system will be (this is important for the guys rigging the PA on the day) as well as how far it will be above the audience’s heads and so on. As most of our large PA systems are flown on chain hoists from the ceiling of a building, we need to make sure the roof can take the weight. If not we must look at other options such as our own PA lifting towers. For outdoor gigs, we can add in the effect of wind to ensure the system is safe in normal conditions.
Finally, we do a prediction check to see how the system will perform at the day. The software makes a prediction based on average sound levels using pink noise.
This is useful advance information for the system technician on the day when he makes his tweaks to the system on the day. Essentially the coverage is fairly even throughout the venue, however he may decide to angle the speaker arrays as he listens to the system in the room. NS-1 software gives us advance knowledge of potential issues on the day so speeding up the deployment process as well as ensuring we have enough boxes to cover the room.
So there you have it. When you call us up to enquire about a PA system, this is how we work out how many speakers we need, how many people we need to rig the system and ultimately how much it will cost you, the customer.
Setting up a PA system is easy right? Put the speakers on stands, face them at the audience as you would with your home stereo and you’re good to go, right. Well yes, sort of. The problems arise when you put multiple speakers together in a room in order to cater for larger audiences. If not properly designed, large PA systems can affect tone and clarity as well as having differing tonal characteristics in different parts of a room.
At Alex Fernie Audio, the design of the system begins before we even load the truck. Firstly, the room is measured by a human using a laser measure. We measure the length, width and height of a venue. We measure the width of the stage and the distance from the first line of the audience to the stage. Luckily, over the years we have built up a database of these dimensions for most of the main venues in Ireland, but for new or unfamiliar venues, we look for architectural drawings or send someone to take these measurements for us.
For our Nexo systems, we use Nexo’s proprietary design and prediction software NS-1. Firstly, we tell the program the venue dimensions. As you can see, we work along all 3 dimensions to give a 3-D picture.
As you can see from the picture above, the room we are looking at is a 20 metre by 20 metre square. The Z axis allows us to factor in any slope in the room, to take account of seating banks or balconies. In this room the room is a flat open space.
Next, we open the speaker selection dialogue box and begin adding speakers:
This is the most important part. Here, we not only calculate the quantity and type of speaker we will use, but also the exact position of the speaker in the room (the GPS tab at the bottom) and the angles between each speaker cabinet. On the left of the dialogue box above, we see the speaker type and the various angles between each box. To the right, we see a guide to where each individual speaker is aimed and the lower diagram shows how the speaker system is performing. The basic idea is to design a system which is as loud at the front as it is at the back. This is done for all speaker systems, i.e. left and right and also for the sub-bass cabinets underneath the main PA.
The “mechanics” tab at the bottom of the speaker selection dialogue box ensures that the rigging we are using will be safe and mechanically possible. It tells us how many speakers we will be packing and how heavy the system will be (this is important for the guys rigging the PA on the day) as well as how far it will be above the audience’s heads and so on. As most of our large PA systems are flown on chain hoists from the ceiling of a building, we need to make sure the roof can take the weight. If not we must look at other options such as our own PA lifting towers. For outdoor gigs, we can add in the effect of wind to ensure the system is safe in normal conditions.
Finally, we do a prediction check to see how the system will perform at the day. The software makes a prediction based on average sound levels using pink noise.
This is useful advance information for the system technician on the day when he makes his tweaks to the system on the day. Essentially the coverage is fairly even throughout the venue, however he may decide to angle the speaker arrays as he listens to the system in the room. NS-1 software gives us advance knowledge of potential issues on the day so speeding up the deployment process as well as ensuring we have enough boxes to cover the room.
So there you have it. When you call us up to enquire about a PA system, this is how we work out how many speakers we need, how many people we need to rig the system and ultimately how much it will cost you, the customer.
Subwoofer arrays, new Nexo RS18 and a letter to Mr. Band Sound Engineer.
18/03/10 18:24
Just a short link to an article on building sufwoofer arrays, printed in this months Live Sound International. Quite Meyer specific, but some good info here. Don’t take all of it as gospel, though. There has been some talk over at Prosoundweb about erroneous information going unchecked in the mag, so this is just a disclaimer as I haven’t read this article in detail yet.
Speaking of subs, Nexo are demoing their new RS18 sub in Frankfurt next week. More info here. Will miss it unfortunately due to the work commitments here
Oh yeah and while I think of it:
Mr band sound engineer, next time you want an extra 3db across your mains and I’m supplying the PA, just ask - I generally oblige. Don’t say all’s cool and you’re happy and then do it on the sly just before your set. Password protection will be making a comeback....
Speaking of subs, Nexo are demoing their new RS18 sub in Frankfurt next week. More info here. Will miss it unfortunately due to the work commitments here
Oh yeah and while I think of it:
Mr band sound engineer, next time you want an extra 3db across your mains and I’m supplying the PA, just ask - I generally oblige. Don’t say all’s cool and you’re happy and then do it on the sly just before your set. Password protection will be making a comeback....
Arthur's Day in Dublin & Galway.
25/09/09 16:17
Some of the crowd on Shop Street, where we supplied Nexo PS Systems for street music gigs for Arthur’s Day. Meanwhile, main sound contractor for the event in Dublin, EQ Audio & Events hired Alex Fernie Audio to supply Nexo GEO Systems and Logic System monitor systems to some of the 28 venues hosting live gigs for the event. Highlight’s from some our venues were The Magic Numbers, Paolo Nutini, Oppenheimer, Informatics, Roots Manuva and David Kitt.
Nexo PS10's go to US
22/09/09 09:25
Long-term freelance tech for Alex Fernie Audio, Mike Nestor, took a Nexo PS10 system for a Frankie Gavin & the new De-Danann (FGATNDD) gig in the house of the US Ambassador last Thursday night. So in effect, some of the PS10’s were in the US. How cool is that...
(Photo: M. Nestor - thanks)
Just added to the site - details of long-term PA hire . I’m trying to keep on top of the site though jobs are pouring in at the moment. Bear with me during the construction of it, because I think it’s coming together nicely.
New Nexo PS R2 series
16/09/09 11:09
Spent a worthwhile day and a half at PLASA. First time visiting since 2005 I think, which is no reflection on the show, just that Prolight & Sound in Frankfurt was better as it had more Euro area suppliers which made it cheaper for us to buy. However with UK sterling now relatively cheap in relation to the euro, that’s changed somewhat.
The big deal was the new Nexo PS R2 series, which are seriously upgraded versions of the now 15 year old PS series. The new boxes are a big step up. In particular the PS10, which has an amazing bottom end for a small box. The new companion LS600 sub is a big improvement on the old LS500, louder, tighter and solid.
Styling is the same as the new S12 boxes, with similar rigging kits and grills. The PS15 benefits as a stage monitor by having these new grills as well as appropriately placed handles. The launch was rounded off with an excellent launch party, with Nexo’s technical designers present as well as Gareth Collyer, Nexo’s new sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Reiner Sassman, founder of Camco, also turned up as did the Penn’s from SSE.
Aside from the PS series, other things of interest included new powered monitor/speakers from CODA, new powered monitors from db Technologies and the SD8-24, a smaller format version of the SD8 though with the same DSP & input/output count.
Alex.
The big deal was the new Nexo PS R2 series, which are seriously upgraded versions of the now 15 year old PS series. The new boxes are a big step up. In particular the PS10, which has an amazing bottom end for a small box. The new companion LS600 sub is a big improvement on the old LS500, louder, tighter and solid.
Styling is the same as the new S12 boxes, with similar rigging kits and grills. The PS15 benefits as a stage monitor by having these new grills as well as appropriately placed handles. The launch was rounded off with an excellent launch party, with Nexo’s technical designers present as well as Gareth Collyer, Nexo’s new sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Reiner Sassman, founder of Camco, also turned up as did the Penn’s from SSE.
Aside from the PS series, other things of interest included new powered monitor/speakers from CODA, new powered monitors from db Technologies and the SD8-24, a smaller format version of the SD8 though with the same DSP & input/output count.
Alex.