SEATTLE — EAW said its self-powered, 3-way NTL720 sound system has become more popular in the Pacific Northwest due to its reliability, flexibility and price. Leading regional S.R. providers including Carlson Audio Systems, Audio Media, Inc. and Triamp Group have all found the EAW NTL720 a good fit. “The NTL720 is possibly the most versatile box we’ve ever had,” said Mark Carlson, who, with partner Jonathan Stoverud-Meyers, built Seattle-based Carlson Audio from its beginnings in a garage 20 years ago, to the region’s largest sound reinforcement provider, regularly handling sound for major festivals including Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival and the Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge in George, Washington.
“The 720 is a compact box that we can use for small and mid-sized venues like hotel ballrooms, and it’s becoming popular for house-of-worship installations” — Carlson Audio has installed the NTL720 in two Seattle-area churches since purchasing 20 boxes last October — “but it can also extend the reach of our existing EAW systems.”
That’s how they’ve used the NTL720 at recent outdoor venues, such as the KWJZ Music Festival at Château Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash. and at the Sasquatch Festival, where the 720 was arrayed for offstage coverage in conjunction with the company’s EAW 761 Line Array system.
“There’s nothing else out there that can take in the 100-plus-degree coverage angle,” said Carlson, noting that in one instance it took the 100 degrees of coverage of the main P.A. to a full 180 degrees. “It’s got very predictable coverage, it’s self-powered so it’s easy to set up and it sounds great. It’s a great asset for our inventory.”
Audio Media, Inc. is a Seattle-based P.A. provider specializing in the corporate and award-show market categories throughout the region. The company has done work for major area clients including Microsoft, Boeing and the Bellevue Symphony.
The NTL720 was Audio Media’s introduction to EAW P.A. technology, and company president Steve Midkiff noted that, “when we did a comparison of what was out there in this type of box, the 720 was simply the best package at the best price and with fabulous sound,” he said.
Audio Media purchased 16 NTL720 boxes and bought additional bumpers because, Midkiff said, some corporate events require more than two clusters to maintain speech intelligibility as well as serve music properly.
Both Audio Media and Carlson Audio coordinated their NTL720 purchases so that they would be able to support each other if one or the other needed additional boxes. “We’ve already had a few instances where we have cross-rented with Carlson, and it’s been working out very well,” said Midkiff.
Triamp Group is another early NTL720 adopter. An NTL720 they installed at the Wildhorse Casino in Pendleton, Ore., consists of six 720 boxes flown per side and augmented with four ground-stacked EAW SB1000z Large Format Subwoofers and two EAW VR62 Compact Full-Range Loudspeakers used as delay speakers, played 60 feet back in the 120-foot hall.
The new system had its debut earlier this year with Frank Sinatra, Jr. and his orchestra, followed later by Poison front man Bret Michaels.
“The sound was amazing for both performers, which really shows how versatile the NTL720 is,” said Kevin Hill, Triamp Group national sales manager. “We chose it because of the enclosure’s low profile, which made it a great fit in a room this size, which holds about 900 people.
“Bret’s band reached between 115 and 120 dB during rehearsal, measured from the front rows, and I didn’t think the system would be able to handle it, but it not only kept up but also sounded great doing so. The drivers are very efficient, so it still sounds pristine even when it’s being pushed. It’s just a great sound system.”
The EAW NTL720 is a self-powered line array system that features a true 3-way design and numerous other EAW-patented and proprietary technologies, housed in an extremely compact (9.4 inches by 24 inches by 14.3 inches) and lightweight (less than 50 pounds) package. The entire enclosure face of each NTL720 module is filled by a full-sized mid/high horn providing 110-degree (horizontal) by 12-degree (vertical) dispersion. The extreme horn size ensures broadband pattern control throughout the entire MF/HF pass-band.
High frequencies are produced by six 1-inch dome tweeters, configured in two vertical columns (each with three tweeters) mounted on a manifold that feeds a single slot in the center of the horn, which is highly effective in controlling vertical dispersion.
Flanking the HF section, dual 6-inch cone woofers handle the MF range, also loading on to the horn with minimal space between the MF and HF components, enhancing coherency and improving overall off-axis response.
The LF section features EAW’s Phase Aligned approach, first utilized in KF730 Series line arrays. Both 6-inch LF drivers are positioned in a side-mounted “figure-8” configuration that extends horizontal pattern control while directing more acoustical energy on axis.
The response of the MF drivers is also extended down to 100 Hz, furthering low-end presence and impact. The onboard self-powering technology includes three individual modified 500-watt Class-D (digital) amplifier modules, each tailored for its respective subsection (LF, LF/MF, and HF – all 4-ohm loads).
Each amplifier module is accompanied by its own digital signal processor. Headlining the DSP is EAW’s Gunness Focusing alignment and driver processing algorithms that produce horn-loaded performance comparable to premium direct-radiating studio monitors. EAW Pilot control software provides comprehensive DSP control, as well as monitoring of amplifier status; when connected, all NTL720 loudspeakers make up a network in which EAW Pilot recognizes each individual loudspeaker, as well as arrays acting as a single unit.
EAW said its EAW Pilot assists in optimizing a wide range of loudspeaker/array parameters and that its Wizard modeling software also helps in automatically configuring array DSP for optimal performance for specific audience areas, greatly simplifying system setup and alignment.
For more information, please visit www.eaw.com.
