Turbosound's new TFS-900H Flashline is the first true four-way line array enclosure of its type, using cone drivers dedicated to reproducing vocal midrange frequencies in keeping with Turbosound design philosophy, working them within a narrower bandwidth to maximize power handling and improve performance over three-way systems.
Turbosound's Flashline is a horizontally symmetrical modular line array combining the efficiency of an entirely horn-loaded system with high power density by employing 11 drivers. Three 1-inch drivers, dual 6.5-inch HM drivers, two more pairs of 6.5-inch LM drivers plus two 12-inch woofers complete the four-way enclosure. The companion TFS-900B is a dual-eighteen hybrid-loaded subwoofer. Completing the system are Turbosound's Dante-enabled 20000DP amplifiers with Lake processing.
All 11 Neodymium drivers are either built by Turbosound themselves or are custom-designed B&C units, as are the sub drivers. Three 1-inch exit high-frequency compression drivers, which utilize unusual domed diaphragm geometry to reduce break-up modes, are loaded to a Dentritic waveguide to produce a tall, narrow column of HF energy down the enclosure's center. The 5,000 Hz crossover reflects Turbosound's philosophy of using compression drivers of large systems in the higher end of their frequency range.
Two specially-designed compression-loaded 6.5-inch mid-high drivers are mounted bi-axially directly behind the HF drivers and are loaded to a unique Dendritic manifold that split to go around the HF drivers. Their high-mid energy exits on either side of the central HF aperture from two similar openings at the back of a V-shaped waveguide so both systems combine to produce uniphasic sound.
Four 6.5-inch low-mid drivers are horn-loaded in pairs on either side of the mid-high/HF assembly in the center with mouths the height of the enclosure and covering the remainder of the vocal range, with crossover points of 600 and 250 Hz.
Finally, two 12-inch low-frequency drivers in the enclosure's rear are loaded to a horn on their forward side while also chambered with a port that extends the entire depth of the enclosure and ending beside the LF horn flare's mouth. The hybrid loading of the woofer adds upper-band efficiency due to horn loading and extends lower-band response from the bass-reflex loading of the drivers' backside. The elongated port's large cross section improves performance at high SPLs.
TFS Hardware
Flashline's rigging hardware is fully integrated into the end-cheeks on each side of the cabinet, which also provides side cabinet grab handles. Drop links at the top of the front and rear corners engage in the fly-gear of the box above to provide eight inter-cabinet angles from 0° to 5° – with half-degree increments from 0° to 3°, plus the 4° and 5° options.
TFS-900H cabinets are transported four-high on the TFS wheel dolly and can be flown in blocks of four, right off the dolly, with rigging hardware pre-configured for use. A rectangular fly grid is used to fly a typical array and no loose external parts are required to fly the system.
Driver maintenance can be performed without removing cabinets from the dolly, because all the drivers can be accessed either from the front – the entire mid/high section is removable – or from the rear via the driver access doors. Flashline is finished with a TourTough cabinet finish – a Polyurea Linex coating with Chemthane UV topcoat over an Isothane Armour primer, allowing it to withstand extreme weather.
Physical
Weighing 215 pounds (98 kg), eight enclosures weigh well under a ton. Flashline measures 49 inches wide, 14.2 inches tall and 22.4 inches deep, allowing them to fit four-across, end-in for a bob-tail straight truck to make a four-foot wall of 16 enclosures, or two-across – the wide way – in 102-inch wide trailers, where the same 16 boxes, four-high on four dollies would make two rows and take just under four feet of truck space. On their dollies, four boxes are 64 inches tall, and a 12-box array is 14.2 feet in height.
TFS Sub
The TFS-900B hybrid dual-eighteen subwoofer employs a similar hybrid loading as the TFS-900H's twelves, only larger, combining the sensitivity and characteristics of a horn with reflex loading's extension, allowing the cabinet to be tuned low enough to reproduce music as it was intended, while keeping dimensions small as possible. The drivers' rear chambers have elongated ports, a large cross-sectional area and exit the front on either side of a combined horn in the center that's loaded to the front of both drivers. While the TFS-900H is constructed of 15mm void-free European birch plywood, the TFS-900B sub employs 18mm ply with extensive cross bracing. The 45-inch deep sub weighs 297 pounds and sits 51 inches high on its back-mounted wheels. They're the same 49-inch width as the TFS-900H, and 23.6inches tall.
TFS RACK
Completing Flashline is Turbosound's Dante-enabled 4-channel 20000DP amplifier, a joint technical initiative with Lab.gruppen and Audinate, providing four 5,000W channels of amplification with Dante network audio distribution plus industry standard Lake processing and linear-phase filters. Sound quality is improved by the use of linear phase crossover filters and the ability to employ all-digital drive systems.
The amplifiers are offered in preconfigured flyable racks of three amps, complete with front-lid storage. In addition to Analog, AES and Dante inputs and link-throughs, there are three front panel Neutrik NL8 SpeakONs for connecting TFS-900H enclosures to each four-channel amp, and six NL4s for connecting TFS-900B subs to each pair of channels, allowing the rack to be used for any combination of mains and subs. Finally there's a 5-wire, 3-phase connector and the amps run on any international voltage. Only four TFS Racks are required for a system of 18 TFS-900H tops and 12 TFS-900B subs.
In August and September a pilot system was used successfully across Europe for 27 nights of shows and 63 bands, with a variety of acts from singer-songwriters to German metal, as well as three days of corporate conferencing. Flashline integrates well with Turbosound TFA-600H Flex Array enclosures for fills and delays by design.
