Amplified control

The Amplified Loudspeaker Controllers (ALCs) from Community Professional Loudspeakers have been designed to provide all of the signal routing, zone switching, DSP processing, protective limiting, remote monitoring and amplification functions needed between a mixer and the loudspeakers in virtually any Community loudspeaker application. Standard Ethernet communication protocols reportedly allow for fast system design, system control and remote system monitoring, while analogue and Dante inputs included in each model are assignable per channel in static or failover/backup configuration.

Three models are available: the ALC-404D (four channels of 400W), the ALC-1604D (four channels of 1,600W) and the ALC-3202D (two channels of 3,200W). Bridged channel pairs support driving loads down to 4Ω at double the power of a single channel. Housed in a compact 1U chassis, the DSP reportedly reduces the need for external outboard equipment, while reduced power consumption is said to lower thermal dissipation and reduce the need for external cooling devices. Each channel is capable of directly driving 70V/100V distributed loudspeakers, low-impedance loudspeakers from 2Ω or any mixed configuration of low- and high-impedance output loads.

Control and monitoring are accomplished via ArmoníaPlus. Assigning loudspeakers is described as a simple drag-and-drop process, while loudspeaker groups and zones can be created by clicking on the images of the loudspeakers to be grouped together. Tailoring the sound and managing the system can be done at a remote, decentralised location. The per-channel, user-assignable, fault-indicating GPIO connectors on the rear panel can be integrated with third-party monitoring and emergency notification systems.

Community is also taking on the challenges of large venues with its LVH-900 Beamforming Venue Horn. Combined with manufacturer’s room prediction software and the ALCs, the horn tailors the directivity of each loudspeaker, or array of loudspeakers, to meet the sound requirements of the installation. Each LVH-900 consists of four 12-inch LF drivers, three Community M200 midrange compression drivers and four 1.5-inch HF compression drivers.  Using patent-pending techniques, all drivers integrate into a single triaxial waveguide that fills the entire 36-inch x 31-inch face of the enclosure, providing pattern control to below 200Hz. The LVH-906 and LVH-909 offer 60° or 90° fixed horizontal dispersion, respectively, with each allowing vertical dispersion beamforming ranging from 60° to 20°, in symmetric or asymmetric configurations.