Introducing a radical new concept in stage sound – that of line monitoring, bringing the operational benefits of line-array design onto the stage itself – the N-12 has been quietly winning admirers and awards all over the world. Deploying NEXO’s patented Hyperbolic Reflective Wavesource to create virtual acoustic sources behind the enclosure itself and below the stage, the N-12 uses reflection rather than coercion to determine the shape of the wavefront. Unlike a conventional high frequency waveguide in which the exit is rectangular, the NEXO monitor’s waveguide forms a ‘smile’, enabling cabinets to be linked together to form arrays without interference between wavefronts.
The 45°N- 12’s design produces a very sharply defined dispersion pattern, as well as exceptional feedback rejection and a huge improvement in terms of level before feedback. The focused coverage results in lower acoustic power on stage. SPL and frequency response are consistent up to 2.5 metres back.
Monitor engineer Atle Aamodt sums up the N-12 with a report that his performers have a fantastic feeling of “standing in the middle of the audio source”, rather than listening to it from a distance. “If necessary , the N-12s can be extremely loud, but they have an extremely clear sound. In my opinion, these are in a class of their own, there is no other monitor which comes close.”
Winner of the Small Format Console & Mixer Award was Yamaha’s EtherSound-ready compact desk, the M7CL-48ES, with its main I/O interface being the SB168-ES remote stage box, connects via a single Cat5 cable. Often partnered with NEXO loudspeakers in system installations, this console includes a built-in EtherSound interface with a third port for PC control and monitoring, eight Omni Ins (Mic/Line), eight Omni Outs, and three MY card slots. The M7CL-48ES supports up to three SB168-ES stage boxes and, like the M7CL-48, can mix up to 48 mono plus 4 stereo inputs to 16 Mix Buses, 8 Matrix Outs, Stereo and Mono Outputs. The Stage Box Quick Set up feature provides plug-and-play connection of up to three SB168-ES units.
