BOX OF SURPRISES

NAS sent us two X206s loaded with the 90° x 60° rotatable horn. Chris and I set them up in the empty auditorium of a local church that’s definitely too big a space for them to fully cover on their own, but it was a chance to see how hard they’d try. My first observation was how far these compact boxes can throw. A two-position ‘HF Correction’ switch on the back of the unit offers high frequency optimisation depending on your throw distance requirements in both point source and line array applications. I could stand about 15m back without key elements in program material falling apart in the slightest. Snare drums, vocals, guitars and percussion all felt present and detailed when reasonably on axis. However, moving laterally at this kind of distance showed where the X206’s capabilities are stretched as its coverage is less predictable when more distant. Moving in closer yielded a smoother coverage from left to right across the stereo spread of the two loudspeakers set up perpendicularly. Top tip: if you’re using the X206’s on sticks, play with the rotation of each box in small increments until the horizontal coverage becomes nice and uniform at your audience’s average listening distance – I found there’s a definite sweet spot and things quickly get lumpy when you deviate from it.

The X206 is a surprisingly full-range box. Perhaps I say ‘surprisingly’ because its compactness dulled my expectations, but it sounds noticeably bigger than it looks, especially in the low end. Bass frequencies emanate with as much confidence as the midrange albeit with less articulation, but still plenty enough to not feel tinny, small or weak in a medium-sized space. Of course, the X206 can’t break the laws of physics – if you want chest-rattling doof, plug in a subwoofer. Otherwise, as far as tone goes, I found the generous dose of high mids from the horn can get fatiguing if you’re standing right in the firing line. However, this midrange presence makes vocals eminently mix-able even in a dense production. The Digipro amps supply enough depth and headroom to handle several instruments and vocals without sacrificing clarity or space.

TO THE POINT

My time with the dBTechnologies Vio X206 was spent using it as a point source box. In this configuration, the X206 is capable of a lot more than its size suggests, and perfect for anything from a solo musician playing a gig in the corner of a pub, to being the primary PA for a house of worship, or fill supplements to a larger FOH system. Conference spaces and function centres would benefit from having a couple of X206s in the store room, as would a rental or production company for setting up some last minute delays or stage fills at an outdoor event. The built-in amplification results in quick setup and the sleekness of the box means you can put it just about anywhere.

But should you wish to up the ante and cater for much larger events and audience sizes, the Vio X206 continues to put up its hand. Using it as a line array with the 100° x 15° waveguide means much further throw distances and more precise pattern control, with the full reinforcement of predictive and management software to hone the system to perfection.

THE AMM108

The AMM108 is the smaller model, almost cube shaped, and only a foot square in the old money. The 1.7-inch compression driver is mounted in front of an eight-inch woofer using a shared magnet design that helps maintain phase between the drivers, and reduces intermodulation distortion. The 110° x 60°  dispersion is shaped by the Bose Beamwidth Matching Waveguide, it looks like something out of ‘Predator’ but its purpose is to align the high and low beam widths through the (passive) crossover region. Weight is 13kg, power handling is quoted as 150W long-term/2400W peak at 94dB sensitivity for a calculated max SPL of 116dB (121dB peak).

The AMM108’s output belies its footprint. The first time I used it was as an in-fill for the front section of the audience and it had plenty of volume with outstanding clarity and intelligibility at all levels. Some EQ was needed, it had a chunky Lab-clone amp driving it and proved an ideal speaker for the in-fill application — small enough to preserve sight lines but also able to handle high level peaks without distortion, if required.

As a foldback wedge the AMM108 is instantly likeable. It looks somewhere between cute and tiny on an empty stage but when the band is set up and they’ve got pedals and other paraphernalia strewn across the stage, it looks just right — the other traditional wedges look unnecessarily bulky. Throw angle is the usual 35° and the outstanding coherence delivered by the coaxial design makes vocals super present with high resistance to feedback. The bands were impressed.

THE AMM112

The AMM112 is the larger full-range speaker and it’s a step up in every way. The 12-inch woofer and three-inch compression driver need a 50% larger cabinet than the AMM108 and it’s near twice the weight at 22kg. Power handling increases to 300W long term/2800W peak at 96dB sensitivity for max 121dB (131dB peak). The speaker can be switched to run passively through the internal crossover or bi-amped via an external crossover.

The first time I used the AMM112 was as a floor wedge with Ash Grunwald. Straight out of the box, a quick tune and, like the AMM108, the response was crisp and bright across the high-mids with no sense of being near the limit at average/high stage levels. The benefits of the coaxial design are evident working close to the speaker: traditional ‘horn on top of woofer’ designs exhibit noticeable phase changes between the components when the performers move around in front of the speaker, especially general purpose two-way speakers laid on their side. Coaxial speakers sound on-axis across the working area. Ash liked it, used it, and “it sounded awesome” was his comment after the show.

AMS115 SUB

Completing the range is the AMS115 compact sub. It’s a direct radiating, ported design with a 15-inch long-throw neodymium driver in an enclosure measuring 470 x 470 x 500mm and weighing in at a manageable 28kg. Frequency response is quoted at 40Hz–100Hz (-3dB) with power handling at 500W long term/2800W peak for 123dB/130dB SPL. It takes a bit more thought to get going. It seemed low in level compared to the full-range speakers at first but once pumped a bit it was a good match with impressive power handling and a fast, accurate response. An AMM115 sub with an AMM108 on top makes a great full-range system. I enjoyed using this combination as a delay system half way down the Castlemaine Town Hall for the 2022 Spring Ball.

CUT ABOVE

The AMM Series speakers can be used as portable systems but they’re beyond ‘throw-in-the-back-seat powered speakers’ type of portable. They’re the next step up in quality and price, and while they’re efficiently sized, they need at least amps and some processing. I’d suggest they’re better suited to professional production suppliers or installations where the AMM quality and scalability can be most valuable. Passive speakers often have advantages in these applications. Foldback is neater with passive speakers. Half a dozen of either of the AMM full-range speakers and one on top of an AMM115 sub for drumfill would make a powerful, flexible and coordinated foldback system (add more to scale up and throw in infill, if required).

Installations are made easy with a range of mounting options including 6 x M10 threaded inserts, a U-bracket and a suspension kit plus 4 x M8-threaded inserts for a pan-and-tilt bracket. The 110° x 60° dispersion can easily be changed to 60° x 110° by rotating the cabinet. For portable applications, both the AMM108 and AMM112 have pole mount sockets tucked away besides the handles. The Sub1 Adjustable Speaker Pole screws securely into the M20 threaded pole mount on the top of AMM115 sub. That’s a big improvement over the usual floppy pole sockets. The top half is like a regular speaker stand with adjustable heights and a locking pin, and that’s better than a fixed-length pole. 

Overall these are genuine high-power, multi-purpose speakers based on classic point source design in no-frills, practical cabinets. Bose Professional seems to be aiming for a larger space in the pro audio world, the AMM Series will give them some street cred.