Electro-Voice Xds, X-Array Xds Instructions Manual

Xds

X-Array™ Double
Subwoofer System

• Unprecedented acoustic output in
a small, lightweight package

• Ring Mode Decoupling (RMD)™
provides accurate transient detail

• EVX-180B woofers

• Enclosure shell matches two
full-size X-Array™ systems

• Optimized for maximum subwoofer

-frequency acoustic output

Description

The X-Array
portant advancements in concert-sound-rein­forcement technology. The design goals
called for the highest acoustic output capa­bility with the highest fidelity in lightweight,
compact enclosures that were easy to array.
The development began with a clean sheet
of paper and took an integrated approach.
The individual loudspeaker drivers, horns,
enclosures, rigging hardware and system
configurations were designed from the
ground up specifically for this high-perfor­mance application.

The Xds is a manifolded, vented-box sub­woofer system utilizing two 457-mm (18-in.)
woofers in the double-wide X-Array
sure shell. The enclosure has been optimized
for maximum subwoofer-frequency output.
The two woofers face each other in a mani­fold chamber at the center of the enclosure.
This manifolding technique (U.S. Patent
Number 4,733,749) increases the acoustic
loading, resulting in increased low-fre­quency efficiency (at slightly above box tun­ing) and reduced distortion compared to
conventional direct-radiating designs. The
woofers were designed as part of the Xds
development and represent a step forward
in state-of-the-art loudspeaker design in

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product line represents im-

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enclo-

terms of high acoustic output with low dis­tortion and low power compression.

Electro-Voice engineers developed a new
technology dubbed Ring Mode Decoupling

™

(RMD
intelligibility by reducing both linear and
nonlinear resonance modes that color the
sound.

The low-frequency driver in the Xds is the
EVX-180B. An improved version of the in­dustry-standard EVX-180A high-excursion
467-mm (18-in.) woofer that has distin­guished itself as an industry standard for
high-power, low-frequency reproduction.
During the X-Array
mal conduction of the motor was improved
and the suspension was redesigned, giving
the EVX-180B even lower power compres­sion and a longer mechanical lifetime. In the
Xds, the woofers are manifolded in a vented
enclosure optimized for maximized sub­woofer output from 30-160 Hz with mini­mized distortion.

Ring Mode Decoupling, (RMD
nique utilized and named by Electro-Voice
to describe a process used to improve sound
quality in loudspeaker systems. RMD
fers a solution to a very fundamental prob­lem. It has long been recognized that two
different loudspeaker systems can sound dif­ferent even though they both may be equal-

) to substantially improve clarity and

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development, the ther-

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), is a tech-

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of-

ized to have the same frequency response.
This difference is due to a variety of reso­nances, or ring modes that color the sound.
Although this ringing may be very low in
level compared to the program material, it is
still audible. The source of these resonances
may be mechanical or acoustical in nature,
or a combination of both. In addition, they
may be linear or nonlinear, resulting in their
character changing with level. Furthermore,
these Ring Modes may be aggravated when
multiple loudspeaker enclosures are as­sembled into arrays. The result is a colora­tion that decreases intelligibility and clarity,
with the nature of that coloration varying
with level. Often, the listener perceives that
coloration as imbalance in the frequency re­sponse, and will attempt to electronically
adjust the system to restore the spectral bal­ance. However this electronic equalization
has the negative effect of changing the pro­gram material itself.

Ring Mode Decoupling (RMD
mechanical resonances with mechanical so­lutions, and acoustical resonances with
acoustical solutions. In the Xds development,

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RMD

was applied at every level – to the
individual low-frequency drivers, the low­frequency enclosure chambers and the inter­action between multiple enclosures. The de­sign process included, for example, the driver

™

) addresses

Xds Double Subwoofer System

cone, suspension geometry and materials,
enclosure geometry and materials, absorp­tive materials, etc. The result is a dramatic
improvement in clarity and with a much more
neutral sound (a lack of coloration) with the
loudspeaker system maintaining its sonic
integrity from the very-lowest sound pres­sure levels to the very-highest sound pres­sure levels. This means that the front-of­house engineer will not have to retune the
EQ and level settings as the SPL is increased
throughout the show. This also means that
the sound-system performance will remain
consistent in different array configurations
and from venue to venue.

The Xds utilizes a double-wide X-Array

Xds Double Subwoofer System

enclosure shell. The height of the Xds is iden­tical to the standard, full-size X-Array
closures (like the Xf, Xn and Xb); however
the footprint matches that of two standard
X-Array™ enclosures sitting side by side
with their sides parallel. Thus, two standard
X-Array

™

enclosures (like the Xf, Xn, Xcn
or Xb) may be stacked on top of the Xds.
The Xds does not have rigging hardware for
flying.

The durable Xds enclosure is constructed of
18-mm, 13-ply birch plywood and has a
wear-resistant black, textured paint finish.
The system is trapezoidal, forming a 36°
wedge and includes a heavy-duty steel grille
with a water-resistant charcoal-gray foam in­terlining. The enclosure features vinyl
bumper pads on the front corners to and feet
on the bottom to resist wear.

A variety of accessories are available for the
X-Array

™

loudspeaker systems, including
rigging hardware, dollies, covers, electronic
crossovers, amplifier racks and speaker ca­bling. Consult the X-Array

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Accessories sec-

tion for a complete listing of the available
accessories

Applications

The X-Array

™

loudspeaker systems were de­signed for optimal performance in both con­cert-sound and permanent-installation appli­cations where studio-monitor sound quality
is required at concert-sound levels. The X-

™

Array

loudspeaker systems work well in­dividually, in small arrays and in large ar­rays. The high acoustic output from these

™

en-

compact, lightweight systems provide the
highest acoustic-power-to-weight ratio, the
highest acoustic-power-to-frontal-area ratio,
and the highest acoustic-power-to-bulk-vol­ume ratio in the industry. That means that
X-Array

™

systems will be considerably
smaller and lighter compared to competitive
systems having equivalent acoustic output.

With its response from 32-200 Hz, the Xds
is recommended for subwoofer and low-fre­quency applications where extremely high
levels of bass are required. Specifically, the
Xds has been optimized to provide sub­woofer reinforcement for all of the X-Ar-

™

ray

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loudspeaker systems. Typically , the Xds
would be crossed over to provide subwoofer
reinforcement from 80 Hz and below in par­allel with the full-range systems (made up
of Xf, Xn, Xcn, Xb and Xcb systems that
cover 40 Hz and above). However, the Xds
may be crossed over at 125 Hz and used as a
combination subwoofer/low-frequency sys­tem in place of or in addition to the standard
low-frequency systems (like the Xb and
Xcb). The Xds may be used individually or
in multiples to construct subwoofer/low-fre­quency arrays, or may be used with the full­range X-Array

™

systems to construct full­range, large-scale arrays. The double-wide
Xds enclosure footprint matches that of two
standard X-Array

™

enclosures sitting side by
side with their sides parallel, allowing two
standard, full-size systems to be stacked on
top of the Xds. The Xds does not have fly­ing hardware and is intended for stacking
only. The Xds would be well suited for front­of-house, front-fill, and side-fill applications.

The Xds is intended to be used with other

™

X-Array

systems for a full-range response
as an active system that requires an active
electronic crossover. Both the Electro-Voice
Dx38 and Klark Teknik DN8000 digital
crossovers are recommended for signal
control. (See the Crossover, Equalization
and Signal Delay Controller section.) The
Electro-Voice P3000 amplifier is recom­mended for powering the Xds. (See the
Amplifier Recommendations section.)

Power-Handling Capabilities

The Xds systems are rated as per the “ANSI/
EIA RS-426-A Loudspeaker Power- Rating,

Full-Range Test,” which uses a shaped­random-noise signal to simulate typical
music to test the mechanical and thermal
capabilities of the loudspeakers. A digital
crossover was used to provide the appro­priate filtering and equalization. The test
parameters are as follows:

Subwoofer Section (Pins 1 and 2 paral­leled):

P

: 1,200 watts

E(MAX)

Test Voltage: 58.7-volts rms

117.4-volts peak

(1.15RE): 2.88 ohms

R

SR

Amplifier Recommendations

Power amplifiers with the following ratings
are recommended for use with the Xds loud­speaker systems:

SUB: 800 watts per channel

into 8 ohms
93-volts rms short term
132-volts peak

Xds loudspeakers may be paralleled with
other Xds systems as long as the amplifiers
can drive the lower impedances. To main­tain a sufficient damping factor with long
cable runs, amplifier loads of four ohms per
channel are recommended. The Electro­Voice P3000 amplifiers are ideal for power-

™

ing the X-Array

systems.

Crossover, Equalization and Signal
Delay Controller

The Xds is intended to be used with other

™

X-Array

loudspeaker systems (like the Xf,
Xn, Xcn, Xb or Xcb) to construct full-range
arrays as an active system requiring an ac­tive crossover, equalization and signal de­lay controller. For basic applications, the
Electro-Voice Dx38 2-in/4-out controller is
recommended. For more sophisticated ap­plications, the Klark Teknik DN8000 2-in/
5-out controller is recommended. Linkwitz­Riley crossover filters with a minimum slope
of 24 dB per octave at 80-125 Hz are rec­ommended, and infrasonic filter protection
at 34 Hz or higher with a minimum slope of
12-dB/octave is recommended. Both the
Dx38 and the DN8000 offer appropriate fil­tering, equalization and signal delay capa­bilities to provide optimum performance of

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Xds Double Subwoofer System

the X-Array™ loudspeaker systems. Digi­tal parameter settings for both controllers
are available upon request.

Electrical Connection and System
Wiring

Two paralleled Neutrik 8-pin Speakon

®

con­nectors are used for electrical connection to
the Xds loudspeakers with the following pin
assignments:

SUB1: Pins 1 Paralleled
SUB2: Pins 2 Paralleled

The Xds wiring diagram is shown in Figure

7. Since the connectors are paralleled, it does
not matter which connector is used as the
input or output when paralleling Xds sys­tems. Although Pins 3 and 4 are not used by
the Xds systems, they are paralleled on the
input panel. This allows an X-Array

™

MB/
HF box (like the Xf or Xcn– which use Pins
3 and 4, but not Pins 1 and 2) to be paral­leled with an Xds, allowing all eight con­ductors to be used with a single cable run to
the amplifiers. Note that, when two Xds sys­tems are jumped from one to another via the
input/output connections, the amplifier home
run cable will have two woofers on Pins 2
(for a 4-ohm load) and two woofers on Pins
1 (for a 4-ohm load).

Field Replacement

Normal service for the Xds requires only a
#2 Phillips screwdriver and a 3/16-inch hex­key wrench. The drivers may be accessed as
follows:

SUB: First remove the grille, then remove
the screws securing the hatch on the front of
the enclosure. Remove the screws securing
the 18-inch woofer and lift the woofer out
of the enclosure. In the event of failure, the
entire woofer must be replaced or reconed.

The following service parts are available
from the service department in Buchanan,
Michigan USA:

LF #818-2883 EVX-180B complete driver
The complete drivers are available only for

repair replacement and are not available for
general sale.

Architects’ and Engineers’
Specifications

The loudspeaker system shall be a two­driver, manifolded, vented-box low-fre­quency system with a frequency response
from 32-200 Hz. The loudspeaker system
also shall have two 457-mm (18-in.) low­frequency woofers and each shall have an
8-ohm, 101-mm (4-in.) diameter voice coil
and a 600-watt power rating. The loud­speaker shall have a rigging system enabling
a column of loudspeakers to be hinged at
their back corners, with relative downward
angles set by adjustable rigging straps at the
front. The enclosure shall be constructed of
18-mm thick, 13-ply birch plywood, and shall
be trapezoidal, forming an 36° wedge and be
914 mm (36.00 in.) high, 1166 mm (45.92 in.)
wide at the front, 736 mm (28.98 in.) wide at
the back and 759 mm (29.88 in.) deep, and
shall weigh 121 kg (267 lb).

The loudspeaker system shall be the
Electro-Voice Xds.

Rigging Accessories:
Grid: This ATM Fly-Ware™ “T”–shaped,

all-steel-construction grid was specifically
designed as a single column of X-Array™
systems. Multiple grids can be linked to­gether with couplers on front and back re­tractable arms, the position of which sets the
splay angle between adjacent columns. Part
number MEGS-4000-T. ATM Fly-ware™,
2100 S. Wilmington A ve., Carson, CA 90810
USA, 310/834-5914

Xrhg Grid Hinge: Two Xrhg grid rigging
hinges are used to attach the rear of the top
enclosure in a column to the rear of an X-

™

Array

compatible grid. Each hinge consists
of two precision-machined steel rigging­track fittings connected by an alloy-steel
chain. Part number 510-2999. Electro-V oice,
600 Cecil St., Buchanan, MI 49107 USA,
616/695-6831 or 800/234-6831

Xrhp Pickup Hinge: T wo Xrhp pickup rig­ging hinges are used to create custom rig­ging assemblies to attach to the rear of the
top enclosure in a column when an A TM grid
is not used. Each hinge consists of one pre­cision-machined steel rigging-track fitting
with an alloy-steel chain. Part number 510-

3000. Electro-Voice, 600 Cecil St., Bucha-

nan, MI 49107 USA, 616/695-6831 or 800/
234-6831

Xrhl Linking Hinge: T wo Xrhl linking rig­ging hinges are used to link two enclosures
together at the rear. Each hinge consists of
two precision-machined steel rigging-track
fittings connected by a heavy-duty steel
hinge. Part number 510-2998. Electro-V oice,
600 Cecil St., Buchanan, MI 49107 USA,
616/695-6831 or 800/234-6831

Xrsl Long Rigging Steel Straps: T wo Xrsl
long rigging straps are used at the front of
two enclosures to adjust their relative verti­cal angles. The Xrsl may also be used to at­tach the front of the top enclosure to the A TM
grid when upward angles are not required.
Each all-steel strap consists of two New
Haven NH32102-2 double-stud fittings con­nected by black plastic-coated wire rope.
Sound Manufacturing Inc., 3336 Primera
Ave., Hollywood, CA 90068 USA,
213/850-5042 or ATM Fly-ware™, 2100 S.
Wilmington Ave., Carson, CA 90810 USA,
310/834-5914

Xrss Short Rigging Steel Straps: Two
Xrss short rigging straps are used to at­tach the front of the top enclosure to the
ATM grid. The Xrss may also be used at
the front of two enclosures when a limited
range of vertical angles are required. The
all-steel Xrss utilizes the same construc­tion as the Xrsl. Sound Manufacturing Inc.,
3336 Primera Ave., Hollywood, CA 90068
USA, 213/850-5042 or ATM Fly-ware™,
2100 S. Wilmington A ve., Carson, CA 90810
USA, 310/834-5914

General Rigging Supplies: A wide vari­ety of standard and specialty rigging hard­ware components for both touring and per­manent-installation applications is avail­able. Sound Manufacturing Inc., 3336
Primera A ve., Hollywood, CA 90068 USA,
213/850-5042 or ATM Fly-ware™, 2100 S.
Wilmington Ave., Carson, CA 90810 USA,
310/834-5914

Electronic Accessories:
Klark T eknik DN8000 Digital Controller:

The DN8000 digital electronic loudspeaker
controller has a two-in/five-out architecture,
with each output having programmable
high-pass and low-pass filters, four-band

Xds Double Subwoofer System

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