RCF ART 712-A & 722-A

As there are so many portable powered PA speakers to choose from these days, first impressions are important. The first thing about these RCFs that impressed me was their lack of weight: they are ‘normal’-sized, 12-inch, two-way cabinets, and considering that they’ve got 750 Watts of onboard power amp and processing they are incredibly light. I liked the external styling of the speakers straight away; they are very nicely finished in a dark-grey moulded material, with black grilles and silver forged-aluminium handle fittings on the sides and top. The handles are secure, well-positioned for lifting and carrying, and are exceptionally comfortable due to the built-in rubber grip strip and deep bowl recess. I think the word that best describes the 712/722-A is ‘smooth’, because everything is very neatly fitted within the moulded polypropylene shell, and even the heat sink has very shallow rounded fins that can’t possibly snag on clothing or adjacent gear. The steel grille covers the LF driver only and is backed by black foam, which should stop the occasional bit of moisture or foreign objects from doing any damage to the speaker cone. The horn exit is deeply recessed and has its own little steel grille for protection, although the four large ports at the top and bottom of the front panel are uncovered. Personally I like full-face front grilles, as then nothing can get inside the cabinet either accidentally or deliberately, but the RCF hardware does look very strong and tightly put together. The bottom of the enclosure is fitted with a heavy-duty metal pole socket, which is a proper separate bolt-on item rather than a simple recess moulded into the cabinet itself — a quality touch, as is the provision of four rubber feet, which are (1) angled to present a flat surface when the speaker is standing upright, thus keeping it very stable and (2) of just the right squidginess to stop the speaker sliding about — again, something that less thoughtfully designed products often ignore in favour of cheaper, harder, plastic feet. The cabinet shape enables the 712-A and 722-A to be used as a floor monitor, and as the box is symmetrical it can be positioned with the horn opening at either end. There are no rubber feet in contact with the floor when used in this position, but I found them to be stable with the weight evenly distributed, and no apparent tendency to tip over when nudged with my foot.

The internal organs of the ART 712-A and 722-A are amplifier modules and drivers designed specifically for the 7 series. RCF have a long-established reputation as manufacturers of loudspeaker drivers, and I have to say I’ve always been very happy using their products over many years. Although the components in these new speakers are (according to the UK people) particular to the 7 series models, they are readily available should spares ever be required. The use of advanced neodymium magnetic assemblies results in drivers that can handle large amounts of power, and which are a fraction of the weight of equivalent ferrite units. What’s more, because the amp design is matched to the driver characteristics, efficiency, acoustic performance and component protection is all as good as it gets. The engine room is a Class-D power amplifier, which includes a clever power supply capable of power-factor correction, and providing the amp with the voltage it needs even when connected to mains supplies of varying quality. The digital amp is very efficient compared with traditional designs and is mounted within an aluminium housing, which helps with heat dissipation. No fan is needed, and the external heat sink is hardly more than a gently ribbed rear panel, which looks good and isn’t prone to receiving or causing damage. The basic idea behind Class-D operation is that the output stage is only switched on (ie. current is flowing in the output stage) for as long as is needed, depending on the audio signal itself, so very little electrical power is wasted, and very high efficiency figures can be achieved. Full protection and signal processing is designed into the 712-A/722-A amp modules — signal levels into the amplifiers are monitored to prevent clipping or overdriving the speaker components, and automatic soft limiting is introduced as necessary to prevent distortion and subsequent damage. It is, of course, possible to abuse these speakers, but in general, sensible use, there should be nothing to worry about. Thermal protection is also included, which would normally only kick in if a fault condition were present or the ambient temperature were abnormally high, for example if the cabinets were exposed to direct sun on a very hot day.

I intended to spend some time trying out these speakers before taking them out on a gig, but an opportunity came up to try them with a function band called Caught In The Act, who were playing in a nice hotel famed for looking after its entertainers, so I arranged to tag along and simply replace the band’s usual powered speakers with the RCFs. As things turned out, there was enough time to soundcheck with both sets of the 7 series, which gave an interesting comparison between the two, so I started with the 712-A speakers, then replaced them with the 722-A version, and asked the band what they thought about them. I rigged up the 712s and ran them with and without the band’s own single Mackie SWA1501 subwoofer. The function room was about 15m wide by about 30m deep, with the band on the floor across one of the ends and the speakers firing down the room, angled slightly inwards to cover the dance floor at the front. Setting up was extremely simple (one XLR in, one level knob, one mains plug for each box), and lifting the RCFs on to the stands was a joy — not only were they light and manageable, but those excellent handles were easy to grip, the cabinet was nicely balanced and the 35mm stand slipped easily but securely into the base socket. This last might seem like a small point, but ill-fitting pole/socket arrangements are not only a pain to assemble but they are also just what you don’t need at packing-up time. We ran some recorded tracks through the system (which frightened the hotel staff... sorry about that!) and then got down to the serious soundcheck. I left all the balancing to the band, and when everything was to their liking I got Vicki, the main singer, to stand out front with her radio mic and have a listen. The 712s sounded very crisp and clean, and we were able to run them at what the band thought (and bear in mind they play this venue often) was a higher than normal level without any hint of feedback or harshness. Having spent a respectable amount of time using the 712s, I swapped them for the pair of 722s, leaving all the settings and levels exactly the same on the band’s mixer. The sound level was about the same but there was a noticeable difference in the top end and higher mid range. The vocals did cut through in a different way, and things like the cymbals and upper keyboard notes seemed more prominent especially at the back of the room. When I deliberately overcooked the top end by turning the HF all the way up at fairly high volume, things became uncomfortable but not mushy — an impressive sound, and so I decided to leave the 722s in place for the gig proper.

As with all the speakers I look at, I rigged up the 712-A and 722-A systems in my Bat Cave and gave them a good beating with all kinds of recorded tracks. Both sets of speakers sounded excellent with everything I could throw at them, but I did develop a bit of a preference for the 722s with their more open top end, especially when cranked up. The 712s sounded a little sweeter and would be great general-purpose, small-venue speakers — bear in mind we’re still talking about a pair of highly efficient cabs with 1.5kW onboard between them! The weather didn’t let me take any SPL measurements outside, but I can tell you without any doubt that these go very loud — my favourite part was playing the full drum kit track from my Sound Check test CD over a few times with the limit LEDs just flashing, ahem... I’ve mentioned the vocal and upper-mid sound, but I should also say that the low end is all there too. I tried running both sets of speakers with and without additional subs, and whilst they can be used to maximum effect with subs, the 712s and 722s are absolutely fine as true, full-range units. There’s plenty of firm bottom — just what I like — though admittedly there’s a bit more low end from the 722s, and for parties, small events and so on they provide a very full sound with real thumpy bass and stacks of headroom.