|
|
|
|
|
Photos too small? Click on photos, screenshots and diagrams in articles to open a Larger View gallery. January 2010
Other recent issues: | Turbosound TXPPortable loudspeakersPublished in PM January 2008  Printer-friendly versionReviews : PA: Active The new TXP range of portable self-powered speakers from Turbosound is aimed at 'live sound, corporate rental and mobile DJ' applications, and represents an opportunity to acquire and use equipment from a manufacturer more usually associated with high-end pro-spec touring rigs.  The TXP range is made up of three models: the TXP-121and TXP-151 are active full-range and/or mid/high units, depending on the application, and the TXP-118 is an active subwoofer. The review system consisted of a pair of TXP-151 top boxes and a pair of TXP-118 LF units. When the boxes arrived, I was surprised how compact they were, and I had to double-check to confirm that I had indeed been sent the TXP-151 and not the 12-inch version. TXP-151  The TXP-151 follows the fairly standard form of a single 15-inch driver with an HF compression driver mounted above, contained within a wooden trapezoidal cabinet, which also houses a power amplifier and input module. The cabinet is made from 15mm birch ply and incorporates 45-degree angled panels on both sides, making it useful as a floor monitor speaker as well as for main PA. I like the fact that these angled sides are symmetrical, as it can be used either way round, depending on the particular application. The angled part of the cabinet is also of a decent size, which means that it is stable in use and not likely to roll over if kicked or pushed. An interesting variation on the pole mount theme is provided on the bottom of the box, in that the pole socket is a double-angle design, allowing the TXP-151 to be mounted vertically (pointing straight out level with the floor) or at an angle, which enables it to be aimed slightly downward when mounted in a high position relative to the audience area. I recently purchased a couple of adjustable angled stand adaptors for exactly this purpose, and I can tell you that having this feature already built in is a lot more convenient. Handles are recessed and are machined directly into the cabinet sides in the form of smooth hand-size cutouts, located near the top of each side. Being so near to the top of the enclosure, these handles make it very easy to move the speakers around when you're standing over them — for example, shifting them around in a van — and when carrying a cabinet on your own. This position also ensures that the boxes won't tip backwards or forwards when picked up. When lifting the speakers onto a pole or stand, however, they can be tricky because there is no bar to grip, and you have to hook your fingers up into the recess, palms up — I found it difficult to do this above chest height. The entire front panel is protected by a heavy steel mesh grille with a tough black finish, and offers protection not only to the drive components, but also to the ports — you don't have to worry about unwanted objects or life forms getting inside. I had a go at bending one of the grilles inwards with my hand and it certainly seemed sturdy enough to withstand any normal road/gig abuse. There's not much to say about the drive units themselves, other than that the HF driver is a one-inch type on a 70 x 40-degree horn, and that both speakers are driven by a single power amplifier via a passive crossover operating in the region of 2kHz, and with an in-line protection device for the HF unit. Spare parts  One nice thing about Turbosound speakers is that they always publish part numbers for spares, and they really do support their products for a considerable time, even after they have been superseded by newer models. In the case of the TXP series, the datasheet (you can download this from their website) lists both replacement drivers and recone kits, which are readily available. Connections and controls  The TXP-151 has a trapezoidal cabinet with a large recess for the rear panel, which includes a level control and mode switch (to set LF roll-off). The rear panel has a large recess, which allows access to the amplifier controls and input/output connections, none of which protrude above the level of the woodwork, and are thus pretty well shielded from damage. Connecting and using the speaker is very simple and straightforward, with just a single XLR input and a single XLR output, level control, mode switch (a filter setting), three LED indicators and a power switch for the amplifier. The level control is an attenuator, and merely varies the level of input signal from zero to full. It's intended to be used when setting up your system gain structure to achieve best signal-to-noise ratio, and also to balance the levels between top cabs and subs when they're being used together and fed from the same source. Mode  The mode switch is used to select either full-range operation or high-pass mode, in which case the response is rolled off at 125Hz at the lower -3dB point. It's worth remembering that all the inputs are full-range inputs, and the filter doesn't affect the link output — many systems use a filtered output from either top cab or sub, whereas these TXP units can be simply daisy-chained together in any configuration. Power  An LED indicator lights up when the unit is powered up, and two more LEDs show the presence of an input signal and when the active limiter is operating. One very noticeable thing about the back panel is the absence of an external heat sink, other than the panel itself — there are no fins sticking out to tear your clothes or skin, or get damaged in transit. This is because the power module uses a Class-D amplifier design, which gives very high efficiency and, therefore, produces nowhere near as much heat (wasted power) as a more conventional type. The power output stage is, I believe, the same as in some of Turbosound's more high-end products, and is common to every unit in the TXP range: the front end is an analogue design and doesn't require the clever DSP elements of the more esoteric models at this price point, although these modules have level sensing on input and output and will reduce the power to a safe level if things become too hot. Power rating is quoted as 450W continuous into 8 ohms, which really doesn't tell you much about how much level these will produce or what they will sound like — you just have to try them for real. TXP-118  On the rear panel of the TXP-118, there is a filter switch in place of the mode switch used on the TXP-151. A dedicated LF unit called the TXP-118 provides the bottom end of this system, and uses the same 400W Class-D power amplifier section as the TXP-151, but with a modified front end. The only difference you notice about the control panel is that the mode switch is used to engage a filter, which either allows -3dB operation up to 95Hz or 125Hz (the switch is labelled 100Hz/125Hz, but the specification says 95), with the response extending downwards to 45Hz at -3dB and 38dB at the -10dB point. The indicators, connectors and level control are all the same as on the mid/high unit. The 18-inch driver is reflex-loaded in a birch ply enclosure, which, like the others in the range, has a full metal grille and black textured paint finish. The handles are of the same design as the TXP-151 and are brilliant for shunting the cabinet about on your own. But if you try and carry the bass bin between two people, then your hand has to be palm outward in the doorman-receiving-a-tip fashion. Test gig For a variety of reasons, I wasn't able to have a close look at — let alone fire up — the TXP speakers until the day of the test gig, which was an outdoor event built around switching on some town centre Christmas lights. The PA had to be suitable for announcements, recorded music and several live acts, and the required coverage was an area about 30 metres wide by 40 metres deep — basically, a closed-off section of the main shopping street. Having loaded the rest of the equipment, I finally got round to unpacking the Turbosound gear, as it wouldn't have exactly been the height of coolness to arrive with the rig in cardboard boxes, even if they did say 'Turbosound' on them. We removed them from said cartons and put them in the van (they actually came in the best cardboard boxes I've ever seen, and I reckon I could happily live in them), and off we went to the gig. The weather forecast wasn't brilliant, and I soon discovered that artificial snow machines had been brought in. We had brought lots of plastic 'tarpaulins' so that everything could be covered if necessary, but the TXP speakers don't have any foam covering on the grilles and I wasn't sure what artificial snow would do to the cones. The stage was a big trailer affair, with a bit of a canopy to cover all except the front portion (the bit where the speakers go, obviously), and as it was some three feet high, I decided to put the subs on the ground in front and mount the TXP-151s on stands on the stage, to achieve as much height as possible. Setting up We put the subs in place first, standing together in the centre so that they could couple with the ground plane and with each other, and also where there would be no chance of any audience dead spot between the two. The subs were easy enough to lift and carry a few yards into position, and the large rubber feet were compliant enough to deal with the rough tarmac surface on the roadway. When it came to mounting the TXP-151s on the stands, we struggled with the aforementioned side handles, but completed the operation without mishap. A better way of getting these on stands would be to lay the cabinet on its side, insert the stand, then tip the whole thing upright — still a two-person job, maybe, but no risk of dropping the speaker. I would definitely prefer a bar-type handle on these units. Once the speakers were in place, it took only a matter of minutes to connect them up — a great advantage of powered speakers. We were running in mono, and for ease and speed of setup, I daisy-chained a full-range line signal into all four of the cabs, set the built-in filters to 'high-pass' on the tops, and used the 125Hz setting on the bass speakers. Once I had run a very low-level signal through the system, just to see if everything was working — which it was — I set the level controls on the four cabinets to the 12 o'clock position and turned up the mixer level. It took a while to get used to the balance between subs and top cabs, and after I had more or less matched the peak input level on the TXP-151s with the peak output on the desk, I experimented with different relative settings on the TXP-118s until the balance sounded about right from 15-20 metres back. In the end, I ran the top cabs with the level control about midway, and the subs about 70% of the way up — probably a good starting point for this system, as you generally want about 3dB more from the low end. I played a favourite setting up CD at a good thumpy level and wandered around the town centre to hear the system at a bit of a distance. I was very happy with the coverage: these speakers certainly pack a big punch, and the sound seemed to 'round out' from about 10 metres or so from the stage, with the balance staying just about the same over the intended audience area. I did crank it up to see how loud it would sound at the limiting point, but only for a minute or so, because we were seriously affecting the trade in nearby retail establishments — these boxes deliver an awful lot of sound for what seems a very modest power rating. Performance The slot for setting up and soundchecking the live band was, unfortunately, taken up with cleaning the stage, because an earlier act had decided — who knows why — to tell the story of the Nativity in a way that involved breaking a lot of raw eggs. When sanity and reason returned, we got a community jazz band on and off again, did the switch-on ceremony with various dignitaries, and then had to quickly set up and just 'wing it' with the (thankfully excellent) live band. About two numbers in, everything was ticking along nicely enough for me to push the levels a bit and go and have another listen out front. I really was impressed (as were the organisers, the band and the paying public) with the amount of clean power the TXPs were putting across, and the rig was proving more than equal to this challenge. The top boxes threw well over the required distance, and remained crisp and clear right to the back. The bass was tight and deep, without being too ponderous, and what I liked best was the amount of attack possible — I could have happily played about with different kick drum settings all night! After the festivities had ended, packing up was a bit of a bonus as well. For this gig, I normally use eight speakers of a bigger, heavier design, and it was a pleasure to quickly strike and pack the TXP system easily and quickly (we used the tip-em-over method for getting the speakers off the stands), and have plenty of time to get to the Little Chef afterwards. Conclusion Putting the speakers back into my store, I found myself hoping that another gig would come up before they had to go back to Turbosound, as I reckon I could live very happily with this rig and I can think of loads of venues where the they'd be ideal. If you're after something fairly lightweight, compact, easy to set up, and you want it loud and with a great name on the front grille, take a close look at these. They look good and sound great. I reckon that old Christmas carol just about sums them up: 'deep and crisp and even'. 0  Published in PM January 2008  | In this article:
Turbosound TXP-118 £940 Turbosound TXP-151 £998 This versatile, compact and lightweight system has a good-looking design and gives a very big sound for the money. The top boxes double as floor monitors, which is very useful, but the handles are pretty awkward (employ someone else to carry them!)
Tech Spec TXP-151 15-inch LF driver. 1-inch HF compression driver. Frequency response: full range 100Hz 18kHz ±3dB (40Hz 20kHz ±10dB); High-pass 125Hz 18kHz ±3dB (100Hz 20kHz) ±10dB. Maximum SPL: 124dB continuous, 130dB peak. Nominal dispersion: 70 x 40 degrees at -6dB points. XLR signal input, XLR link output, IEC mains power connector. Gain, two-stage high-pass filter, mains on/off, limit LED, signal LED, power-on LED. Class-D power amplifier. Amp power output: 450W continuous at 8Ω. Dimensions (WDH): 472 x 408 x 652mm. Weight: 28.1kg. Tech Spec TXP-118 18-inch LF driver. Frequency response: filter setting 1, 45Hz 95Hz ±3dB (38Hz 95Hz ±10dB), filter setting 2, 45Hz 125Hz ±3dB, (38Hz 125Hz ±10dB). Maximum SPL: 123dB continuous, 129dB peak. XLR signal input, XLR link output, IEC mains power connector. Gain, two-stage low-pass filter, mains on/off, limit LED, signal LED, power LED. Class-D amplifier. Amp power output: 450W continuous at 8Ω. Dimensions: 540 x 503 x 652mm. Weight: 32kg. |
|
All contents copyright © SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 2007-2010.
All rights reserved. The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither SOS Publications Group nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Publishers.
Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates | SOS | Relative Media |
