Montarbo Line Array Palco Plus

The high-frequency section consists of a single custom-built compression driver with a titanium diaphragm, a 3″ voice coil and 1.4″ throat. The driver is coupled to an aluminum planar waveguide with its exit between the baffles of the two woofers, which are precisely angled to accompany the natural dispersion of the waveguide.

The entire forward section of the enclosure, in fact, behaves as a horn above a certain frequency. Precisely tooled from birch plywood, this external waveguide serves to couple the outputs of adjacent elements into the cylindrical wavefronts characteristic to a line-source array.
An array of four RA16s exhibits precise 120° horizontal dispersion with a frequency response of 70 Hz ÷ 20 kHz (±3 dB).

While most line array elements cannot be used effectively in very small numbers, the RA16’s design permits the use of even only two elements clustered for small applications, though in this configuration it behaves not as a linear source, but as a highly directive point source cluster.
Each unit can develop a maximum SPL of 130 dB, thus providing ample power and coverage even in small numbers.

The cabinet is constructed entirely of 15 mm birch plywood finished with high-impact, chip-resistant paint. The coupling hardware is fully incorporated and is made of aircraft-grade, nickel-chromium-molybdenum steel. The splay angle from one element to another is adjustable from 0° to 12°. The lightweight of the enclosure and the clever system of coupling and splay angle adjustment permit the assembly of arrays with only two hands available.
One Montarbo PLM6800 can drive an array of four RA16 enclosures, otherwise, each RA16 can be driven by a power amplifier that can deliver at least 800 W at 8 ohms for the woofers and 200 W at 16 ohms for the driver. A two-channel amplifier capable of furnishing 1600 watts at 4 ohms per channel is suitable for driving two speakers.

Each enclosure RA16 is supplied with:

• 2 rear steel plates that allow the assembly of the enclosures in the array and for adjusting the vertical splay angle between units.
• 6 highly resistant quick release pins (figure 7 – B) with ball safety lock (3/8″ x 1/2″).

ACOUSTIC DATA
Frequency Response [-6dB]	70 Hz – 20 kHz
Max SPL	130 dB
HF	1,4″
HF Voice Coil	3″
HF Type	Driver
Dispersion (HxV)	120° x 12°
Crossover Frequency (passive)
LF	2 x 8″
LF Voice Coil	2,5″
LF Type	bass-reflex
Program Power Rating	800 watt
Impedance	8 Ohm
INPUT SECTION
Signal input	1 x SpeakON 4 pole
Signal Out	1 x Speakon 4 pole
HARDWARE
Housing	Plywood
Flyable	Yes
Handles	No
Pole mount	No
Width	527 mm (20,74 in)
Height	282 mm (11,10 in)
Depth	440 mm (17,32 in)
Weight	18 Kg (39,68 lb)

The precise interaction of these two transducers permits the RAB1815 to radiate in a cardioid pattern from a single enclosure, with 15 dB attenuation at 180° from 40 Hz to 100 Hz, allowing much more bass reinforcement to be used for the public, even very close to the stage. Aside from creating a unidirectional polar characteristic, this design also provides the benefits of both bass reflex and folded horn systems: very deep bass, but with rapid response. The design also puts the actual cone movement of the two speakers in opposition on the same axis of the enclosure, assuring that the sub will not move.

The two transducers are purpose-built for the RAB1815. They are constructed with neodymium magnets and 4“ voice coils, and can boast an excursion of ±23 mm. Both woofers can handle up to 1600 W of continuous power, and the entire system is capable of delivering 136 dB SPL.

The cabinet is made of 18-21 mm birch plywood with chip-resistant paint. The RAB1815 weighs less than 60 kg, and is built to act as a base for stacked arrays of RA16 enclosures.

A single Neutrik 8-pole Speakon® connector provides simple and intuitive connection to the powered controller PLM6800 or to any other power amplifier, and helps to avoid mistaken connection to channels destined to the satellites during cabling.

A single PLM6800 can drive two RAB1815 units, otherwise each RAB1815 can be driven by a two channel amplifier with a rated output of at least 1600 watts per channel at 4 ohms.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

ACOUSTIC DATA
Frequency Response [-6dB]	30 Hz – 120 Hz
Max SPL	136 dB
LF 1	18”
LF 1 Voice Coil	4”
LF 1 Type	Bass-reflex
Program Power Rating	1600 Watt
Impedance	4 Ohm
Crossover Frequency (passive)
LF 2	15”
LF 2 Voice Coil	4”
LF 2 Type	Horn loaded
Program Power Rating	1600 Watt
Impedance	4 Ohm
Dispersion (HxV)	cardiode
INPUT SECTION
Signal input	1 x SpeakON 8 pole
Signal Out	1 x SpeakoON 8 pole
HARDWARE
Housing	Plywood
Flyable	Yes
Handles	Yes
Pole mount	No
Width	506 mm (19,92 in)
Height	762 mm (30 in)
Depth	748 mm (29,44 in)
Weight	58 Kg (128,86 in)

Powered processor

PLM6800 is an innovative „powered loudspeaker controller“: the combination of a versatile DSP loudspeaker management controller with 4 Class-D power amplifiers, each one delivering up to 1700 W @ 4 Ω, whilst guaranteeing very high efficiency.

The DSP controller (2 inputs / 4 outputs) drives the internal power amplifiers providing all the signal processing functions required for the management, configuration, and installation of any type of speaker system, ranging from complex PalcoPLUS by Montarbo® line-arrays to simple one-way or two-way passive systems, even in combination with a subwoofer. The 24-bit Σ-Δ A/D and D/A converters guarantee the maximum audio quality and the powerful 56-bit DSP manages all the signal processing functions on the 4 output channels: limiter, crossover filters, delay, and equalization.

A large LCD display permits to verify all the system’s functions, whilst the intuitive control panel allows the selection of the operating preset and the direct control of gain, level, delay and mute of the 4 outputs. The RAConPLM™ software program, supplied with the optional LD2.4 USB interface, allows for remote control, with a Personal Computer, of a network of up to 8 PLM6800.

FEATURES

The factory default presets may be modified and new ‚custom‘ presets may be ‚built‘, thanks to the complete programmability of the controller’s functions:

• PLM6800 incorporates an ‚intelligent wiring‘ system, which provides input and output routing and connector switching (both line in/out and power out) according to the operating configuration selected in the processor.
• The rear panel is fitted with six Speakon® output connectors (two 8-pole and four 4-pole), allowing for rapid cabling of the PalcoPlus components, and also permitting the connection of four full-range or one-way cabinets. This multiple-output wiring, which would otherwise seem risky to the speakers if erroneously wired, is made quite safe by the DSP section, which uses internal relays to connect only the correct contacts of the connectors appropriate to the selected preset, disconnecting the unnecessary and otherwise potentially dangerous connections. This same ‚intelligent wiring‘ concept is applied to the four XLR3 line output connectors. These outputs can be set to operate as input links or as processed outputs, thereby facilitating the wiring of multiple systems, and systems combining the PLM6800 with traditional, unprocessed amplifiers.
• The mains power connectors are Neutrik PowerCon®, guaranteeing resistance against vibrations and accidental disconnections.
• PLM6800 features three separate power supplies, one for the DSP controller section and one for each pair of power amplifiers.
• The state-of-the-art power amps are fitted with a full suite of protection circuits to safeguard the amps as well as the connected speaker enclosures. The switched-mode power supplies, with power-factor correction, can operate on mains voltages from 85 to 270 V AC (50/60 Hz).
• PLM6800 is built with heavy-duty, road-ready materials, and features a laser-etched front panel, built from aluminum and stainless steel, which will stand forever against scratches and abrasions. The small (two units) height, the front-to-back cooling system (which allows installing the amplifiers in racks without leaving empty spaces for cooling) and the reduced weight make it possible to assemble small and lightweight amplifiers racks, thus simplifying transportation and installation.
• Two RJ45 connectors provide RS485FD serial interfaces on two RJ45 Ethercon® connectors, for network control using the RAConPLM™ software.

TECHNICAL DATA
Power RMS @ 4 Ohms	4 x 1400 W
Power RMS @ 8 Ohms	4 x 780 W
Power Bridged RMS @ 8 Ohms	2 x 1560 W
Frequency Response	10 Hz – 24 kHz @ 4O (+/- 0.5 dB)
THD+N (THD%)	<0.5%
Damping factor (20 Hz – 1 kHz)	>200
SN Ratio	>100 dB
Limiter	Overheating protection
Limiter	Protection against short-circuits / overload on output
Limiter	Clip limiter, permanent signal limiter, high-frequency limiter
Cooling	Forced air cooling with termostatically controlled fans
INPUT SECTION
Input Signal	XLR
Output Signal	XLR
Input Sensitivity [dBu]	38dB
Input Impedance	10kOhm
Output Connector	SpeakOn
MECHANIC
Installation Standard	Flight case
Unit	2
Width	483 mm
Height	89 mm
Depth	526 mm
Weight	11,5 Kg