As it always happens with these high-power professional audio sound reinforcement solutions, L-Acoustics has been testing the new system with key partners for some time already. In fact, the new L Series debuted at the BRIT Awards in the UK, with pilot phase partner Britannia Row/Clair Global, on tour with Helene Fischer and pilot phase partner Solotech, and at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with support from RAT Sound.
As L-Acoustics confirmed at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles event, the L Series will continue its pilot phase validation with PRG, Tokyo Sanko, Novelty and Winly, before it becomes available in production in the fall 2023.
L-Acoustics introduced the modern line array concept in the ’90s, and three decades later, this technology is still the standard for live events around the world. "L Series is a breakthrough concept in concert sound that is made possible through the culmination of 30 years of intensive R&D in software modeling, loudspeaker technology, and electronics," says Germain Simon, Director of Product Management, Loudspeakers at L-Acoustics. "When we analyzed hundreds of projects using line source array across all genres and venues, we realized that most audience geometries and array shapes followed a similar trend. This led to the understanding that a fixed element with pre-defined progressive angles would provide incredible gains in quality, efficiency, and sustainability."
The new L Series line arrays use two elements that are designed to work together or on their own: L2 above and L2D below. One L2 or L2D element provides the same contour as four K2 elements in a format that is 46% smaller and 40% lighter. The audio benefits of L Series encompass industry-leading SPL per size, unparalleled consistency over the audience area, and improved rejection everywhere else.
Accompanying the audio benefits, the new L Series revolutionizes deployment with a smaller, lighter footprint that reduces truck space and requires fewer elements, cutting the number of actions needed to load in and out.
Each element contains eight three-inch high-frequency drivers with eight ten-inch low-frequency drivers, complemented by four side-loaded 12-inch drivers with front and back exits to deliver efficient, high precision broadband coverage with a choice of cardioid or supercardioid patterns. The L Series also features L-Acoustics Panflex technology, which provides sound designers with quick access to a choice of four horizontal directivity patterns: 70° or 110° symmetrical, or 90° asymmetrical on either side. Each L2 element includes four Panflex modules, while L2D contains two Panflex modules on the top elements, and two fixed L-Fins progressing from 110° to 140° on the bottom elements.
The operating efficiencies of L Series originate from its shape. With no inter-element angles, a pin-less auto-lock rigging system, and a single cable connector, repetitive load-in-/load-out actions are drastically diminished. This creates a setup environment that reduces errors and leads to a stunning three-fold decrease in loading time versus a similar K2 configuration or up to five times faster than Kara II.
And the new L Series line arrays can be just as impactful on the environment as they are on deployment. Starting with material savings: 56% less paint; 30% less wood and 60% less steel, the L Series is frugal in resources. Clocking in at 30% less volume and 25% less weight as compared to an equivalent line source array, L Series is also frugal in truck space and consequently in fuel consumption. The impact of the L Series is already being felt by Solotech on tour with Helene Fischer: "Our L2 system uses a fraction of the truck space as an equivalent K1/K2 system would have," explains Holger Schader, Senior Consultant Concert Touring and Special Events at Solotech. "We used just one truck instead of two trucks for the audio on this tour. Load in is also easier and more fail safe because we only have four elements to connect instead of 16."
Adding to system efficiency, the new L-Acoustics line array is driven by the new LA7.16 high-resolution touring amplified controller, which supports L2 and L2D with 16 channels of high-power amplification and processing. The LA7.16 amplified controller offers a level of efficiency and sustainability unheard of in modern touring applications. The high-density format — 16x16 architecture in a 2U format — powers more line array speakers than any similar-size amplifier, meaning fewer racks on tour, which in turn translates directly to energy and time savings along with the ability to address multichannel and hybrid productions, while offering a level of efficiency and sustainability required in modern touring applications. The high-density format saves space, weight, and time in deployment.
The new solution responds perfectly to the amplification needs of L Series, whose L2 and L2D elements contain 20 drivers and require 16 high-power amplifier channels and 16 state-of-the-art DSP channels. The LA7.16 features a touch screen and an encoder wheel to rapidly set up initial parameters and a single SC32 connector on the rear for connecting loudspeakers. Using new connection accessories, LA7.16 powers any L-Acoustics line source array up to K2.
The LA7.16 also comes in a new LA-RAK III touring rack offering 48 channels of amplification in a Milan AVB-ready package with more than 60,000 watts of power in 9U. Leveraging the high-resolution amplification of LA7.16 and the advanced Autosolver tools, L Series output can be perfectly modulated to achieve results that are impossible with traditional line array technology.
With the L Series, L-Acoustics also introduces the new Clamp1000 rigging system, which can carry up to four L2/L2D. It can also be used with Kara II, K3, or K2, supporting up to 16 K2. Using Clamp1000 users can rotate a flown line array from the ground, drastically saving setup time and the number of motors needed.
"The team of L Series, Clamp1000 and LA7.16 with its best-in-market amplification efficiency, along with advanced Autofilter processing, will make immersive audio deployments with L-ISA technology faster, easier, and more budget-friendly," explains Simon. "And these benefits also extend to traditional stereo projects where the pressure to create quality sound with less people and less time is ever-present."
www.l-acoustics.com
