Last week, Bose Professional Systems Division invited unveiled dealers, consultants and press to Instanbul to witness the unveiling of its RoomMatch modular array speakers and PowerMatch configurable amplifier. Both products are the result of over a decade’s work at the company.
RoomMatch consists of a series of array modules that can be combined to produce “concert-quality sound” – even sound coverage and tonal balance – regardless of the shape of the room where they are installed, claims Bose. The company calls RoomMatch a progressive dispersion array rather than line array, because the coverage pattern and directivity of each array module can be selected to provide the optimum sound. A total of 15 different coverage patterns is available – from 5 to 60 degrees vertically, and 55 to 120 degrees horizontally.
The philosophy behind RoomMatch is to use mechanical design to eliminate potential acoustic issues at source, rather than relying on DSP to remove them (which can sometimes bring unsatisfactory results). For instance, resonance in the compression driver (which can reduce smoothness at high frequencies) has been minimised through a proprietary Bridge Phase Plug. Also, each speaker contains six extended mid-high compression drivers and two 10in woofers eliminating the mid-high crossover that is a potential source of intelligibility in vocals.
RoomMatch arrays can be designed using Bose’s Modeler software. The package enables designs to be optimised either for energy efficiency or for meeting the SPL needs of the venue. Thanks to the Bose CADS (continuous-arc diffraction slot) manifold, which provides interference-free acoustic summation of the six compression drivers in each RoomMatch module, SPL can be scaled to achieve a consistent response across almost any vertical angle.
Bose claims two breakthrough technologies for the 4000W PowerMatch 8500 Class D amplifier. Fast power factor correction enables the switching power supply to extract energy more quickly and efficiently from the power cycle, while regenerative four-quadrant operation recycles some energy that would otherwise be lost. Together, these two technologies improve the amplifier’s short-term and long-term performance.
The amplifier circuit features a proprietary dual voltage and current feedback loop, which prevents circuits from being overdrawn. This produces optimal frequency response and minimal distortion, regardless of output level – on a par with Class AB amplifiers, according to Bose.
Like the RoomMatch array modules, the PowerMatch amplifier also has a high degree of configurability to handle a wide variety of power levels and system loads. Via software, it can be configured in single, bridge or ‘Quadbridge’ modes, and can split its 4000W of power between two and eight channels. Low-impedance or 70V/100V loads can be driven in bridge or Quadbridge modes.
PowerMatch features integrated signal processing for speaker EQ, crossover, delay and limiting – and when it’s used with RoomMatch or other Bose speakers, presets provide the required DSP and optimised protection limiting.
The products will be available from September.
