JBL Professional's “Tour Audio” division recently unveiled the VTX M series. It is a new premium line of stage monitors designed for the most demanding applications.
With a discreet, elegant design, the VTX M series incorporates the acclaimed Differential Drive neodymium woofers, D2 dual-diaphragm high-frequency transducers and new high-frequency waveguides (Image Control Waveguide) to deliver excellent control and gain before feedback. The VTX M line consists of two models: the VTX M20 and the VTX M22. The VTX M20 features dual 10" woofers and a 3" D2 compression driver, while the VTX M22 features dual 12" woofers and a 3" D2 compression driver. Both models are available in Spain and Portugal through Earpro.
“The M Series is the first stage monitor line specific to JBL's VTX family of touring products,” says George Georgallis, Product Manager, Tour Sound Amps, Speakers and DSP. “Our goal, when we started developing the M Series, was to create the best stage monitors available. Working with some of the best monitor engineers in the industry, we concluded that we had to meet their needs and make up for the shortcomings of other monitoring solutions. To achieve our goals, we blended the best of JBL technology with new components developed from scratch specifically for these monitors. As a result, these premium stage monitors are ready for the most demanding, maximum-power applications, and can compete with any solution on the market today.”
The high-frequency section of the M Series uses the 3" D2430 dual compression driver, the same one found in the large-format VTX V25-II line array models. The D2 transducer is coupled to a new high-frequency waveguide with 60x60 degree coverage, which has a unique shape specifically tailored to this series and to stage monitoring applications. This new waveguide is based on JBL's Image Control Waveguide technology, originally developed for the JBL M2 studio monitors. Coupled to the D2 transducer, it delivers a coverage pattern that is spatially consistent, allowing the M Series to achieve excellent gain before feedback.
The VTX M series woofers use JBL's patented Differential Drive technology, allowing excellent heat dissipation, low distortion and very high power handling. These neodymium Differential Drive woofers feature dual 3" voice coils, which amounts to more than double the coil area of traditional designs. One of the best features of this design is its surprisingly low weight, which makes the M Series one of the lightest in its class, at half the weight of many comparable models from other brands. The two woofers are supported by a bass-reflex enclosure with a large low-frequency port, which allows the system to reproduce low frequencies down to 50Hz with minimal noise and turbulence.
The M Series supports both dual-channel (biamplified) and single-channel (passive) operating modes, which can be set in the easily accessible switch section. This significantly reduces the cost per mix, making the M Series the ideal solution for a much wider audience. When single-channel (passive) mode is selected, an internal passive network is activated that lets users power the M Series with a single amplifier channel, thereby reducing total amplification requirements. Unlike typical passive monitors, the M Series divides the cabinet's preset responsibilities between the amplifier's DSP and the internal passive network. The external DSP is responsible for correcting the frequency response, linearizing the phase response and protecting the components, while the internal network is only responsible for the high-pass and low-pass filters. The combination of internal and external processing recreates a biamplified speaker preset, but using only one amplifier channel. The frequency response, phase response and maximum output power of the M Series are identical in both biamplified and passive modes.
Like all other JBL VTX products, the M Series is powered exclusively by DSP-based Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers, allowing excellent performance and consistency worldwide. In single-channel mode, a single Crown 4x3500HD amplifier can power up to 8 M Series monitors (in four independent monitor mixes), creating a compact monitoring system of excellent value.
