BlacklineX USERGUIDE
BlacklineXUserGuideV1.0 19
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Amplification
Choosingapoweramplifier
Martin Audio loudspeakers are capable of recreating musical dynamics accurately and with incredible impact if powered
correctly.MartinAudioloudspeakerpowerratingsarequotedforAESpower‐along‐termaveragepowerratingwitha much
closerrelationtoamusicsignalthanothermeasurementstandardssuchasRMS,andPeakpower–ashort‐termburstcapability
.
Moving coil loudspeakers can be run up to their AES power rating continuously and up to the higher Peak power rating for
transientmusicalpeaks.AllBlacklineXSeriesspeakershaveapeakpowerratingfourtimesthelong‐termAESrating.Ideallyyou
shoulduseanamplifierthatcandelivertheful
lpeakratingwithoutriskofclipping.Thishowevermaybebeyondthebudgetfor
manysoagoodcompr omiseistoaimforanamplifierthatcandeliveratleasttwicetheAESrating.
Thisisparticularlythecasefortheamplifierdr
ivinganX8,10,12or15whentheyareusedinconjunctionwithanX210,115or
118 as the sub cabinet will be delivering the majority of the energy in the program material. Do not howeverscrimp on the
amplifierdrivingthesubwoofer.
This should be acceptable for many applications but be aware of the limitations particularly if the system is used wit
h
uncompressedlivemusic.Inparticularitisvitaltoavoidamplifierclipping,thisispossiblythebiggestsinglecauseofdamageto
speakerdrivers.The clippedwaveformhasa colossalharmonic outputatultra‐high frequenciesallbein
gdeliveredatth e full
powercapabilityoftheamplifiersospeakerdamageisextremelylikely.
Theamplifierselectiontablebelowwillassistinchoosinganamplifiertosuityourapplicationatanacceptablepricepoint.
GainSettings
The vast majority of professional and even budget amplifiers on the market these days have a standard front to back gain
regardlessoftheiroutputpowercapability.Theindustrystandardgainfigureis32dBwhichisagainofX40.Thisfigureisagood
balancebetweenenoughgaintorunthatmajo
rityofsystemswithouthavingtodrivemixersandanyotherprocessingequipment
atalevelsohighthatthereisariskofclipping,andnottoomuchgainwhichwouldraisethenoisefloorofthesystem.When
usingaDX0.5orother systemprocessorwhichhas alimiterfunctionyo
ushouldalwaysuse the limitersettingsshown inthe
parameterchart(seethechapter ontheDX0.5SpeakerProcessor). Thelimiterthresholdiscalculated toallow themaximum
levelfromyoursystemwithoutdamageandisbasedonaknownamplifiergainsetting‐32dBbydefault.Forth
atreasonitisvital
thatiftheamplifierhasfrontpanelgaincontrolstheyMUSTbesetFULLUP.Loweringthemdoesnotoffermoreprotectionfor
yoursystem,itjustchangesthe gainsettingoftheamplifiersoagreaterinputlevelisrequiredtoobta inthemaximumpower
fromthe amp.This will makethe limiterin th
esystemcontroller uselessas thegain isno longer atthe settingfor which the
thresholdhasbeencalculated.Foroptimumperformancealwaysobservethefollowing;‐
UseaDX0.5orhighqualitysystemprocessor
UsethepublishedParametersfortheBlacklineXrange
Useanamplifierwithagainof32dB(X40)
Alwaysrunfrontpanelgaincontrolsfullup
Avoidamplifiersthatonlyquoteasensitivityrating;"xxdBformaximumoutput"(i.e.nopublishedgainsetting)
RecommendedAmplifiers
Model AES Power
Rating
Peak Power
Rating
Ideal amplifier rating Minimum rating Martin Audio amplifiers
4Ω 8Ω 4Ω 8Ω
X8 200W 800W 1,600W 800W 800W 400W MA3.0,MA2.8Q
X10 250W 1,000W 2,000W 1,000W 1,000W 500W MA3.0,MA2.0
X12 300W 1,200W 2,400W 1,200W 1,200W 600W MA5.2K,MA5.0Q
X15 400W 1,600W 3,200W 1,600W 1,600W 800W MA9.6K,MA3.0
X115 500W 2,000W 4,000W 2,000W 2,000W 1,000W MA12K,MA5.2K
X118 500W 2,000W 4,000W 2,000W 2,000W 1,000W MA12K,MA5.2K
X210 500W 2,000W 2,000W 1,000W 1,000W 500W MA3.0,MA2.0