Martin Audio MLA Mini

Premiered at the recent Pro Light & Sound show, Martin Audio’s MLA Mini line array brings the company’s MLA technology to smaller-scale portable and installed sound applications.

‘When we first pioneered the MLA technology back in 2009, we hoped that one day we would be able to make it available to mass market on a reduced footprint and without compromise,’ says Director of Sales, Simon Bull. ‘Due to some inspired invention from our engineering team it’s a case of mission accomplished.’

The key to MLA Mini is the MSX mini-sub power plant, which complements the main system and houses the amplification, networking and DSP necessary to power and control itself and four MLA Mini enclosures.

Each MLA Mini enclosure houses two 6.5-inch (165mm)/2-inch (50mm) voice coil LF drivers and a vertical column of three 1.4-inch (35mm) aluminium dome HF drivers on a 100° horizontal dispersion horn. The 15-inch (380mm) reflex loaded MSX can be integrated into flown arrays or ground-stacked separately.

The system can be flown, groundstacked or pole mounted. In its simplest configuration, four MLA Minis can be pole-mounted above the MSX with precisely adjustable tilt angle, and function as a plug-and-play system, with the user recalling onboard presets instead of using computer control. At the other end of the scale, up to 16 MLA Minis can be flown in an array and powered by four ground-stacked MSXs. MSX contains nine channels of class-D amplification to provide cellular drive while the onboard DSP interacts with proprietary Display2.1 intelligent software for accurate array optimisation.

With each individual cell under software control, ‘hard-avoid’ areas can also be programmed in to reduce sound spill, and vertical coverage can be fine-tuned electronically in-situ without the need to re-rig the array. Arrays and MSXs can be remotely controlled from a laptop or wireless tablet running VU-Net control software thus eliminating trial and error tuning.

Applications include small-to-medium scale theatre and live music venues; corporate A/V events; fixed installations in concert halls, ballrooms and houses of worship; side fill for MLA Compact systems. In use, a 12-box MLA Mini array will throw 35m (115ft), and deliver live music in venues of 750 to 1,000 people.

‘In addition to the physical advantages, MLA’s revolutionary technology now becomes accessible to most budgets for the first time,’ says company MD, Anthony Taylor. ‘In theory, every installed venue or touring show can now achieve the controlled delivery and speed of set up that cellular technology allows, no matter how big or small the space is.’

The MLA Mini system is expected to ship at the end of May 2013.