The Carl Cox and Friends Arena at the recent Ultra Miami music festival saw US distributor Sound Investment set up a Funktion-One Vero large-format touring sound system and F132 subwoofer system.
The extremely powerful bass enclosure combines Powersoft’s M-Force 10kW linear transducer with Funktion-One cone and enclosure technology using a single 32-inch driver with a frequency response of 24Hz to 65Hz. Its physical size and the fact it is horn-loaded means levels of directivity that are not typically possible at these low frequencies; a feat that is achieved without any processing.
Sound Investment installed eight F132s, all positioned on one side of the arena to avoid conflicting sources, resulting in smooth and even bass coverage. These were used in combination with four F221 double-21in bass enclosures. In 2015, 24 F221s were used on for the same stage, which gives an indication of the F132’s considerable output. Each F132 is almost 1.5m deep and over 1.1m wide.
‘The smile on my face was from knowing that this was the very best sonic sound experience I have ever had in that area – like I had never heard before,’ Cox says. ‘It was so warm, pleasing and powerful that it shook all my senses to the core of my soul, and this is because Tony [Andrews, Funktion-One founder] managed to achieve the true sound of analogue in the digital age. This is what has been missing in a lot of sound systems over the years. I wish more people would take a leaf out of his book, but there can only be one Tony.’
‘DJs don’t always have material that does those frequencies, but when they do the result is unequivocal – everybody experiences it,’ Andrews comments. ‘It makes the bass really big and really fat. It’s the first time that we’ve been able to have those frequencies from a fully horn-loaded source.
‘Powersoft’s R&D Director Claudio Lastrucci came over to hear some of the prototypes and definitely got the message,’ he continues. ‘I recall him saying that he’d never heard anything like it. When we got to the final stage, he came over again to help set-up the M-Force.’
Another Powersoft specialist closely involved in the process, and who was able to assess the final stage of beta testing in person at Ultra Music, was M-Force Project & Sales Manager, Massimo Minardi: ‘With the F132 working continuously to the limit – 12 hours a day over three days. It responded brilliantly to the pressure of both artists and a demanding audience. This was far removed from the simulations and tests under controlled parameters in a laboratory.’
