Long Island-based Taylor Productions has taken possession of an EM Acoustics HALO-A line array system – the first delivered in the United States. The new system is made up of 16 HALO-A line array modules, six MSE-218 ground and six MSE-218F flyable subwoofers.
Taylor Productions is a full-scale production house that offers sound, stage, lighting, and video services throughout the region. Twenty years ago, owner Bill Taylor purchased a sound system for the band he played in and the company was born.
In 2017, Taylor Productions started investing in EM Acoustics with the purchase of several EMS-129 and EMS-61 two-way loudspeakers and EMS-115 subwoofers.
“Rich Trombitas at Cardone Solomen (NY) has never steered me wrong on products,” added Taylor. “When they started repping EM he encouraged me to give their product a listen and I was impressed – it was almost visceral, I knew it was a brand that would be great for business and I was right. People are so impressed with the sound quality and flexibility of the product.”
Shortly thereafter EM Acoustics announced the development of HALO-A and Taylor was on board as the first owner of a system in the United States.
“We are looking to expand our customer base and provide services nationwide,” explained Taylor. “The connections we have made over time and the opportunities that were presented to us in Q2 of last year made it make sense to invest in a system that could handle national tours and large arenas – which led us to the purchase of the HALO-A. We had used the more compact HALO-C a few times last year and knew that a bigger version would be exceptional.”
The HALO-A follows the same core design as the more compact HALO-C providing the signature EM Acoustics “maximum headroom” design approach that ensures consistency of performance regardless of SPL level. The compact enclosure (14.3/362 x 40.2/1020 x 24.4/619 in/mm) and low weight (145.2/66 lbs/kg) translates into less truck space used and smaller motors required.
The element also utilizes a proprietary patent-pending emulation manifold, which combines the energy of four 3.4-inch diaphragm, 1.4-inch exit compressions drivers into a plane-wave array. This assembly gives not only a significant moving area for the high-frequency section but also provides twice the headroom of comparable systems.
The HF section is flanked by a pair of high power 3.5-inch voice coil, 12-inch neodymium low-frequency transducers. These two drive units combined with optimally-tuned low turbulence porting and generous cabinet volume ensure HALO-A has a low-frequency performance to match the incredible highs.
A single HALO-A exhibits a flat, free-field frequency response from 48 Hz to 19kHz (+/-3dB) and a phase response which is +/- 20 degrees between 150Hz and 18kHz. Due to the unique loading technique applied to the low-frequency drivers, combined with the high-frequency waveguide, the dispersion pattern control is maintained down to 250Hz. Taylor powers the HALO-A system with EM Acoustics’ FIR-enabled DQ20 advanced system amplifiers.
“The new wood waveguide produces HF frequencies with astounding clarity,” said Taylor. “When we heard the HALO-A it sounded so intimate – almost like a conversation – but much, much louder. It sounds the way music is supposed to sound; how a studio engineer would like his mix to sound in a live environment. I am confident it is going to set the bar for arena line arrays in the States.”