Apogee Sound ALA-9 User manual

ALA-9
ACOUSTIC LINEAR ARRAY
LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM MANUAL
©2001Bogen Communications, Inc
Specifications subject to change without notice.
55-0006-01C 0801

Table of Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Rigging System and Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Dollies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Truck Packing Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Cabinet Wiring and Amplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Product Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Package
Contents
Inside this shipping carton, you will find the following:
• ALA-9 User Manual
• ALA-9 Loudspeaker
• 8 Rigging pins (installed in the sides of the speaker)
• 2 Standard Rigging plates
Optional Touring Package includes:
• ALA-9 Dolly
• Cordura cover
Rigging Plate (2)
Pins (8)
ALA-9
ALA-9
Dolly
Figure 1
Introduction Thank you for purchasing Apogee Sound International products. By
choosing Apogee’s precision tools for professional audio, you have
made an investment in superior quality products that will provide
years of service with minimal care and maintenance.
You will find the ALA-9, the largest of our Linear Array Loudspeakers,
to be the most efficient and elegant tool of its kind on the market
today. Every aspect of the product has been optimized: efficient han-
dling; truck packing; overall aesthetics; power output; pattern con-
trol; and sonic quality.
Whether installed permanently in larger venues or used in touring
applications, the ALA-9 will prove to be a benchmark by which you
rate all products.
2

Figure 2 shows holes A, B, and C in the rigging plate. Holes "A" are
always inserted and pinned first into a speaker. This speaker, with
rigging plate attached, is pushed into the speaker in front of it. Holes
"C" will line up in the second speaker and can be pinned if the Flat-
pack configuration is desired. Figure 3 shows three speakers in
Flat-pack configurations.
White Ends
Bottom Locator
2
1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Rigging System
and Handling
The ALA-9 speakers are linked together with a series of rigging plates
and aircraft pins. The standard rigging plate will allow you to link the
speakers in a Tight-pack (10 deg.) or Flat-pack (0 deg.) configuration.
A steel frame, internal to the speaker, connects all the pin locations
together creating a steel rigging chain with the speaker suspended
within the links.
The ends of the rigging plate that are inserted into the speakers are
painted white so that the proper plate orientation can easily be deter-
mined. The white marking on one side wraps around the plate slightly,
this indicates the bottom of the plate.The plate will always used in the
same orientation.
3

If Tight-pack configuration is desired, insert the rigging bars as before
and then pin locations "A". Push the speaker, with its bars, into the
speaker in front of it. Holes "B" will be pinned for Tight-pack. They will
not line up with the holes at this point.You now need to begin lifting
the array from the rigging frame (see Figure 4). As the array lifts, the
gap between the last two speakers will begin to close. While the array
is lifting, apply pressure on the last cabinet to insure that it is tight
against the next cabinet in the array.When the last two cabinets have
come together, holes "B" will align and the pins can be driven. This
process is repeated for additional speakers.
Apply Pressure
Gap is closing
Begin lifting array
Figure 4
Figure 5
When all the desired speakers have been added to the array, the swing
dolly must be slipped under the last speaker (see Figure 5). As the array
is lifted into the air, this small dolly will act as a pivot point for the bot-
tom of the array.
Slip swing dolly
under last speaker
4

Figure 6
96" (244cm)
Four across
Four across
on end
on wheels
93.25" (237cm)
94.5" (240cm)
Four across
on end, turned
Two across
on wheels
Figure 7
The dollies should be removed from the front of the speakers as the
array is lifting. The dollies are attached to the speakers by magnetics.
There are no catches or latches.A sharp tug to the dolly will remove
it from the speaker. Handholds are provided on the bottom of the
dolly for this purpose.With the speaker in the air, the bottom of the
dolly will be facing you. Grab the handholds and pull sharply.
As the dollies are removed, they can be stacked to minimize the floor
space they take up.When adding a dolly to the stack, tip the dolly to
one side to align the wheels before stacking them as shown in Figure
6.The entire array of dollies can be put away by one person.
Dollies
Truck Packing
Dimensions
Figure 7 shows various common packaging configurations and the
dimensions associated with them.
5

Cabinet Wiring
and Amplification
71
2
3
4
5
68
Cannon
EP8 Series
4-
3-
4
+
3 +
2-
1-
2
+
1 +
Neutrik
NL8MP
NL-8 EP-8 Impedance Power
Handling
POS NEG POS NEG Maximum
Continuous
LF 1
LF 2
MF
HF
1+ 1-
2+ 2-
3+ 3-
4+ 4-
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
8 ohms*
8 ohms*
4 ohms**
4 ohms**
600 watts*
600 watts*
600 watts**
450 watts**
Note: All connections to and within this speaker are "in phase".
All MF drivers are wired in parallel.
All HF drivers are wired in parallel.
* Value represents the impedance and power handling of one driver.
** Value represents the total combined impedance and power handling.
Loop Through
You will find two connectors on the back of the ALA-9.They are wired
in parallel. Either can be used as an input to the speaker. The second
unused connector can be used to "Loop Through" the speaker and
continue on to a second speaker. If this is done, two ALA-9 speakers
will be driven by the same cable run.
WARNING:
Caution must be taken when using the LoopThrough because the total
impedance seen by the amplifier will be cut in half. This will create a
2-ohm load.
6

Product
Specifications
Accessories
Driver Complement:
Low Frequency:Dual Apogee 15" (381mm) permanent magnet cone-type drivers are
treated with Ferrofluid®and a waterproofing compound, providing resistance to moisture
and enabling long-term stability of cone resonance and cone mass parameters
Mid Frequency: Dual Apogee 10" (254mm) permanent magnet cone-type drivers are treat-
ed with Ferrofluid and a waterproofing compound, providing resistance to moisture and
enabling long-term stability of cone resonance and cone mass parameters
High Frequency:Three Apogee 2" (51 mm) throat compression drivers treated with
Ferrofluid for greater power handling capability, lower distortion, and control of short-term
impedance rise
Input Connectors:
Neutrik™ NL8MP Speakon™ connectors standard; Cannon EP series and gas-tight barrier
strips optional
Engineering Data:
Format:
Tri-amped/Three-way/Horn-loaded MF and HF/Electronically-coupled
Dispersion:
ALA-9W H: 90° x V: 10°
Frequency Response (1m on axis):
45 Hz to 17.5 kHz + 3dB
Max SPL (@1m):
136 dB cont./142 dB peak
PTML (peak transient mechanical limit):
153 dB
Sensitivity (1 W @ 1 m):
LF: 100 dB SPL MF: 108 dB SPL HF: 112 dB SPL
Nominal Impedance:
LF: 8ohms x 2MF: 4ohms HF: 4ohms
Max Power Handling:
LF: 1200 W cont./ 4800 W peak
MF: 600 W cont./ 2400 W peak
HF: 450 W cont./ 1800 W peak
Dimensions:
front: 47"(1194mm) W x 24"(610mm) H
rear: 47"(1194mm) W x 20.1"(511mm) H
depth: 22.7"(577mm)
Weight:
236 lb. (107 kg)
Optional Touring Package
Includes an ALA-9 Cordura cover and transport dolly.The ALA-9 fits,
grille down, on the dolly for easy, secure transport and grille protec-
tion. When not in use, the dollies can be stacked on top of one anoth-
er to save on storage space. The Cordura cover fits over both the
ALA-9 and dolly.
7

8

LIMITED WARRANTY
Apogee Sound International products are warranted to be free from defects in materials and
workmanship, under normal use and service, when installed and operated in accordance with
product specifications, from the date of original purchase for a period of five (5) years for
amplifiers and a period of one (1) year for other equipment.
If any part of the equipment covered by this warranty malfunctions, it will be repaired or
replaced, at our option, provided the equipment is shipped prepaid to an authorized Apogee
Service Facility.
This warranty does not extend to finish; appearance items; or any product malfunctions due to
abuse, accident, misuse, negligence, misapplication or operation under other than specified con-
ditions, or if altered in any way; nor does it extend to incidental or consequential damages of
any kind.
THIS LIMITED WARRANTY IS OUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE WARRANTY AND
THE PURCHASER'S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.APOGEE SOUND INTER-
NATIONAL MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED
AND EXCLUDED.
Before returning products for warranty or non-warranty repair or replacement, call the
Customer Service Department (see below) to obtain a factory-issued Return Merchandise
Authorization (RMA) number, and make sure the freight charges are prepaid. Merchandise
returned without an RMA on the outside of the box will not be accepted.
Apogee Sound International
Customer Service Department
50 Spring Street
Ramsey NJ 07446, USA
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
The salespersons or agents of Apogee Sound International, or its dealers, are not authorized to
make any representations, promises, or warranties regarding products on behalf of Apogee
Sound International or in any manner obligate Apogee Sound International to the purchaser.
This warranty applies only to products sold in the United States. Please consult your Apogee
Sound International distributor for warranty information, service, and parts outside of the
United States.
9

50 Spring Street, Ramsey, NJ 07446, USA
Tel: [phone]• Fax: [phone] • www.apogee-sound.com