What You Need to Know About the NEXO System

NEXO's innovative, high performance PA solutions (distributed by Yamaha Professional Audio in North America) will be used again this year across The NAMM Campus at The 2019 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. See why NAMM chose to have NEXO power many of our sessions and events, and discover how your business can benefit from this loudspeaker technology.

Mid-South Audio LLC. in Georgetown, Delaware has benefited from adding NEXO to their rental inventory.

“We made the decision about a year ago that we needed to add a new line array to our inventory,” states Kevin Short, Director of Business Development, Mid-South Audio LLC. “We had been cross renting, and with our business growing, it was time to expand our inventory. From a rental perspective, the NEXO STM line array offers flexibility, sonic excellence, and increased output for its customers. “There’s a unique return on investment with a scalable and modular system like the STM,” says Short. “It’s simple to use, and, like a Lego system, we can configure it the way we want.”

NAMM sat down with Yamaha to discuss what makes the NEXO system an effective pro audio solution.

NAMM: What innovations make the NEXO system stand out from the crowd?

Yamaha: What separates NEXO from its competition is its innovative, integrated systems approach to loudspeaker research and development. The company’s R&D mission to innovate is acknowledged in the form of numerous patents. NEXO returns a high percentage of its profits back into the R&D department compared to other similar companies.

Learn more about some of NEXO’s technological developments.

N: From the Pope’s Irish Spectacular, to Australia’s Optus Stadium, to the UK’s Brighton Beach, the NEXO system can be used in very diverse locales. What makes it so versatile?

Y: NEXO’s scalable STM line of loudspeakers enabled customized sound solutions for major projects including Croke Park in Dublin and Australia’s Optus Stadium. Both required a PA system capable of high intelligibility, while keeping the project within budget.

John Vickers, the sound designer behind the Croke part project shared how he achieved the acoustic results desired.

“We watched many other companies working in Croke Park and we knew that STM Series was the ideal system for the venue. Logistically, it was simple to bring in additional cabinets from our friends at VDB PA in Belgium, and Sound of Music in the UK. I really believe rental equipment is the way to go, bringing in what is needed for the job rather than having expensive inventory sitting around in a warehouse. Ultimately, we were impressed with the lack of colouration from the rear of the system. The noise levels outside the stadium were substantially lower than that of other systems, which meant we could run it during the day without disrupting the heavily residential neighbourhood. We used 28 supplementary S118 subs on the ground, and by running these in cardioid mode, we drastically reduced the subbass on stage.”

Australia’s Optus Stadium required a PA system that met three criteria: capability, price and performance. The designers also set forth an ambitious intelligibility requirement and NEXO was able to accomplish this with the flexibility of the line of GEOS12-ST products, which offers two vertical as well as multiple horizontal dispersion options.

Largely dictated by simulations using NEXO’s NS-1 software, the special GEO S1210 and S1230 modules provide long-throw capabilities to ensure even coverage down to the L1 seating areas. Vertical and horizontal control is further enhanced by the incorporation of the GEO S12’s Hyperbolic Reflective Wavesource, while a Directivity Phase Device extended coherency below normal LF-HF coupling limits. The presence of three additional LS18 sub bass units within each array extended the LF response to 32Hz at –6dB. To attain an STi of 0.6 for the under-balcony seating areas on L1, L3 and L4, a further 200x NEXO ID24 cabinets were installed. Each delayed ID24 incorporated dual 4-inch drivers in a dipole arrangement, providing coverage in those spaces out of the full GEO S12 range.

Project Manager Elijah Steele explained “These deceptively powerful boxes allowed us to fulfil the 100dB SPL handling in what we term the shadow areas, while their compact footprint provides discretion.”

NEXO offers a range of well-designed solutions with a focus on their ability to perform properly acoustically first, and not heavily relying on DSP to fix acoustical problems in the design. NEXO’s focus on pioneering technology and innovation allows us to achieve these results and provide transparent sound quality that a wide variety of customers rely on every day.

N: Why do you choose to keep your manufacturing in France? How does that affect quality?

Y: The innovation and automation of our manufacturing and assembly process allow us to keep costs down, while keeping all of our manufacturing in France. The fact that our manufacturing takes place in France under the same roof as the R&D & After Sales Support, & Engineering Support departments provides NEXO with agility, & responsiveness to stay in front of market demands, while maintaining a high level of quality.

N: Which NEXO system will be utilized at The NAMM Show? Where can attendees find the NEXO system on The NAMM Campus?

Y: NEXO products ranging from our flag ship STM system, to the world’s only line source monitors, 45N12s, and GEO M series will be featured on the Grand Plaza Stage, and will power Yamaha’s annual All-Star Concert.

NEXO’s GEO M systems will power Yamaha’s Night of Worship, NAMM TEC Awards and many other events in Hilton Anaheim’s Pacific Ballroom.

Finally, guests can find the newest and latest information on NEXO products at the Yamaha Commercial audio booth #17819 in ACC North Level 2.