RCF ART 9 vs COMPACT A – A Passive ART 9 Speaker?
Posted on: 1st July 2022
The new COMPACT A Series from RCF features the same professional compact design as the hugely popular ART 9 series; but without the built-in power amplifier where would you want to use this new passive speaker and why?
What’s the same?
Looking at the two side by side you could be forgiven for not being able to tell them apart. Unless you’re looking at them from the back. The new Compact A series shares the same professional composite cabinet of the ART 9 series, with carry handles on the bigger models, M10 mounting points, pole mount, monitor wedge and built in M-Brace for that all important rigidity and dampening; giving you a wood like sound quality.
Compact A comes in 3 flavours, mirroring the 1.75” versions of the ART 9 series, with 10”, 12” and 15” models boasting the same high-performance drivers and true resistive waveguide. They’re also exactly the same price as the ART 9 models, costing around the £500, £600 and £700 mark respectively. So, for the most part, they look the same, cost the same and sound the same. Right?
What’s different?
Being a passive speaker, the only real difference between the two is the Compact A doesn’t have a built-in amp, instead running off an external 8-ohm amplifier signal with Speakon in and through connectors. The high-quality built-in crossover – often a weak point in passive speakers – is set at a lower frequency than usual, giving it clear and accurate vocal reproduction in all situations.
Being able to pair your COMPACT A speakers with your choice of amp makes it much easier to mix and match with other speakers, and integrate into an existing set up; all while cutting down on the extra cabling you’d need to power the ART 9. This makes it ideal for long term setups and permanent installs where you’re more likely to want to set it and forget it.
However, the lack of a dedicated amplifier may have its drawbacks. With its integrated amp ART 9 tunes your speaker with FiRPHASE and Bass Motion Control DSP, delivering the absolute most out of the system whatever the situation. Plus, you can be confident that you’re not going to stress the drivers and damage the speaker.
While the COMPACT A series shares the same drivers and construction, this can’t guarantee you the same fine-tuned sound, if you choose to drive your speakers with a third-party amplifier. This is also why, on paper at least, the COMPACT A series comes off slightly worse in SPL and frequency response. So, for the best results, be sure to pair your new COMPACT A speakers with an RCF amplifier.
Click here for more info on the ART 9 and COMPACT A Series or call our team on 01525 850085 to discuss your requirements.
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