V-D

DOSC
® THE INCREDIBLE INNOVATION OF

WAVEFRONT
SCULPTURE
TECHNOLOGY ®

L-ACOUSTICS® V-DOSC® is the first full

frequency line source array based on the
principles of Wavefront Sculpture
Technology® (WST). At the heart of
V-DOSC is the internationally patented
DOSC waveguide which permits fulfilment
of WST criteria at high frequencies, allowing
elements to couple coherently and create a
single, continuous, isophasic sound source.
As a result, V-DOSC is a full-spectrum cohe-
rent system, whereas conventional horn and
driver assemblies interfere throughout most
of their operating bandwidth. By creating a
continuous radiating ribbon, V-DOSC func-
tions as a line source array in comparison
with other line arrays that do not satisfy
WST criteria at high frequencies.
A turnkey V-DOSC system consists of
V-DOSC elements, dedicated rigging, SB218
subwoofers, dV-DOSC fill enclosures, digi-
tal signal processors with proprietary OEM
! Active 3 way ! Excellent for ! Adjustable ! Ergonomic,
factory presets, V-DOSC amplifier racks and
associated loudspeaker plus signal distribu-
enclosure medium and vertical direc fast, secure
tion cabling. A proprietary return snake sys- (2 x 15" LF, long throw tivity (up to 5°) rigging system
tem including panels and multicore is also 4 x 7" MF, applications ! Designed for
available. 2 x 1.4" HF) high perfor ! OEM factory
The 90 degree horizontal coverage and ! Coplanar presets for
mance touring
coplanar symmetry of V-DOSC provides ! WST based line symmetry approved digital
and fixed
excellent stereo imaging in left-right confi- source design (90° horizontal processors
gurations while WST flexibility allows the installation
directivity)
designer to cover virtually any room geo-
! Perfect coupling,
metry. Well-defined vertical and horizontal
predictable
directivity allows accurate performance pre-
diction with easy-to-use software tools and coverage
by using calibrated angle values, a V-DOSC
array is physically configured as a variable cur-
vature line source array to match vertical
directivity to the audience. The end result is
L-ACOUSTICS specifications are based on measurement procedures which produce unbiased results and allow for realistic performance prediction and simulations.
predictable coverage, exceptionally even Some of these specifications will appear very conservative when compared with other manufacturer ’s specifications. All measurements are conducted under free
frequency response and SPL along with the field conditions and scaled to a 1 m reference distance unless otherwise indicated.
elimination of comb filtering, phasing and
lobing problems associated with conventio- Frequency Response Enclosure
nal arrays. Frequency response 50 - 18k Hz (±3 dB)) (3WX HI preset) • Width 1300 mm 51.2 in
Usable bandwidth 40 - 20k Hz (-10 dB)
The unique attenuation properties of
• Height 434 mm 17.1 in
V-DOSC (3 dB reduction in SPL with Sensitivity1
doubling of distance) are obtained through LF 100 dB SPL 40 - 200 Hz • Depth 565 mm 22.2 in
cylindrical wave generation plus proper MF 105 dB SPL 200 - 1.3kHz • Weight (net) 108 kg 238.1 lbs
focus of the system. Nearfield extension is an HF 108 dB SPL 1.3 - 18 kHz
associated benefit that helps maintain tonal • Shipping weight 122 kg 269 lbs
Power Rating2 Amplification Impedance
balance with distance while extending the (Long Term) (Recommended) (Nominal) • Shipping dims 1340 x 480 x 600 mm
critical distance in a given venue. This LF 2 x 54 Vrms 2x 375 Wrms 2 x 1500 Wpeak 2x 750 W 2x 8 ohms
provides improved fidelity and excellent 52.8 x 18.9 x 23.6 in
MF 69 Vrms 600 Wrms 2400 Wpeak 1200 W 8 ohms
intelligibility even under highly reverberant HF 58 Vrms 200 Wrms 800 Wpeak 800 W 16 ohms • Connectors : 2x 8-pin CA-COM
acoustic conditions.
Nominal Directivity (-6dB)3 • Material : 15 mm, 30 mm Baltic birch
As a full range 3-way system, V-DOSC can
Horizontal symmetrical 90° plywood
be used in corporate, classical or theatrical
Vertical defined by the array
productions without subwoofers. For • Finish : Maroon-gray™
touring applications, the addition of SB218 System Output4 Continuous SPL Continuous SPL
(flat array) (maximum curvature array) • Grill : Black epoxy perforated steel with
subwoofers is recommended and V-DOSC
One enclosure 134 dB 134 dB acoustically-transparent foam
is highly suited for sound reinforcement in
Two enclosures 140 dB 139 dB 5° vertical coverage
theatre, arena, stadium or outdoor festival • Rigging : Integrated flying hardware
Four enclosures 146 dB 143 dB 15° vertical coverage
applications.
and handles
V-DOSC has revolutionized the loudspeaker Components
industry by providing the sound engineer LF 2 x 15" weather-resistant loudspeaker (3" voice coil, bass-reflex loaded)
LF 4 x 7" weather-resistant loudspeaker (kevlar cone body, bass-reflex loaded) Additional Equipment
with an effective and versatile sound
HF 2 x 1.4" compression driver mounted on patented DOSC waveguide • OEM factory presets for approved
reinforcement tool. All elements of the
V-DOSC system have been selected for 1
Sensitivity is the average SPL measured over the com- 3
Directivity is averaged over the 1-10 kHz range digital processors
ponent’s rated bandwidth
their quality and durability and there is a 4
System Output gives the unweighted SPL output of the
3
Power rating displays the long term RMS power handling system referenced to 1 m, including preset equalization and • L-ACOUSTICS SB218 subwoofer
strong emphasis placed on complementary capacity using pink noise with a 6 dB crest factor over the band leveling adjustment as measured under freefield condi-
technical support and training. component’s rated bandwidth tions using the 3W LO preset • L-ACOUSTICS LA48a power amplifier
L-ACOUSTICS ®, ARCS ®, V-DOSC ® and Wavefront Sculpture Technology ® are registered trademarks
The enclosure shall be an active, 3-way loudspeaker containing two direct
radiating, bass reflex-loaded 15-inch low frequency transducers, four bass
reflex-loaded 7-inch midrange frequency transducers that are mounted in a
V-shaped configuration and two 1.4'' exit, titanium diaphragm compression
drivers that are coupled to individual, vertically-aligned waveguides. As a full
range system, the frequency response shall be 50 Hz to 18 kHz with less than
± 3 dB variation and the usable bandwidth shall be 40 Hz to 20 kHz (-10 dB).
The waveguide employed in the loudspeaker shall generate a flat, isophasic
wavefront for the high frequency section. When vertically arrayed, multiple
loudspeakers shall function according to the principles of Wavefront Sculpture
Technology whereby the separation between acoustic centers of individual
sound sources shall be less than the size of half the wavelength at the highest
frequency of their operating bandwidth or the sum of the individual areas of
the isophasic radiating elements shall be greater than 80 percent of the
target radiating area. Components shall be configured in a coplanar symme-
tric arrangement and provide 90-degree horizontal coverage (-6 dB points)
independent of the number of vertically arrayed elements.
Crossover points shall be 200 Hz between low and midrange sections and
1.3 kHz between midrange and high sections with 24 dB per octave Linkwitz-
Riley characteristics. Long term power handling shall be 2 x 375 Wrms,
600 Wrms and 200 Wrms for low, midrange and high sections, respectively.
Low frequency transducers shall be powered individually at a nominal
8-ohm impedance, midrange frequency transducers shall be connected in
series/parallel at a nominal 8-ohm impedance and high frequency transducers
shall be connected in series at a nominal 16-ohm impedance. Connection to
the loudspeaker shall be made via two parallel 8-pin connectors.
The enclosure shall have rectangular shape. Dimensions shall be 130 cm
(51.2-in) wide, 43.4 cm (17.1-in) high, 56.5 cm (22.2-in) deep. Enclosure
weight shall be 108 kg (238.1 lbs). Cabinet construction shall consist of 15 mm
(0.59-in), 30 mm (1.18-in) Baltic birch plywood with internal steel bracing and
joints that are sealed, screwed and rabbeted. The finish shall be maroon-gray,
high-resilient paint. The front of the enclosure shall be protected by a black
epoxy-coated, 1.5 mm (0.06-in) thick steel grille that is covered with 10 mm
(0.4-in) thick acoustically-transparent open cell foam.
Loudspeaker enclosures shall be installed using a dedicated rigging bumper and
rigging accessories. The enclosure shall have two recessed flytrack sections
mounted on both sides and two rear-mounted rigging components that allow
up to 16 enclosures to be assembled in a vertical column with variable angles
between enclosures up to a maximum of 5.5 degrees at 0.75 degree angular
resolution.
The loudspeaker shall be used with an approved digital processor with OEM
factory presets for active 3-way or 4-way operation in conjunction with
additional subwoofer enclosures.
The loudspeaker system shall be the L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC.
The subwoofer system shall be the L-ACOUSTICS SB218.

DOSCOVx2: 2 x protective covers for V-DOSC element

V-CABLE: 8 conductor loudspeaker cable: 7 m (DO7), 25 m
(DO25) or 0.7 m (DO.7) lengths
BUMP2: Flying / stacking bumper including accessories
BUMPDELTA: Used in conjunction with 2 rear motors to adjust
the horizontal pan of a flown V-DOSC array
BUMPxx: Angle straps (BUMP24=0.75°/5.5°, BUMP251=1.3°,
BUMP25=2°, BUMP26=3°, BUMP27=4°)
SPACxx: Spacer blocks for use with angle straps.(SPAC251=1.3°;
SPAC25=2°; SPAC26=3°; SPAC27=4°; SPAC28 =5.5°)
RK124a: Turnkey amplifier rack for 4 L-ACOUSTICS LA48a
amplifiers. Includes PADO4a, power distribution panel
RK122a: Turnkey amplifier rack for 2 L-ACOUSTICS LA48a
amplifiers. Includes PADO2a, power distribution panel
PADO4a: Amp panel for 4 amplifier per rack configurations
PADO2a: Amp panel for 2 amplifier per rack configurations
CO24: Control output panel for signal distribution from
FOH drive rack (24 channels)
MD24: Multi distro panel for signal distribution to amplifier racks
CO6: Control distro panel for standalone applications (6 ch.)
MC28100: 28 pair multiconductor snake for use with CO24,
MD24 (100 m length)
DOM2, DOM30: 6 pair signal modulation cable, 2 m length (DOM2)
or 30 m length (DOM30)
LINK-EXTEND: male/male adapter for use with DOM2, DOM30
LINK-BREAKOUT: 6 pair breakout to male XLR (DOMM)
LINK-BREAKOUT: 6 pair breakout to female XLR (DOMF)
CHARIOT: Transport accessory for 2 x BUMP2 plus accessories,
BUMPxx angle straps, 2 x SB218 rigging bars
 V-D
DOSC
®
SYSTEM
ACCESSORIES

AMP PANEL PADO2a

AMP RACK RKI22a

DOSCOVx2

AMP PANEL PADO4a

AMP RACK RKI24a CONTROL OUTPUT CO6

CHARIOT

CONTROL OUTPUT CO24

BUMPDELTA

RKI24a
(equiped with 4 x LA48a)

MULTI DISTRO MD24

SPACER

ANGLE STRAPS BUMPER2

 WAVEFRONT SCULPTURE TECHNOLOGY®

The first task of sound engineers and audio consultants is to design sound was developed defines the acoustic coupling conditions for successfully
reinforcement systems for a predefined audience area. As measuring tech- arraying individual sound sources - including wavelength, the shape of each
niques advance and speaker systems perform better, requirements in terms source, their surface areas and their relative separation.
of clarity, coherence, sound pressure level and consistency are increasing Briefly, the coupling conditions can be summarized as follows:
while at the same time the size of the audience area is growing.
An assembly of individual sound sources arrayed following a regular step dis-
This inevitably leads to an increase in the number of loudspeakers. A common tance on a planar or curved continuous surface is equivalent to a single sound
practice is to configure many loudspeakers in arrays or clusters in order to source having the same dimensions as the total assembly if one or both of the
achieve the required SPL. The result for most sound reinforcement systems following two conditions are fulfilled :
is that the sound waves radiated by individual loudspeakers do not couple
1) Frequency : The step distance (distance between the acoustic centers of
properly and interfere uncontrollably. This creates non-uniform coverage,
individual sources) is smaller than half the wavelength over the operating
inconsistency in frequency response, poor intelligibility and reduced overall
bandwidth.
sonic quality. The chaotic sound fields created by these interfering sound
sources also wastes acoustic energy, thus requiring more total power than a 2) Shape : The wavefronts generated by individual sources are planar and toge-
single, coherent source in achieving the same desired SPL. ther fill at least 80 percent of the total radiating surface area.
As an illustration of this principle, imagine throwing some pebbles in a pool Additional WST Criteria were presented in the AES preprint entitled
of water. If one pebble is thrown into the water, circular waves will expand ''Wavefront Sculpture Technology'' (111th Convention, NYC, Sept 2001,
concentrically from the point where it entered. If a handful of pebbles are preprint # 5488). The first two WST Criteria were re-derived based on an
thrown into the water, we can observe the equivalent of a chaotic wavefield. intuitive approach using Fresnel analysis and in addition it was shown that:
If we throw in a single larger stone, having total size and weight equal to the 3) The deviation from a flat wavefront must be less than l/4 wavelength at the
handful of pebbles, then we again see circular waves as in the case of the single highest operating frequency (this corresponds to less than 5 mm curvature at
pebble - only now with a larger amplitude. 16 kHz)
4) For curved arrays, enclosure tilt angles should vary in inverse proportion
A Single Sound Source From Many Speakers
to the listener distance (geometrically this is equivalent to shaping variable cur-
This leads to the thinking behind the development of Wavefront Sculpture vature arrays to provide equal spacing of individual element impact zones)
Technology® (WST). If we can construct a single sound source emanating 5) Limits exist concerning the vertical size of each enclosure, the minimum lis-
from many speakers (which can then be separated for ease of handling and tener distance and the relative tilt angles that are allowed between enclosures.
transport), then we have achieved the goal of providing a totally coherent, pre- L-ACOUSTICS defines the practical implications of these criteria as Wavefront
dictable wavefield. Sculpture Technology (WST). WST dictates the design constraints for achie-
Line arrays have been regarded as the best approach to serve the diverse requi- ving a single sound source with respect to speaker component arrangement
rements of covering large audience fields. However, until now it has not been at lower frequencies. By loading the high-frequency drivers with the paten-
possible to make a line array operate properly because of: ted L-ACOUSTICS "DOSC" waveguide it is possible to meet the second WST
condition at higher frequencies. By satisfying WST criteria over the entire audio
1) the interference produced by multiple sound sources radiating over the same bandwidth, the engineer or designer is provided with a "single" loudspeaker
coverage area, and with well-defined coverage and wavefront shape, thus allowing the geome-
2) an inability to achieve proper line array coupling in the high-frequency range. trical distribution of energy to be precisely installed to match the geometry
The initial specification of the research and development program was the desi- of the audience seating area.
gn of a single acoustic source that is completely modular and adjustable. In L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC®, ARCS® and dV-DOSCTM are true arrayable systems.
1988, an early L-ACOUSTICS system called "Incremental" proved the project's V-DOSC and dV-DOSC are designed for large audiences and long-throw
feasibility. Based on this experimental concept, Professor Marcel Urban and applications while ARCS is suitable for medium-throw needs. All use the
Dr. Christian Heil began theoretical research and presented their findings at heart of Wavefront Sculpture Technology - the patented DOSC Waveguide -
the 92nd AES Convention in Vienna in 1992 (Preprint # 3269). The theory that to achieve remarkable results.

Specifications subject to change without notice Specs V-DOSC 0903

2201 East Celsius Avenue, Suite C Parc de la Fontaine de Jouvence 16 Dews Road • Salisbury
Oxnard, CA 93030 • USA 91462 Marcoussis Cedex • France Wiltshire, SP2 7SN • UK
Ph: +1 (805) 604 0577 Ph:+33 (0) 1 69 63 69 63 Ph: +44 (0) 1722 411 234
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