HARMAN Professional Solutions’ Tour Audio Division unveiled the JBL VTX M Series,
a new line of premium stage monitoring products made to handle the most
demanding applications. Elegantly designed with a low profile, the M Series utilizes
JBL’s proven Neodymium Differential Drive woofers and D2 Dual Diaphragm high
frequency drivers, along with a new high frequency Image Control Waveguide for
excellent control and gain before feedback. The new VTX M Series line is comprised
of two models – the VTX M20 and VTX M22. The M20 features dual 10′ woofers and
a 3′ D2 compression driver, while the VTX M22 features dual 12′ woofers in
addition to the 3′ D2 compression driver. The complete JBL VTX M Series line
begins shipping today.

The M Series high frequency section utilizes the proven D2430 Dual 3′ compression
driver, which is also found in JBL’s large format VTX V25-II Line Array system. The
D2 driver is coupled with a newly developed 60×60 degree high frequency
waveguide that has a unique shape, specifically tailored to M Series for stage
monitoring applications. The new waveguide is based on JBL’s Image Control
Waveguide, a technology originally developed for the JBL M2 Master Reference
studio monitor. Coupled with the D2 Driver, it delivers a coverage pattern that is
spatially consistent, allowing M Series to reach excellent gain before feedback
performance.

The woofers in the VTX M Series utilize JBL’s patented Differential Drive technology,
allowing for excellent heat dissipation, low distortion and very high output. These
Differential Drive Neodymium woofers feature dual 3′ voice coils, more than
doubling the voice coil area of traditional designs. One of the best features of this
design is the unusually low weight, which make the M Series monitors some of the
most lightweight in their class; nearly half the weight of some competitors. The two
woofers are supported by a bass-reflex enclosure with a large low frequency port,
enabling the system to reproduce low frequencies down to 50Hz with minimal port
turbulence and noise.

The M Series allows for both Dual-Channel (Bi-Amp) and Single-Channel (Passive)
operating modes that can be set via the easily accessible selection switches. This
significantly reduces the cost per mix, allowing M Series to apply to a much broader
audience. When switched to Single-Channel (Passive) mode, an internal passive
network is engaged that allows users to drive M Series monitors with a single
amplifier channel, reducing overall amplifier requirements. Unlike typical passively
driven monitors, the M Series splits the speaker preset responsibilities between the
amplifier DSP and the internal passive network. The external DSP is responsible for
frequency response correction, phase response linearization and component
protection, while the internal network is only responsible for the component high-
pass and low-pass filters. The combination of the internal and external processing
recreates a typical Bi-Amplified speaker preset while only using one amplifier
channel. The frequency, phase response and MAX output of the M Series is identical
in both the Single-Channel (Passive) and Dual-Channel (Bi-Amp) modes.