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RCF AYRA PRO5 Review (Powered Monitor)

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  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 13 6.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 89 44.7%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 90 45.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 7 3.5%

  • Total voters
    199

voodooless

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You can see some deviations around 500Hz between the spec sheet and the measurements here. Chassie deviations and the distance is here both likely.
I don’t see it? Amir’s measurements have much higher resolution and less smoothing. Amir’s bass is a tad lower, but we know by now that that could be due to temperature.
 

test1223

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I don’t see it? Amir’s measurements have much higher resolution and less smoothing. Amir’s bass is a tad lower, but we know by now that that could be due to temperature.
In the spec sheet 600Hz and 4kHz should provide about the same spl. The measurements here show about 2.5 - 3dB more spl at 600Hz.
 
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amirm

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@amirm

Not a dig, but do you get tired of measuring these ultra-budget type speakers? I imagine almost anyone who frequents this forum is going to be able to stretch a bit further (say $200 more), for something that performs rather better.
No I don't get tired of it. The demand for budget speakers is massive and I like to find bargains with good performance. Importantly the price allowed me to buy this unit for testing. Otherwise I would not have.

I also like to get coverage every brand out there so we have some idea of their engineering. To the extent we had no coverage of RCF, it was good to dip our toe in the water.

I do have much more expensive monitor to test so look for that.
 

voodooless

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In the spec sheet 600Hz and 4kHz should provide about the same spl. The measurements here show about 2.5 - 3dB more spl at 600Hz.
Maybe. Question is how much of this is doen to the difference in measurement setup or something simple as acoustic axis.
 

test1223

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Maybe. Question is how much of this is doen to the difference in measurement setup or something simple as acoustic axis.
The on axis and listening window frequency response are almost the same therefore an axis deviation is very unlikely. The measurement set-up was confirmed with multiple speakers. The frequency response above 10kHz is not so accurate but everything else should be fine.

Differences in the fr region where the bass cone starts to beam more can be found in multiple measurements here vs. manufacturer. Chassis deviations and the more complex wave form and therefore a distance dependent frequency response are both issues in this fr region.
 

More Dynamics Please

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RCF makes some bold claims for their new ART 9 Series with the 910A being the smallest and least expensive. If actual performance comes close to the claims it would be an interesting example of an active portable live performance speaker to evaluate for potential home audio use.
 

test1223

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FYI I just sent them a message to see if they have any feedback on my testing.
Which distance settings to calculate the fr responses are used for the near field scanner? You can adjust this in the software, right? There might be a difference between 1m and "infinity".
 

dfuller

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I do have much more expensive monitor to test so look for that.
Gonna have to figure out how to lift that KH420, man... Those things aren't light, nearly 80 pounds.
 

Rja4000

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18 Sound which is now part of B&C Speakers is much larger than RCF but they only produce speakers unlike RCF who also produce electronics.
From what I found around:
B&C turnover is around 32M€ a year.
RCF group is around 150M€.

(Added later for comparison: KEF is around 26M€)
 
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Rja4000

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No I don't get tired of it. The demand for budget speakers is massive and I like to find bargains with good performance. Importantly the price allowed me to buy this unit for testing. Otherwise I would not have.

I also like to get coverage every brand out there so we have some idea of their engineering. To the extent we had no coverage of RCF, it was good to dip our toe in the water.

I do have much more expensive monitor to test so look for that.
The problem with loudspeakers is that the market (the brands you'll find in the stores) is different from one region to another.

I guess that's mainly due to logistics costs (weight, size), but probably also due to the cost required to invest in broad marketing and support for expensive low volume products like larger loudspeakers.

You'll find small and cheap speakers, like the ones tested here, around the globe, but that's less true for more expensive ones, outside of a few main brands.

For electronics or headphones, the market is global.
 
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amirm

amirm

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Gonna have to figure out how to lift that KH420, man... Those things aren't light, nearly 80 pounds.
Getting it out of the box is the main problem. I have a lift for the rest of it.
 

sarumbear

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B&C turnover is around 32M€ a year.
RCF group is around 150M€.
RCF themselves say the entire group of company's turnover is EUR50. That is RCF + dBTechnologies. If you take into account that RCF produces electronics as well, it is logical to expect RCF has less revenue from speaker sales only than B&C who only produce drive units (transducers).

Whereas as B&C is a public company, their turnover is listed on FT as EUR39.
 

voodooless

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RCF themselves say the entire group of company's turnover is EUR50.
Isn't that article from 2007? How current do you think that number still is?

Whereas as B&C is a public company, their turnover is listed on FT as EUR39.
Close enough the 32M. The number you posted is not from a fiscal year, but just the past 12 months. Actually, the 32M is the turnover of the 2020 fiscal year as can be seen here: https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/MIL-BEC/financials-income-statement/ . Interestingly 2019 had 56M turnover.
 
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mightycicadalord

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RCF makes some bold claims for their new ART 9 Series with the 910A being the smallest and least expensive. If actual performance comes close to the claims it would be an interesting example of an active portable live performance speaker to evaluate for potential home audio use.

If people think some monitors have bad hiss, wait till they hear some active pa speakers lol.
 

sarumbear

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Isn't that article from 2007? How current do you think that number still is?
I missed the date. Apologies. This is what Reuters reported:

RCF posted pro-forma revenue of 183 million euros in 2018 [$83 million], including the sales of Eastern Acoustics Works (EAW) and DPA Microphones it had acquired.

EAW revenue is reported as $57 million. DPA is reported as $7 million. That leaves RCF Audio $19 million. On top of that the company tells where the majority of their income is from:

The vast and diverse RCF Group product portfolio mainly caters to live music events (concerts and festivals), and big locations (arena, sport stadia, theatres and public facilities) with specific sound amplification and music diffusion needs.

As B&C Speakers produce only speaker drive units whereas RCF also produce electronics I think it is safe to assume B&C is a larger speaker manufacturer than RCF.
 

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voodooless

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I missed the date. Apologies. This is what Reuters reported:



EAW revenue is reported as $57 million. DPA is reported as $7 million. That leaves RCF Audio $19 million.
Hold on. The 183 million included the sales of EAW and DPA. You can pick up numbers for a different year and subtract, that is hardly fair. And not needed. The original article mentioned 40M for only RCF in 2018, still 12M less than B&C that year.
As B&C Speakers produce only speaker drive units whereas RCF also produce electronics I think it is safe to assume B&C is a larger speaker manufacturer than RCF.
Absolutely they sell mostly fully done products. But don't forget that every complete speaker they sell will have RCF drivers in them, so a big part of the revenue can actually still be attributed to speaker units. Looking at how many 2nd hard RCF speakers you can find vs electronics, I bet that electronics will be a smaller part of the total pie.

Nevertheless, it might be that B&C is the bigger speaker driver company. But it will be very close.
 

sarumbear

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Nevertheless, it might be that B&C is the bigger speaker driver company. But it will be very close.
That was the point I was making, but failing miserably. I have friends on both companies and I was going by what they had been telling me over the years.

I am on my phone and I'm useless on a small screen. I apologise and bow out of this conversation.
 
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