Cheltenham-based Peak Hire has been providing Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) sound reinforcement systems for the ArcTanGent Festival since it began in 2013. This this year was no exception, with the three larger stages boasting a variety of EAW loudspeakers.The festival, billed as the world’s ultimate music festival for connoisseurs of Math-rock, Post-rock, Noise-rock, Alt-rock and everything in between, takes place on Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, just ten miles south of Bristol.
 “We deploy KF740 line arrays with SB1002 subs at several festivals,” explains Karl Ashman, director of Peak Hire. “The 740 boxes are so easy to use, all the flying hardware is captive. With two motors on each frame, the de-rig has now become a one man job – I know because it is usually me at 2 am while the headphone disco is still playing!”

The ArcTanGent main stage featured KF740 line arrays, ground stacked four high each side along with eight SB1002 subwoofers. Two KF730 were utilized for front fill and ten MW15 monitors were on stage, with EAW SBX220 as drum subs. Other stages were equipped with EAW KF850, Microwedge MW12 and further SB1002’s.

“For us the KF740 is the best box EAW ever made. Like many EAW users we started with a KF730 system then needed something larger,” Ashman continues. “The KF740 does that with ease, to the point that we now don’t require anything else, as we found when we recently used just two hangs of nine cabinets on a Kaiser Chiefs gig for 12,000 punters. Projection and coverage exceeds expectations and the eight drivers per cabinet deliver stunning audio.”

The KF740 delivers the premium, high output, three-way performance in an extremely compact and easy-to-use package. Dual 2.5-in voice coil HF compression drivers and dual 8-in Concentric Summation Array (CSA) loaded MF transducers are integrated through a common horn that occupies the entire face of the enclosure. The pattern control offered by this configuration is extended down to 160 Hz as the MF devices are transitioned to a spaced array of four 2.5-in voice coil 10-in woofers. The pair of LF devices integrated within the MF/HF horn combined with the pair of side-mounted devices provides as much as 18 dB of off-axis rejection. EAW Focusing™ delivered via UX series processors precisely transitions from one system subsection to another while maintaining nearly perfect 90°control.

“The mere fact that the KF740 and KF730 are still being made today is a testament to the quality and popularity of these line array models,” Ashman concludes. “Just recently EAW tweaked the Resolution software for both products to make them sound even better – they are always improving their products. Our goal is to make the devices between the artist and the audience as transparent as possible and EAW has always allowed up to get as close to that as possible.”