Peer Review-Radian Audio Engineering RCH-1564

My Pick: Radian Audio Engineering RCH-1564 15-inch, two-way, arrayable loudspeaker, $1,899.99 MSRP

What I Like About It: The Radian RCH-1564 sounds great, is easy to hang, and doesn't require an additional dedicated loudspeaker processor to make it sound good. It has my favorite combination of a 15-inch woofer and HF horn. It has a passive or bi-amp mode switch, too, which makes life easy from a design and installation standpoint. It's also available in an installation or portable version.

I Would Change: I'd like to see boxes like this with a vertical coverage that's larger than 40 degrees. Radian offers coaxial boxes that will do 90 degrees, but sometimes a coaxial isn't the right choice. As a contractor, a lot of times I'm forced to conform to what the building will give me — not the other way around. Trying to get that perfect loudspeaker location that will enable a box to provide optimal coverage is tricky, and I don't always have the liberty — or budget — to specify a delay line if the vertical coverage is inadequate. Sometimes you can't use your favorite speaker for that very reason.

Where I Used It: I recently installed the Radian RCH-1564 loudspeaker in the Westside Baptist Church in Gainesville, FL. The student ministry facility is a multipurpose building that houses college and youth worship services, as well as a gymnasium for sporting and social events.

My Results: I suspended a loose cluster of three RCH-1564s flown from Allen Products' rigging grid, and used Ashly 24.24 processing to get proper alignment between cabinets and overall system calibration. The system is located on the long side of the gym floor, so it covers almost a full 180 degrees.

The RCH-1564 is a 60-degree horizontal by 40-degree vertical, trapezoid-shaped box with a 15-inch LF woofer and a 2-inch exit compression driver. The 2-inch throat has a smooth sound that I really like.

I wanted something with great vocal clarity, and this box provides just that. It also met the budget needs for this project.

Radian has done a great job of making these boxes very affordable for this class of speakers, and it doesn't require additional electronics, which is a huge plus for us and our clients.

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Peer Reviewer: Byron Conerly, installation manager, Entertainment Arts Inc., Orlando, FL. Entertainment Arts is an AV design-build firm specializing in AV systems for houses of worship of all sizes, as well as corporate and restaurant installations and live events.

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