RCF X Series, COMPACT C WP and KPS: new installation loudspeakers and amplifiers

01What is new

02X Series: built for exposed locations

RCF positions the X Series as rugged, high-power loudspeakers for premium installations. The enclosures are made of structural polyurethane, protected against UV and corrosion and rated IP55; the grilles are powder-coated aluminium with a water-repellent treatment. Neodymium transducers with titanium or PKX diaphragms keep the weight down. The horns use the TRW waveguide (True Resistive Waveguide), and the passive crossover, called LICC, is designed with lower inductance values than usual.

All three models are 8 Ω passive loudspeakers without 70/100 V transformers: they are driven directly from low-impedance amplifier outputs. On the rear there is a 4-pole screw terminal strip, which allows the signal to be looped to the next cabinet. RCF names stadiums, arenas and sports venues, swimming pools and spas, leisure facilities, seaside bars, nightclubs and outdoor dining as typical applications.

03X 08: compact point source

The X 08 is the smallest model: an 8″ woofer and a 1″ compression driver with a 1.75″ voice coil behind a wide 100° × 100° horn. At under 10 kg it suits walls around a pool, terraces, beach bars and the concourses of sports venues. A horizontal bracket is included, vertical brackets are optional. Colours: black RAL 9005 or white RAL 9003. It is the only X model RCF also lists for the KPS amplifiers.

04X 40: asymmetric horn for long throws

The X 40 is the high-power model with two 10″ woofers and a 1.4″ driver on a 4″ voice coil. Its 110° × 60° horn is asymmetric — narrower above the axis and wider below it — so listeners close to and below the cabinet are covered as well as distant ones, and the level along a grandstand stays more even. The included wall bracket tilts by ±35° in 5° steps; M10 points on the top and back allow suspension. RCF specifies XPS 16K amplifiers for it.

05X 28L: line array module

The X 28L places two 8″ woofers and a 1.4″ driver with a 3″ voice coil in a horizontal line array cabinet with a 110° × 20° pattern. The rigging allows splay angles from 0 to 20° in 2° steps and up to 16 modules per fly bar. Because the X 28L and X 40 both use 1.4″-exit drivers and cross over at 750 Hz, they blend well when a line array covers the long throw and X 40 point sources fill the sides.

06COMPACT C WP: two-way systems for wet environments

COMPACT C is a two-way passive series for short and medium distances. Its characteristic feature is a large voice coil on the 1.4″ compression driver — 3″ in the C 32, 4″ in the C 45 — which allows a low 1.1 kHz crossover and moves the upper voice range, important for intelligibility, onto the compression driver. The constant-directivity waveguide covers 100° × 50° and can be rotated by 90°; an optional horn kit narrows it to 100° × 25° or 60° × 25°. The cabinets are birch plywood with a polyurea coating, with 4 × M8 and 14 × M10 inserts.

The WP versions are acoustically identical to the standard models but rated IP55 instead of IP21C, have water-repellent grille fabric and use Amphenol eco|mate IP67 connectors (input and link). The rear panel shows both wiring options: full range or bi-amp. COMPACT C is also EN 54-24 certified. RCF names clubs, high-power and outdoor installations, sports halls, corporate spaces and performance venues.

07Subwoofers S 19 WP and S 29 WP

The S WP subwoofers use 19″ neodymium woofers with 4″ voice coils in polyurea-coated plywood bass-reflex cabinets and IP67 eco|mate connectors. The S 19 WP (1 × 19″) reaches 30 Hz and 139 dB at 8 Ω, weighs 44 kg and measures 534 × 650 × 730 mm. The S 29 WP (2 × 19″) goes down to 25 Hz and 143 dB at 4 Ω, at 534 × 1300 × 730 mm and 85 kg. Both can be ground-stacked or arranged in cardioid configurations and, with optional rigging hardware, flown; RCF lists them as related products for COMPACT C WP and specifies XPS 16K amplifiers.

08KPS amplifiers and RDSpace

KPS is a family of installation amplifiers in two power classes: KPS 162, 164 and 168 with 160 W per channel and KPS 802, 804 and 808 with 800 W per channel, each also as a D version with Dante. The four-channel KPS 164 is a half-rack 1U unit with 4 × 160 W into 4 or 8 Ω, bridgeable to 2 × 320 W for 70 or 100 V lines, four mic/line inputs, S/PDIF, five GPI and five GPO, Ethernet and a built-in Wi-Fi access point. The KPS 804D is a 2U amplifier with 4 × 800 W into 2 or 4 Ω (4 × 400 W into 8 Ω), bridged 2 × 1600 W at 100 V, with four Dante channels.

The amplifiers are configured in RDSpace (Windows, macOS or a web browser): routing and zones, linear-phase FIR filters, parametric EQ, delay, compressors and limiters, priorities and ducking, wall controllers. Drivers for AMX, Crestron, Q-SYS, Symetrix, RTI, Elan and Control4 connect KPS to building control systems. The KPS 804D includes presets for COMPACT C and X 08.

09Example configuration

A typical resort or sports project combines all four product groups. Sources reach the amplifiers via Dante; a KPS 804D drives the smaller zones with X 08 around the pool, while XPS 16K amplifiers drive COMPACT C 45 WP with S 19 WP at an outdoor bar and an X 28L array with X 40 point sources on a grandstand. RDSpace gives staff zone control over Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

10Applications

11Common mistakes

• Standard COMPACT C outdoors. The standard models are IP21C — for open-air locations use the WP versions.
• Looking for a 100 V tap on the loudspeaker. X and COMPACT C have none; a 100 V line requires bridged KPS outputs and a different loudspeaker choice.
• X 40 and S WP on a small amplifier. RCF lists only XPS 16K for them.
• Ignoring horn orientation. The COMPACT C horn must be rotated for horizontal mounting; the X 40 horn is asymmetric and has a top and a bottom.
• Voice alarm added later. If the system must meet EN 54, plan certified loudspeakers and amplifiers from the start.

12Frequently asked questions

13In short

The essentials: