This was Mix’s 17th most-read article of 2022!
Berkeley, CA (January 31, 2022)—Meyer Sound has unveiled PANTHER, its new flagship linear line array, designed to be a compact, lightweight, energy-efficient loudspeaker system for live event and installed sound. With its introduction, John Meyer, president and CEO, called PANTHER’s debut nothing less than “our most significant loudspeaker introduction in more than a decade.”
The three different cabinet models — PANTHER-M, PANTHER-W and PANTHER-L — comprise a system said to offer nearly the same acoustic output as Meyer’s larger and heavier LEO while occupying the smaller form factor of the existing LYON line array loudspeaker. PANTHER-M and PANTHER-W are 95 and 110 degrees, respectively, while PANTHER-L features an all-new long throw horn with an 80-degree horizontal pattern.
PANTHER GALLERY
Designed with an eye towards creating lower-weight modules, PANTHER weighs 150 lbs and and is said to draw less current than the previous generation flagship line array loudspeakers. It is also characterized as “substantially lower [in cost]” due to new designs and the materials incorporated into them.
Sporting Meyer Sound’s new Avnu Alliance-certified dual analog/Milan AVB network input module, PANTHER is the world’s first Milan-certified line array loudspeaker, offering users multiple signal distribution options, with the always-active parallel analog input assuring backward compatibility with existing hardware. Each cabinet comes standard with an IP55 weather protection rating, and uses Neutrik TOP series signal and powerCON connectors. No rain hood is required.
The electronics module in PANTHER features a four-channel Class D amplifier with advanced power factor correction and higher voltage rails to reportedly provide higher peak current to the loudspeakers while presenting a stable load to the AC line.
Meyer Sound Spacemap Go Plug-in Debuts
The loudspeakers are built around new, longer-excursion 12-inch low-frequency cone drivers and new 3-inch compression drivers. Each incorporates advanced magnet structures using new materials for higher flux density. Combined with a new LF port design, PANTHER is said to have a maximum peak output greater than 150 dB SPL.
The PANTHER engineering team, led by engineering director, Acoustical & Mechanical, Katie Murphy, pursued a unified approach to reducing the weight of each module. “With PANTHER, we excelled with a full system design approach,” said Murphy. “We had the electrical and mechanical engineers working in a coordinated effort, which meant we could leverage reduced amplifier and transducer weight with new cabinet designs and materials to further reduce weight. Everybody was in sync at every step to achieve our goals.”
The reasons for reducing each module’s weight were numerous, from easing load-ins and outs, to reducing CO2 emissions during transportation, to complying with new safety regulations related to wind events. Lighter hangs will also allow larger arrays to share the same truss and hang points with video and lighting gear.
The PANTHER linear line array loudspeaker will go into production and ship in February 2022. United Kingdom-based rental company Major Tom Ltd., one of the initial launch partners, will deploy PANTHER on Ed Sheeran’s 2022 + – = ÷ x (“Mathematics”) Tour.
