Review: FBT HiMaxX 40a

Plastic powered PA speakers have been around for quite some time now. To say some designs have succeeded over others is a real understatement. I’ve had 10-year-old RCF and Mackie designs in my possession for about three years now and both brands have been used successfully on many a small gig. But a lot’s changed in the ensuing years. The 10-year-old designs, despite the plastic chassis, are dead weights. I don’t wish to pick on my old RCFs – they sound pretty darn good – but they’re positively dangerous to lug. Of course, RCF, Mackie, JBL, EV and Dyncord have all superceded and updated their portable PA designs, as have the budget merchants, like Behringer, Wharfedale, Alto, Phonic, dB Audio – have I forgotten anyone?! There’s no shortage of alternatives, including the (not so) quiet Italian achievers of pro audio, FBT.

FBT’s new HiMaxX 40a active 12-inch two-ways are a real joy. They’re a true one-person lift and the sound they produce easily whups the previous generation of powered plastic 12+horns. Indeed, so confident is FBT in its new HiMaxX design that their packaging is emblazoned with the slogan: ‘Competitors Wanted’.

The HiMaxX 40a speakers also have some unique facilities that allow you to use them in a variety of applications, further increasing FBT’s self-proclaimed ‘lead’ in the field. Let’s send them around the track then shall we and see how they shape up.

OFF TO A FLYER

Right out of the blocks, the FBT HiMaxX 40a speakers immediately impress with their sleek styling and robust appearance. A large grille covers the 12-inch driver, while the custom-designed one-inch compression driver sits deeply recessed in the constant directivity (CD) horn. On the sides of the moulded polypropylene cabinet are slotted holes for the bass porting, which integrate unobtrusively into the overall design. The 12-inch driver magnet is a custom-made neodymium design, making the speaker powerful yet light. Suffice it to say, the days when a speaker needs to be ‘heavy’ to be powerful are long gone – the new lightweight designs are more than happy to match it with their old heavyweight components.

Each HiMaxX cabinet is a bi-amplified two-way design with onboard processing. Its 127dB maximum SPL rating is achieved via a 500W Class-D power amplifier driving the aforementioned 12-inch low frequency woofer, while a 150W Class-G amplifier drives the high frequency compression driver. A switch-mode power supply with built-in limiter and circuit protection resides inside the rear of the cabinet. The connectivity, volume and tone control panel situated on the rear-left of the cabinet offer a simple layout with easy-to-read status LEDs. The HiMaxX sports a three-way sweepable low, mid and high EQ section that would mainly suit situations where the cabinet is being used in ‘freestanding’ mode, i.e. when it’s not part of a larger system. To this end, the FBT MaxX 40a also offers a mic input (selectable via a pushbutton) and a new auxiliary input on RCA sockets with independent volume control. This is a great feature, which enables the box to act as a standalone karaoke-style machine, spruiker’s box with backing tracks (pre-recorded advertisements etc) or to play music tracks at a wedding etc. The only inevitable downside of this setup approach is that the HiMaxX’s internal circuitry sums the two auxiliary RCA inputs to mono. But if you’ve no other choice, at least this gives you the capacity for mono playback. Another invaluable feature not found on any other powered speaker designs I know of is the inclusion of an earth lift switch that could potentially get you out of a spot in a jiff.

The mic input connector is a multi-input jack system that will also accept line level input from XLR, 1/4-inch balanced or unbalanced and even Speakon. There’s a further output jack for ganging multiple HiMaxXs in series and an output knob for cranking the gain. During the review I never really got past ‘12 o’clock’ on this volume control, such was the extent of the volume these speakers were capable of. They really can go very loud.

SOUND STAGE

The HiMaxX 40a’s produce a full, clear and detailed sound. I had several sources going through them during the review all of which portrayed stunning realism and fidelity. A pair of DI’d Maton guitars sounded mesmerising where normally I would have been dreading the chintzy ‘plickety-plick’ one normally associates with DI’d guitars. With the acoustics up quite loud, I was still able to make the vocal cut through with nonchalant ease. In fact, it didn’t cut through so much as hover in full-bodied glory above them. While using the MaxX 40a’s I noticed a bit of a positive bump at 60, 500 and 6500Hz and a quick glance at the supplied frequency plots (to my astonishment) confirmed this. It also showed a steep roll-off at around 16kHz and 60Hz. The latter being due in part to FBT’s assumption that if users need super lows they will add the FBT MaxX 10SA subwoofer component to their systems.

I instantly liked FBT’s MaxX 40a, and after repeated listening, my initial assessment of them was only reinforced. The mic preamp sounds great, the connectivity is class-leading and, most importantly, the sound is engaging and never harsh. To top it all off, the FBT MaxX 40a weighs in at a featherweight 17.9kg. Highly recommended.