Our time at PLASA this year was very busy, though I did manage to catch up with Chris Fearn from RCF in the RCF sound demonstration room. Now, you can’t talk to RCF without discussing their impressive ART range, and for me in particular, their benchmark-setting ART 910-A.

During our conversation, Chris brought up the subject of the ART 910-AX. I’ll put my hands up and admit that I asked, “The Bluetooth version?” “But it’s so much more than that,” came the reply. I’m ashamed to admit that my technical knowledge of this version of the ART range was somewhat lacking. And it turns out Chris is right; this speaker should not be thought of as just a Bluetooth version of the ART 910-A.

My first experience of a 10” RCF speaker was when Carl Hirst gave me a demonstration of one of his ART 710-A speakers just before the pandemic. He was using them as fills for larger events and was keen to show me just how much he got out of relatively small speakers. I was genuinely astonished. Yes, they deliver more sound than you expect, but the balance and sound coming out of such a small cab was just so very good.

So, when live events started to return and I needed to buy some relatively small, inexpensive side-fill speakers, I bought a couple of ART 910-As. I’m glad to say that they have been perfect for using both in combination with bigger systems, but also on their own at smaller events. They’re especially brilliant when used for sound at corporate events where we are supplying screens.

The ART 910-As offer a balance in the sound that delivers a lovely warm and deep bass response, but also very prominent mid and top notes. Indeed, on one occasion we used a pair at an event where we were providing full audio-visual support but found out last minute that there would be a live singer/guitarist who had flown in from the Bahamas.

In fact, the singer turned out to be Ian ‘Eyan’ Alleyne, guitarist for Eddy Grant, Roachford and Des’ree. Absolutely no pressure then!

We did a quick sound check with Ian, who immediately wanted to know where the subs were (none), where the speakers were made, how much they cost – all the usual questions. In a follow-up message to thank us for our work (one of life’s true gentlemen), Ian was moved to say that “those RCFs kicked ass”. And he’s right, they do. I’d go as far as saying that they are more than powerful enough for a large percentage of gigs all mobile DJs do, with no need for additional subs.

So, what do you get with the ART 910-AX and how is it different to the 910-A?
The speaker shares all of the huge advancements RCF made with the ART 9 series, released just as the world was emerging from the pandemic. The complete re-design included major new features including an all-new 2100W, 2-channel, Class-D amplifier with advanced digital signal processing (DSP), making it the most powerful in its class and an incredible 50% more powerful than all previous models. With all transducers and components designed, manufactured and built by RCF at its factory in Italy, the cabinets are finished in black – including full-length grills complete with a black-on-black RCF logo – and made of a special polypropylene composite material.
The interior includes an M-Brace internal reinforcement design, which connects all four sides of the enclosure with the amplifier, preventing any deformation for a completely inert body, with augmented acoustical damping even at maximum volume settings.

Something that really stands out for me on the ART series is that the amplifier is hugely energy efficient, so much so that there is no need for a cooling fan – a huge advantage over other speakers in a similar class. The company’s FiRPHASE digital technology allows for a coherent distribution of sound without phase distortions, ensuring minimum latencies to the entire speaker’s system.
Thanks to this proprietary FiRPHASE technology, the new shape, and the placement of the vented ports, the speaker acts as a single source for a true sound image. The woofer excursion management feature (called Bass Motion Control) works by creating a complete map of the dynamic behaviour of the transducer, to generate a custom algorithm that only limits over-excursions.

This gives total freedom of signal reproduction, avoiding both high-pass filters and large-band limiters. In turn, this enables the speaker to produce the input signal at all volume levels for entire audible uses, maintaining all the music with deep, detailed bass response.

Next question: what does the ‘X’ bring? Well, it does mean Bluetooth. But it also means an advanced user-interface with a touch panel, remote control, and a built-in 6-channel digital mixer. Yes, the ART 910-AX is more expensive, but Chris is absolutely right, there is a whole lot more to the AX version.

Let’s start with that Bluetooth. You can connect to a single speaker, another ART speaker, or even to a subwoofer. You have access to a 5-band equaliser, output delay and built-in digital crossover with presets. You can connect two ART 9-AX units via wireless for stereo or dual mono. And you can use a mobile device to connect to your ART 9-AX for Bluetooth audio streaming and remote control for both single and dual paired speakers.

It's also possible to manage your ART 9-AX from your smartphone or tablet with RCF’s LiveRemote App, which makes it easy to adjust the mixer, DSP, FX, routing, and Bluetooth settings. LiveRemote also allows full control of the internal ART 9-AX engine, so you can recall and save presets; set your desired volume levels; adjust EQ, compressors, and FX; and customise and tune your sound system. The app is available for Android and iOS phones and tablets.

Next up is the 6-channel mixer, accessed via the 2.4” touch panel on the rear of the speaker. This is definitely very different from the ART 910-A, and gives you so much more control in addition to standard mixing. There are two modes: easy mode for fast and immediate set up, and advanced mode for very detailed tuning and signal routing.

From this display, you can play with your output in many ways, but there are two things which will make a huge difference to me. Firstly, if you do need to go bigger, you can connect your speaker to another RCF sub, pick that sub from the internal memory, and your crossover is matched – exactly. This differs greatly from choosing between a number of pre-sets and means your speakers will sound exactly as they are meant to when working together.
A big step forward.

Another thing which changes quite a lot for me is the ability to add delay. This really came into its own at a recent event I worked on. It was a wedding for an MP, set in a large church with all of the usual church-like features – horrible high ceilings, nothing in the way of acoustic dampening, and of course a very long space with a large audience. But by placing two satellite speakers further down the room, I could delay the ART 910-AXs and have perfectly balanced sound. Helpfully, there are loads of explanation videos on RCF’s website.

The ART 910-AX provides coverage of 100° x 60° up to a whopping 130db. We also get an aux input, two combo inputs with individual 48V phantom power, a mix or link output, and power via a standard IEC input.

All of this means that the ART 910-AX is a very flexible speaker indeed. It comes with a lot more than just Bluetooth (sorry Chris), and if you are in the market to buy high-quality, high-performance cabs, then the ART 910-AX needs to be on your list. I always encourage anyone looking for speakers to visit their local retailer and have a listen. If you do, you will be amazed at how much these 10” speakers kick out. And now the AX version comes with a whole lot more flexibility and extra uses. I genuinely believe that the ART 910-AX sets the benchmark in modern speaker design.