The SPEAKEASY R-1 in the real world (the “R” is for rack)

There are several good reasons to have a powered speaker system on a production sound cart. For me the most compelling reason is to reduce hearing fatigue caused by continuous hours of listening with headphones. Taking off the headphones between takes and during lighting setups is a relief, but still being able to listen to the set and communicate with the sound crew is a necessity. That was the primary motivation for developing the SPEAKEASY R-1, but there is much more to consider.

For years I’ve had the Fostex single rack space, powered speaker arrangement in my cart, but for portable production film/video sound, it was a bit of a force-fit. The Fostex is a nice device, but it’s designed for equipment rooms, broadcast facilities, and production trucks, where it’s ample size (it’s a single rack space, but quite deep), considerable weight (8 pounds), 120VAC power needs, and high power consumption are not a concern. The SPEAKEASY R-1 design considered all of these things and improved them.

I am now two-weeks into a TV pilot, which is my first chance to use the SPEAKEASY R-1. Occupying the same rack space as the Fostex had, the R-1’s smaller footprint freed up about eight inches shelf space. The SPEAKEASY R-1 is about 1/4th the weight of the Fostex, which is noticeable even in a heavy cart. My battery suddenly lasts 15% longer as the R-1 draws a full amp less from my power system than the Fostex. And, what may be insignificant to facility engineers who use such a system in permanent installations, the SPEAKEASY was designed with a latching power switch, so every time I turn my cart power supply on, the SPEAKEASY R-1 comes on, too.

The volume from the SPEAKEASY R-1 is more than adequate for cart use. It is designed to be used with a line level signal of -10 through +4, or a typical stereo headphone output. I am feeding it with a headphone output of my mixer (in parallel with my headphones). With this level set for typical headphone listening (Sony MDR-7506), the volume knob of the SPEAKEASY consistently settled at about the 2 o’clock position, leaving plenty more volume for close listening to quiet passages. Compared to the Fostex, which uses wide dual-coil speakers in order to get room-filling volume from its large amplifier (but results in clarity-robbing high frequency phasing), the SPEAKEASY R-1 uses two single-coil speakers, resulting in a crisper, more natural sound. Also, the SPEAKEASY’s single coil speakers allow for wider spacing within its chassis, creating a more natural stereo image at monitoring distances typical of cart use. Several times in the past couple of weeks I’ve played back dialog and music performances with the SPEAKEASY R-1 for the show’s director and music supervisor. It had plenty of volume to spare, and its increased clarity made it easier to listen to than my previous setup.