On the evening of the 26th guests attended a cocktail party before being ushered in to the weekend’s keynote presentation hosted by the president of EVENT Electronics, Peter Freedman.

On a stage flanked by a pair of silk-covered Opals, Peter acknowledged EVENT’s history and explained how the revolutionary and critically acclaimed 20/20 BAS provided inspiration for the new EVENT Opal.

After purchasing EVENT Electronics in 2006, Peter set upon a quest to redefine the nearfield studio monitor, to provide sound recording artists and engineers with a truly reference monitoring system. He approached experienced product designer Marcelo Vercelli, formerly of Mackie, RCF and KV2, with his plans for the future of EVENT.

Peter’s ‘no compromise’ brief to Marcelo read like the impossible. The Opal was to be an 8-inch two-way speaker with the same dynamic and extended mid-range as the most expensive three way systems. It must feature extended and powerful bass response, and have seamless and transparent integration through all the frequency range. Distortion was unacceptable, despite the requirement of an extremely high SPL.

After two years of engineering, Marcelo and his R&D team had defied conventional audio philosophy and had created the Opal.

Before exposing the new speakers, Peter continued to build anticipation by explaining the innovative technologies behind the Opal. The woofer, tweeter, amplifier and cabinet all feature innovative and unique design and technology elements.

The EX8 driver provides characteristics previously unheard of in any other 8” speaker. It provides a raw response of 30Hz-10KHz and a power handling of 1000 watts. Its high-power neodymium motor offers 24mm of linear excursion which results in up to four times the output of some of the most expensive studio monitors. This gives the listener an extremely detailed and high level of high-speed bass.

The Opal’s patented X-Coil configuration increases the EX8 driver speed and lowers harmonic distortion by up to 18dB, which results in mid-range accuracy that truly surpasses even the finest three-way studio monitors. The EX8 bespoke cone material provides extension and control to complete this revolutionary driver.

The EBT1 tweeter is combines ultra-light and rigid beryllium with one of the most powerful neodymium motors of any system available to provide the Opal with unbelievably high SPL capabilities while minimising any distortion. It is mounted in a fully rotatable waveguide to provide complete versatility in application.

The Opal cabinet is completely machined from aluminium to minimise resonance, and curved in a combination of complex radii, completely minimising flat or cornered sections that can cause diffraction issues. A no compromise approach to port design has resulted in front mounted variable impedance bass reflex ports that eliminate problems created by rear reflection ports that rely on room acoustics, and also air distortion artefacts found in conventional front ported systems. This gives the Opal fast, deep and accurate bass.

The Opal’s drive electronic system is purely high fidelity analogue, providing 750 watts of power in two-way configuration and giving the Opal a transient response and low distortion that surpasses even the very best hifi systems. Multiple levels of protection for power and over excursion allows the user to drive the Opal hard without concern. A proprietary expansion system allows for the addition of interface modules, including AES/EBU.

All these elements combine to provide the Opal dynamic extended mid range and powerful low end with seamless integration across the frequency range, and the widest sweet spot of any system currently available. The EVENT Opal is truly louder, lower, clearer, better.

At the climax of the evening Peter Freedman unveiled the new EVENT Opal to an overwhelming applause. As a final surprise for the evening Peter then introduced two additional speakers within the new EVENT product range. Both the Type 28 and Type 25 share the audio DNA of their big brother Opal, and will be available shortly after the Opal’s release.

Following the keynote guests were given a demonstration of the Opal in a dedicated sound booth guided by chief engineer Marcelo Vercelli and celebrated producer/engineer John Merchant.

eventelectronics.com