In this brand new column ‘Tested by our technician’ the audio experts of Tau Audio Solutions are testing and review different products and solutions.
WORK PRO offers an exclusive range of products, aimed at meeting the need of the user. In the product portfolio of WORK PRO you can find various types of loudspeakers; surface mounted, column speakers, pendant speakers and many more. Also (100V) amplifiers, mixers, players and microphone systems are part of the product range of WORK PRO. Earlier we have tested the the amplifier PA1254 of WORK PRO.
Active speaker set
Today we have tested the NEO5A-ES of WORK PRO. The NEO5A-ES is an active speaker set consisting of a loudspeaker with a built-in amplifier and a passive speaker. The set is nearly packed in a box and included: a power cord, a connection cable fort he passive speaker and two wall brackets. The NEO5A-ES is available in white or black.
The grid connection (with an uneded mains plug (eight)), the On/Off switch, fuse, 115V/230V switch and connection for the passive speaker are located at the bottom of the speaker. The Auto/On switch is als located here. At the top are, in order from left tot he right, the volume controller, treble and bass controller, RCA stereo input and minijack input and a LED which lights up when the speakers are turned on.
NEO5A variant
WORK PRO also has a NEO5A variant of this speaker in their range. Only on the NEO5A is missing the Auto/On switch. Difference between the NEO5A and the NEO5A-ES is that the ES variant switches itself to standby if no audio is offered on the input (and the switch is in auto mode). This takes about 1.5 minutes the speaker will switch to the standby mode. When re-offering audio on the input, the NEO5A-ES speakers switch back on immediately. With this, the NEO5A-ES loudspeaker complies with the European guidelines for power consumption in standby: EN 62301:2005+1275/2008/EC.
Listen to NEO5A-ES
First, we are going to listen and we have the speaker connected with nothing first. A slight noise and humming can be heard when we hold our ear in front of the speaker. Every now and then we receive from our Chinese manufacturers a demoset of speakers, which they like to sell to us. A similar set was therefore available and, although different from timbre, this set produced as much noise as the NEO5A-ES. Honestly, at one metre away it is only audible if you make an effort and there is no further sound in the room.
Let’s play some music!
We played some familiar songs and it sounds a bit boring. The tightening of the treble controller quickly resolved this. Doesn’t sound weird, but what does that look like in a chart? The measuring microphone was quickly in front of the speaker and below you can see the on-axis measurement with smoothing of the measurement with 1/6 octave. In this measurement, both bass and treble controller are slightly up, about 20 degrees. What stands out is the presence at 5Khz, you can hear this too, it makes the speaker intelligible. This way freestanding, the speaker has a good bass reproduction in it, and when placed on the wall this will improve even more.
Grafiek van een on-axis meting van de NEO5AE-ES
While we’re at it, in the graphic below are the off-axis measurements in 10-degree increments.
Grafiek van een off-axis metingen van de NEO5AE-ES
The top green line in the chart is 0 degrees, blue line is 10 degrees, the orange line is 20 to the bottom at 60 degrees. The -6dB point at 10 Khz is somewhere at 55 degrees, an opening angle of 110 degrees at 10 Khz. From this chart it can also be inferred that the crossover is a relatively simple design given the dip at about 3400 Hz. This is a fine achievement considering the pricing of this set.
The difference with the OEM Chinese speakerset is obvious, this one is aggressive compared to the NEO5A-ES with few lows and highs.
Turn it off automatically
Does that works, turn off automatically? Yes, actually too good in our opinion. With very soft music, the set already switches itself to standby. Given its scope, the NEO5A-ES set will not be used at this low volume and will not be a problem. If you don’t need this feature because you’re using an operating system to turn everything off, the NEO5A is a more cost-effective alternative with the same sound properties.
WORK PRO NEO range
The NEO5A-ES is also available as a passive set. This set sounds exactly like the NEO5A-ES. A 6″ and 8″ active version is also available. Also a 5″ version with a built-in Bluetooth receiver. The WORK PRO NEO range is quite extensive starting with a 3″ full range version. This set can be applied in combination with a mixer from, for example, the MMX range of WORKPRO. Suitable for background music in restaurants, in addition to a touchscreen as an improved audio system. The passive version is low- and high-level and therefore suitable for background music and broadcasting system for offices or factories.
Curious about the possibilities of WORK PRO for your project?
Contact us via the contact form or call +31(0)50 549 90 90. The audio experts at Tau Audio Solutions are happy to help answer all your questions.
Serie of articles
This article is from a series of articles. Earlier we wrote about on www.tau.nl:
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Review: WORK PRO PA1254 amplifier | |
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Review: time signalling systems | |
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Review: Loetronic’s Ultra 1 and Ultra 2 Player |
