CHAUVET DJ INTIMIDATOR FREE SPOT IAN@ ..COM When I was told I would be reviewing this new lighting fixture from CHAUVET DJ, I wondered what the use would be for a battery-powered moving head. No doubt you’ve turned the page and wondered the same yourself. But after getting my hands on one, I have a much better idea of why the company decided to launch it. 86 Some time ago, in another moving head review for this magazine, I mentioned that other than higher LED output, I thought we’d pretty much reached the pinnacle of moving-head design.

There really isn’t much anyone can do to improve to design. Sure, you can make a unit lighter, include more colours and gobos, make it brighter, include more prisms…but from an innovation point of view, we’re pretty much at the top of the hill. But then some bright spark in a dark R&D centre somewhere thought, “I know, let’s stick a battery in it!” And here we are, folks: the CHAUVET DJ Intimidator Free Spot . It’s a true 100% wireless battery-powered moving head featuring a built in D-Fi transceiver, compatible with the ILS ecosystem and with a rechargeable battery.

That’s right, a battery-powered moving head. Let that sink in for a while because let’s be honest, it sounds utterly, utterly bonkers. If ever there was a product that would suck the life out of a battery, a moving head would be it. All those mechanical parts moving the head, tipping it up and down; the gobo and colour wheels turning.

But forgetting it’s battery powered for a moment, the fixture is a pretty standard, high quality moving head of the type you would expect from CHAUVET DJ. Spec-wise, it’s similar to the Intimidator Spot 260X with eight colours plus white, seven rotating interchangeable gobos, and a 70W LED source. You get motorised focus, a 3-facet prism, totem mode, and a built-in D-Fi transceiver, plus it’s compatible with CHAUVET DJ’s proprietary ILS control system, making it extremely easy to set up and use.

If DMX is not your thing, then it’s also compatible with CHAUVET DJ’s RFC remote or the new, fantastic RFC-XL remote. With the huge battery in the Intimidator Free Spot (and it is a whopper), the weight comes to 9.9kg. As a comparison, the Intimidator Spot 260X weighs in at 5.6kg. What about the run time?

Well, it’s adjustable and you get a choice of four, six or eight hours. As you would imagine, the LED output is inversely proportional to the run time, so the brighter the output, the less run time you have available. Speaking with CHAUVET DJ, the selectable run times quoted are also based on the maximum energy consumption of the unit, CHAUVET DJ INTIMIDATOR FREE SPOT so unless you have it whipping Battery aside, around the room as fast as it can high-quality and with every motor inside come to expect spinning the prism, gobo and DJ.

Anything colour wheels, they expect it to easier and exceed those times. Especially very attractive as most DJs normally start the rig – just look evening with static or slowbattery-powered moving looks. have become. As with any battery kit I review, I suppose there I run it until it dies. In 4-hour that where mode I got just over five hours. scatter mood In 6-hour mode, just over seven room, most and a half.

And in 8-hour mode, heads close to I managed a jaw-dropping ten booth, so there’s hours – quite possibly enough for a battery-powered juice for two events! However, I It’s important to note that you getting them don’t have to use the built-in on a podium, battery; you do get IEC powerand then moving in, so you can run them off the task without mains if you prefer. But why around on my would you want to? They ’re running wires battery powered, so you may as then there’s well make full use of that.

The battery recharge time is quoted at 6.75 hours, and here lies a potential problem and something you need to plan for. Because this is a key issue for anyone using battery-powered lighting. If you have two or three gigs on the bounce, in different venues, then you’re going to need to find a way of recharging the fixtures easily between events. If you’re like me, with a garage and an MPV, when you get home at 2 or 3am, you’ll have to empty your vehicle to get to the moving heads and stick them all on charge before you go to bed.

You could load them in last, so you can easily get to them, but that’s not always possible, especially if you have a smaller vehicle. For my own personal use, I’m still 50/50. The Intimidator Free Spot truly is a wonderful innovation. CHAUVET DJ INTIMIDATOR FREE SPOT it’s the typical At £1199.00 per light, you would kit that you’ve need an extremely clear use-case from CHAUVET in order to invest in them.

If you’re that makes setup the type of DJ who regularly puts quicker makes it a moving heads around a room – for addition to your example, at an awards event – then at how popular yes, the Intimidator Free Spot 60 mood lights ILS is a must-have item. If you’re a DJ with a couple of podiums next to your DJ booth, then you need is an argument to weigh up the additional cost you would normally with the time you save in running lights around a cables. DJs position moving or next to the DJ It’s worth remembering, this no essential need is the first moving head of its solution. type.

Just think back to the first smartphones. Look where we are quite like the idea of now. The tech is always going out, sticking them to improve, becoming more turning them on, compact and powerful. No doubt onto the next in 10 years’ time we’ll all be sat having to crawl at Pro Mobile Conference 2033, hands and knees reminiscing about the days when everywhere.

And we used to use actual wires to the price. power our disco lights – how cute! M A U I ® 2 8 G 3 ..COM 88 88 Column PA or arrays are the perfect partners for mobile DJs. They offer a compact solution that is easy to set up, intuitive to operate, and they have the bonus of not needing loads of space, in storage, transportation or at a gig. Add to this a powerful punch of bass with crisp high-end, warm satisfying mid-range and a great look, you have the LD MAUI system.

The original G2 MAUI systems (which I have used extensively) manufactured by the German-based Adam Hall Group, have been around for some ten years and have performed well, resulting in LD earning a place alongside other established professional brands. And now the G3 series has arrived with an updated and improved look. The most obvious change (running through the G3 Series), is a realigned column position that has been moved forward and so now sits flush with the front of the sub.

This has resulted in a much cleaner, seamless look. The cabinets are built well… very well. The sub-cabinet is constructed in birch plywood and finished in a glossy light-weight textured polyurea surface. I especially like the sub’s bevelled top and there are well-placed handles on each side.

Moving the two-piece column to the front allows for a top grip point to be added, helpful and wellbalanced. The sections feel solid with recessed handles on the top and bottom for easy handling. Unlike the sub cab these are painted aluminium casings with a different finish, however, when fitted together, don’t look mismatched. Steel grilles wrap around the front of the columns complimenting the grill on the sub, giving the completed PA system visual continuity.

The columns are also designed as cardioid speakers. This allows for controlled low-mids at the front and up to 18 dB of attenuation at the rear which dramatically improves the stage sound. Attaching the columns to the sub is a case of simply lining up the four metal prongs with the holes in the top of the sub, the 14-pin socket couples automatically when the column is dropped in place. With the columns in place, the system is 205cm high positioning the tweeters at above average audience head height.

With a dispersion of 120 (H) and 30 (V), the passive-array columns are equipped with 12 x 3.5'' midrange drivers and 2 x 1'' tweeters, delivering an even sound. The sub has been upgraded with a change from two eightinch drivers in the G2 Series, the MAUI uses a single 12-inch sub and four bass reflex ports. LD SYSTEMS MAUI®