- INFO@ MSRP: £3, | They say you never forget your first HK Audio system, and I certainly haven’t. My first venture into the world of HK was back in 2002, walking around Brixton with £1,500 of cash in my pocket looking for a music shop that was the only place in the UK that had stock of a LUCAS 600. I walked in and was greeted by three very gruff looking tattooed blokes with various piercings. I handed over the wad of cash and left, quickly.

But what followed was an incredible relationship between man and speakers! 72 72 sponsored by Since then I’ve used various other offerings from HK: the LUCAS 1000, the LUCAS IMPACT, the ELIAS and a few others. You do really get drawn in by the warm, almost Hi-Fi-esque HK sound, so when Eddie contacted me to review this system I jumped at the chance. HK will always hold a special place in my heart so I was interested to find out where they are at now.

The DJ industry is still seemingly going crazy over column-style mini line-array systems and that is what is offered by HK’s ELEMENTS Series. What sets it apart from the competition is its modular design, which means you can buy loads of different pieces, a bit like Lego, and build the exact system you need on a per-gig basis. The same E-Connect bus system is used throughout the range, which means that whatever pieces of the mid-high arrays you own they will very easily slot together.

The ELEMENTS GALA is a new addition to the series that offers a complete PA system and is therefore the perfect introduction into the ELEMENTS ecosystem. It combines four of the E835 array modules with floor stands and a brand new active sub. The system arrives at your door in six boxes and I nearly had to crack open a tin of spinach just to shift a couple of them around because they are incredibly heavy. However, once you discard the packing cardboard, it’s not too difficult to move around.

When you empty the boxes, you end up with nine pieces of hardware that all slot together to make up the system. We’ll start by looking at the heart of the setup, the GALA Sub 15, which is an active 15” cabinet made out of MDF. It’s quite compact, to the point where you actually wonder how they managed to get the driver to fit inside! In terms of width it’s only a few cm wider than the driver and quite a bit smaller than many other active 15” subs on the market.

Weight-wise it’s about 30kg, which is about average for an active 15” cabinet. For those of you who, like me, are a bit lazy and prefer to wheel your subs around rather than carry them, you’ll be pleased to know that the optional EG15BAG (MSRP £129) padded transportation bag for the GALA sub includes a wheeled dolly board. Max SPL works out at 129dB and the frequency response is 44Hz to 130Hz, so not as low as other comparable subs on the market but it’s still no slouch with plenty of rumble.

On the front there’s a full-face metal grille that matches the rest of the ELEMENTS range and it also sports two genius handles on either side that can be used to easily HK AUDIO ELEMENTS GALA pick up the cabinet irrespective of For those of you how it is oriented. A lot of other world for the manufacturers could learn from there’s an this alone. How many times have which – when you gone to pick up a sub only to the amps into discover the handles are oriented if left idle for the wrong way so lifting it is one which is almost of the most difficult things in the quite sure why world to do? as that’s a leave a system Around the back it’s business as being used.

I usual in the world of HK as we would be much discover a pair of NL2 Speakon 90 minutes for connectors for outputting to the everything mid/high columns. This means need to physically you’ll be putting all your eggs in switch twice so one basket as the sub contains all system for the the circuitry and Class D power morning and amplifiers for the whole system. site, you could I’ve seen this before on the LUCAS where the client range and, whilst it is great for and nothing portability, it does leave you in you can turn a sticky situation if the sub goes prevent that down.

The good news is that these feel that both connectors work with both the an auto-on E835 mid/high columns included enhance this with the ELEMENTS GALA system as well as the smaller E435 model. There are also So if you do already own a HK features which ELEMENTS system, the GALA of them is a sub will fit right in! However, HK recommend that you don’t connect any other kind of passive speaker to these Speakon outputs, as you could blow up the entire system!

So beware! Other than that, connectivity is pretty simple. You get a pair of combination XLR / ¼” jack inputs and a pair of balanced XLR outputs for sending the signal elsewhere, for example to a set of powered monitors or maybe another sub (more on that later). Control wise there’s a volume knob for altering the master output for the whole system and another for adjusting the sub’s volume separately.

You’ll also find an IEC power input, a power on/off switch and a couple of LEDs to show power is active and also when the limiter is operating on the mid/high columns and also separately on the sub. SHTKA AYUINDGIO M EOLBEIMLEENTS GALA HK AUDIO ELEMENTS GALA wishing to save the two modes: ‘Small Venue’ and ‘Long future of our children, Distance’. Depending on the setting auto-sleep feature you choose, the system’s EQ will be enabled – switches automatically optimized for the power-saving mode type of room you’re working.

The more 350 minutes, Small Venue setting adjusts the 6 hours! I’m not frequency response for smaller it’s 350 minutes, rooms and long-distance maximises mighty long time to the ‘throw’ and ‘reach’ of the mid/ active if it’s not high columns yet retains the would’ve thought it system’s excellent sound quality. I lower, like 60 or tried both settings and discovered example. To reset that for ‘normal’ disco (whatever back to normal you that is) you would choose the smallpress the power venue setting but for applications if you’ve set up the such as background music during a speeches in the late wedding breakfast and also for vocal you’ve wandered offwork like speeches, presentations, run into a problem ceremonies and so on, the longturns on the mic distance setting is your friend. happens!

Thankfully this feature off to The ELEMENTS Gala system comes from happening but I with two pairs of E835 mid/high a shorter delay and columns, each featuring eight 3.5” feature would really drivers arranged in a vertical-array setting. format. There are no wires needed to connect the columns together, a couple of extra it all happens internally when you are quite neat. One connect them together using the selector switch offering E-Connect system. THE EARLY DAYS The columns themselves mount on and pack this system a pair of very heavy-duty triangular 15-20 minutes longer bases.

Each one has adjustable have currently. feet to make the footprint slightly bigger and contains a Speakon I got to use this system socket for connection to the events, each with sub and an E-Connect socket for numbers and types of attaching the first of the columns. report that it’s perfect up to 120 people. The You can either mount the columns is typical HK, i.e. directly into the bases or use bright highs and warm, the extension poles which are However, the sub also supplied in the box.

These early, so if you’re extension poles are variable-height larger audiences, or and at maximum extension raise you’ll almost certainly the columns about half a metre another. The ELEMENTS off the floor. This is particularly 15 is sold separately useful as the columns deliver a however this means fairly narrow vertical output so unnessarily duplicating you need to ensure that they are amps. Another roughly in line with the heads SUB from HK's of your audience.

Like all array This is the same systems, the horizontal dispersion weight, and is essentially is quite high when compared to a traditional speaker cabinet at around 70-degrees, so when setting up it’s important to turn them slightly inwards to direct the output onto the dancefloor. Due to the way the E835 columns connect to each other, you can choose to have each column facing in a different direction. This could prove handy for vocal work if you’re in an awkward venue with guests seated all around.

However, when it’s disco time, ideally you need them all facing in the same direction (towards the dancefloor). Luckily HK include locking wedges so that you can make sure that they don’t drift to the left and right unintendedly. When the whole system is connected together the columns stand at around 2m tall, roughly 6’ 6”, and look pretty neat when placed either side of a DJ booth. The only negative I found when trying out the setup was the number of separate pieces, nine in total, required to put it together.

This in turn means that it takes quite a long time to setup 74 74 down, a whole product but without the mid/high than what I amplification and therefore available for a few hundred pounds cheaper. I would certainly suggest adding one at a variety of or the other to give you plenty of different audience options depending on the size and room, and can location of your gigs. for parties of sound quality To conclude, I’ve always been an awesome with admirer of HK products and this rumbly lows. system has not altered that.

I do does limit quite feel, though, that for the same often playing to money you can probably get more in marquees, bang for your buck, but there will want to add be some trade-offs. The ‘stick’ Gala Sub look is still quite popular amongst (MSRP: £1,299), wedding DJs and, with its modular that you are approach, the ELEMENTS Gala the column does carry many advantages. It’s alternative is the L a great looking system, it sounds Linear range. fantastic and certainly comes size, the same highly recommended. the same HK AUDIO ELEMENTS GALA Novopro PS1XL & PS1XXL Pro Mobile ad 1.qxp_Layout 1 05/09/2018 12:18 Page 1