The Amadeus NUMAX Series marks the next stage in the evolution of high-performance loudspeaker systems from the French manufacturer. Based on a 4-way tri-amplified architecture with built-in cardioid technology, the Amadeus NUMAX Series delivers unprecedented performance across three models: the NUMAX XV point-source system and two complementary line-source systems designated as NUMAX XV Focus (variable curvature) and NUMAX XV Wide (constant curvature).

At Integrated Systems Europe 2026 (Hall 7 Booth 7E600), Amadeus will present the production-ready NUMAX Series, marking the next stage in the evolution of high-performance loudspeaker systems from the French manufacturer. Based on a 4-way tri-amplified architecture with built-in cardioid technology, the Amadeus NUMAX Series delivers unprecedented performance across three models: the NUMAX XV point-source system and two complementary line-source systems designated as NUMAX XV Focus (variable curvature) and NUMAX XV Wide (constant curvature).

Developed since 2023, and first unveiled at ISE 2025, NUMAX has since undergone extensive development and validation, and is now revealed in its finalized form, ready for deployment in demanding live performance and cultural environments.

According to the company, the NUMAX Series delivers advanced control over sound projection, coverage, and low-frequency performance. The NUMAX Series responds to the growing demand for high-powered, full-range, and spatialized front-of-house sound systems in live performance settings. It also builds on Amadeus’ long experience in immersive spatial audio, developed by its subsidiary startup, Holophonix.

The new range comprises three models: NUMAX XV, a point-source loudspeaker, NUMAX XV Focus, a variable-curvature line-source system for flexible audience coverage, and NUMAX XV Wide, a constant-curvature line-source system.

The NUMAX Series addresses the limitations commonly encountered in mid-scale loudspeaker systems – particularly traditional point-source designs and constant-curvature line-source systems – including reduced projection, limited spectral extension, quasi-omnidirectional low-frequency behavior, and insufficient midrange richness and articulation.

To date, most “spatialized sound” systems deployed by Amadeus have relied on point-source speakers in a horizontal array, such as the two-way coaxial Amadeus C 12 and the three-way tri-axial Amadeus C 15. However, managing low-frequency behavior and tonal balance below 150Hz has remained a significant challenge for many cultural institutions, along with the need to achieve adequate projection over medium distances and preserve clarity, timbral richness, and dynamic articulation in the critical midrange, particularly in venues hosting contemporary or amplified music.

“The frequent need to add multiple subwoofers often conflicts with the desire to maintain an uncluttered stage aesthetic, free of visible equipment disrupting the audience’s view,” notes Numa Galipot, Acoustic Engineer at Amadeus. “In venues with limited load-bearing capacity, subwoofers are positioned wherever feasible, on the ground, side bridges, or rigging grids, introducing complex issues with temporal alignment, phase coherence, and spatial consistency.”

Amadeus has addressed these challenges with its C 12 B and C 15 B models, enabling ultra-compact low-frequency extensions to be integrated seamlessly alongside point-source speakers, ideally in a 1:1 ratio. By co-locating the Amadeus C 12 point-source speakers with the C 12 low-frequency extensions, Amadeus achieves perfect phase alignment and exceptional spatial coherence across the full frequency spectrum, all within a compact design of under 50 centimeters in height.

“However, for more demanding applications – especially contemporary, amplified, or high-dynamic-range performances – the intrinsic limitations of point-source architectures progressively become apparent. Even in optimized configurations, point-source systems do not provide true acoustic coupling nor line-source behavior, which limits mid-high projection, density, and impact over medium distances. At low frequencies, directivity remains structurally limited, making directivity control below approximately 150 Hz difficult to maintain across larger spaces or more complex deployments,” adds Numa Galipot.

Each model in the NUMAX Series is a four-way speaker design incorporating five transducers. The four diaphragm transducers were developed in collaboration with the French manufacturer PHL and are produced in the Paris region. The primary low-frequency driver features a 15” cone in a bass-reflex configuration, extending frequency response down to 40Hz. The result is a high-power, full-range speaker system perfectly suited for spatialized sound reinforcement in medium- to long-throw applications; with effective coverage up to approximately 45 meters. The 15” driver features a magnesium chassis and a neodymium magnet, chosen to ensure a lightweight yet high-performance speaker. Optimized to operate within the 40Hz to 350Hz range, it has a power handling capacity of 1000W AES.

The bass-reflex port termination has been meticulously optimized to minimize turbulence and reduce perceptible distortion, even for the most discerning listeners at close range. Precision-sculpted from a polymer block using a 5-axis CNC machine, this component ensures impeccable craftsmanship and performance.

This extended low-frequency response down to 40Hz maintains coherent sound localization across the full spectrum, eliminating the need for conventional subwoofers, with only infra-subwoofers required to extend the system below 40Hz.

To further reduce on-stage low frequencies, the NUMAX Series integrates two custom-designed 8” drivers, strategically positioned on the rear panel to achieve a cardioid directivity. These rear-facing drivers share similar mechanical behavior to the front-facing 15” driver, ensuring the system maintains consistent cardioid performance regardless of sound level.

The 8” transducers operate in the 50Hz to 180Hz range and are paired with an 8” high-excursion passive radiator, maximizing system compactness. These drivers blend coherently with the front low-frequency transducer, enhancing low-frequency projection.

“NUMAX is the result of several years of work, and without doubt the most complex project we have ever undertaken at Amadeus. It represents the outcome of nearly ten years of spatial audio projects carried out with Holophonix, informed by feedback from experienced users who carefully analyzed the limitations and areas for improvement of deployed systems – particularly for productions requiring impact, projection, clarity, and dynamic articulation in the midrange, as well as strict control of directivity, including at low frequencies,” states Gaetan Byk, CEO and Owner of Amadeus.

“With NUMAX, we deliberately returned to the philosophy that shaped the early years of Amadeus in the 1990s: a time when mechanical design, acoustic architecture, the refinement of passive filtering, and transducer development were not optional, but foundational – long before DSP began compensating for physical weaknesses,” adds Adrien De Giovanni, Head of Research and Development at Amadeus.

NUMAX is built around a proprietary MF/HF coaxial assembly, engineered to operate as a single acoustic source. Covering more than two octaves, this midrange driver is responsible for timbral density, vocal richness, and intelligibility. Achieving such bandwidth with both very low distortion and very high sensitivity required a complete ground-up development, including the motor structure, chassis, suspension system, and diaphragm.

For midrange and high frequencies, the NUMAX Series features a custom coaxial design, combining an 8” cone driver with a 3” compression driver, delivering output through a 1.4” throat for seamless and precise sound reproduction. The midrange driver operates within a frequency range of 350Hz to 2kHz, while the compression driver takes over from 2kHz to 20kHz. This configuration adheres to the traditional coaxial structure, where each diaphragm is equipped with its own magnetic structure, minimizing magnetic intermodulation distortion.

The midrange and high-frequency drivers are acoustically summed at the entrance of a shared isophasic waveguide, named NUWAVE, ensuring intrinsic impedance matching by construction. This phase piece introduces a significant innovation, featuring a single common pathway. Both drivers’ outputs are merged at the entrance of the phase piece through a specific compression of the mid-range. The sound pressure waves are then guided through distinct channels across a common core to ensure a plane wave propagation and limit distortion from orthogonal modal behavior.

“From custom co-developed transducers, to our first proprietary coaxial isophase waveguide combining a cone diaphragm with a compression driver, to the first embedded cardioid section ever designed by Amadeus, these innovations make the NUMAX Series one of the most ambitious and technically advanced developments in the history of the brand, delivering exceptional transparency, dynamics, neutrality, and sonic realism,” concludes Adrien De Giovanni.

At the waveguide’s exit, a large horn controls the dispersion of acoustic waves. Various horizontal dispersion options, ranging from 90° to 120° (-6dB), are available. These horns are easily removable and replaceable for versatility. The NUMAX XV point-source model offers a vertical directivity of 45° and features a compact height of just 426mm. It is specifically designed for point-source applications where suspending multiple speakers in a cluster is not feasible due to weight or aesthetic constraints.

The NUMAX XV Focus model features variable vertical curvature, allowing inter-element angles of 0°, 2.5°, 5°, 7.5°, and 10°, providing precise control of array geometry and coverage according to venue constraints. Its acoustic design corresponds to a nominal 10° vertical dispersion per enclosure, ensuring predictable coverage when configuring arrays.

The NUMAX XV Wide model offers a constant-curvature 30° vertical coverage, designed for medium-throw and wide-coverage applications, particularly well-suited to short arrays and extended vertical audience areas. Both models share the same acoustic architecture and can be combined within the same array, ensuring consistent tonal balance, phase behavior, and directivity while enabling flexible system design. The NUMAX Series operates in bi-amplified mode for its main acoustic section, with one amplified channel driving the low-frequency driver, while a second amplified channel feeds the mid/high section through an internal two-way passive crossover network (between the midrange driver and the compression driver).

When the cardioid section is used, a third amplifier channel powers and processes the rear low-frequency drivers, enabling precise control of low-frequency directivity and fine adjustment of the cardioid behavior. Up to four NUMAX XV Focus and/or XV Wide enclosures can be linked and driven from the same three amplifier channels, provided the amplifier supports 2 Ω operation.

The NUMAX Series uses a four-way acoustic architecture powered by three amplifier channels (LF, MHF, LF Cardioid), with power distributed across three independent amplifier channels for optimal headroom and control.

For NUMAX Focus and Wide, the system supports 1000W AES @ 8Ω (LF), 400W AES @ 8Ω (MHF), and 600W AES @ 16Ω for the cardioid section, with peak power handling up to 4000W (LF), 1500W (MHF), and 2000W (cardioid). For the NUMAX XV point-source model, the cardioid section operates at 4Ω. The system delivers up to 139dB peak SPL (front section) and 142dB peak SPL with the cardioid section active, measured at 1m under free-field conditions, and is fully compatible with high-end amplification platforms. All official presets are developed within the Powersoft ecosystem, primarily for the UNICA, T Series, and X Series platforms.

The rigging system for the NUMAX XV Focus and NUMAX XV Wide models allows up to 10 enclosures to be flown in a continuous line array, with a safety factor of 8:1. Enclosures can be vertically coupled using the dedicated Amadeus NUMAX bumper, or horizontally paired using specially designed brackets. Each enclosure is equipped with integrated Ø8 mm locking pins and features four rigging points, enabling fast, secure, and repeatable deployment.

All models in the NUMAX Series feature a reversible mechanical design, allowing each enclosure to be configured for left or right clusters when required, without compromising rigging integrity. The system also supports ground-stacked configurations of up to three enclosures, providing flexibility for temporary setups and space-constrained deployments. A dedicated touring cart is currently in development and will be released shortly, designed to ensure fast, safe, and efficient handling during transport and setup.

A dedicated subwoofer will complete the range. Designed for both flown and ground-stacked deployment, it will extend system response below 40Hz for infra support, while also providing substantial additional headroom up to 80Hz with a wide and flexible overlap region. The subwoofer is designed to be fully phase-matched with the NUMAX Series, ensuring coherent summation and seamless integration. The product is planned to be announced in Q2 2026.

The NUMAX Series cabinets are crafted from Finnish birch plywood and coated with a high-durability black paint, specially designed for heavy-duty touring use. The low-frequency drivers are protected by perforated steel grilles with a 70% open area, covered by acoustically transparent, double-layered, non-flammable polyester fabric.

Amadeus offers an optional palette of standard or custom finishes available upon request. As with all Amadeus products, the finishes can be fully customized without limitation. Over the years, Amadeus has crafted bespoke speaker cabinets in materials such as Corten steel, natural oak, brushed or sandblasted wenge, and veneers as unique as eucalyptus, gold leaf, or natural stone powder. www.amadeuslab.com