Electro-Voice FRI-152 (c. 2000)
Little is documented about the Electro-Voice FRI-152 in the usual collector sources, but a factory manual survives, and it covers most of what matters. This is a two-way, full-range installation loudspeaker - the manual gives the full model designation as the FRi-152/64, part number FRi-152/64-BLK - built for permanent install work rather than home hi-fi. The manual's own application list names stadiums, arenas, houses of worship, discos, live music clubs, and gymnasiums. That makes its intended use pretty plain.
The system pairs a DL15BFH 15-inch woofer in a vented enclosure with a DH2t compression driver - a 2-inch titanium diaphragm on a constant-directivity horn rated at 60° horizontal by 40° vertical. The horn is user-rotatable, so the coverage pattern can be swapped between horizontal and vertical mounting. An internal passive network handles crossover and system equalization, and the input panel can be changed from passive to biamp operation via a strip connector. E-V's own literature credits the design with RMD (Ring-Mode Decoupling), which the company claimed delivered vocal clarity and intelligibility in a cost-effective two-way box.
The published specs are thorough. Frequency response is quoted as ±3 dB from 70 Hz to 15 kHz, with -10 dB points at 42 Hz and 16 kHz. Sensitivity is 98 dB on axis at 1 meter with 1 watt. Calculated maximum output is 129 dB peak and 123 dB long-term. Power handling is 350 watts long-term (EIA) in passive or biamp-LF use, with short-term peaks of 1,400 watts. The biamp-HF section takes 60 watts long-term (AES) and 240 watts peak. Nominal impedance is 8 ohms, with a recommended high-pass of 40 Hz at 12 dB/octave minimum. The cabinet is trapezoidal, 15° per side, built from 13-ply void-free cross-grain-laminated birch plywood with extensive internal bracing and a black acrylic finish. White acrylic and unfinished versions were offered. Dimensions are 28.0 in. high, 19.0 in. wide at the front, 7.3 in. wide at the back, and 23.2 in. deep. Net weight is 70 lb., shipping 82 lb.
Hardware and hookup details are just as specific. There is a 2×2 barrier strip for input, a powder-coated perforated 16-gauge steel grille, and twelve 3/8-16 threaded mounting/suspension points - three each on top and bottom, two per side, two on the rear. The manual notes the FRi series is 28 inches high so that multiple cabinets present a uniform look in arrays, and it carries a five-year warranty. The document is dated April 2000 and credited to Telex Communications, E-V's parent at the time. Distribution addresses span the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Mexico. That gives a rough production context, though no firm start or end date is recorded.
Contemporary trade press is thin on this specific model. EQ (January 2002, p.44), covering the 111th AES convention, noted that Electro-Voice rolled out a large batch of new loudspeakers at the show, but the writeup does not single out the FRi-152 for comment. No independent lab measurements or reviews of the FRi-152 have surfaced in the available sources, so the manual's figures are the only published specifications. If you own one, or have a period dealer sheet or review, this page would benefit from it.
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