“We know you have many choices in air travel, thank you for choosing us.” We’ve all heard either a pilot or flight attendant say this on almost every flight. There are, in fact, many choices in air travel and we all make decisions based on cost, routing, frequent flyer programs. and other factors to inform those choices. Generally, we assume that the end goal of air travel is successful, safe movement from one location to another in less time than it takes to train, drive, or walk. The difference is often the quality of that air travel. Without deep diving into the state of modern air travel (feel free to reach out for more thoughts on this), I bring this up to make the following comparison.
Automated LED Profiles are like airlines. There are many choices, and the difference is often quality. A few years ago, there were only a couple of automated profiles with LED engines; now every major manufacturer has multiple options. It can be difficult to stand out from the crowded field of competitors. To (hopefully) land this analogy, the Ayrton Rivale Profile is a high-quality airline.
Pretty Light
Rivale is a nice-looking light; the actual fixture is aesthetically pleasing. We are all certainly used to the overall form factor of a profile head, yoke, and enclosure. Rivale sports smooth lines and curves in its compact design. The front end is distinct with a square framing around its round lens that gives an interesting visual profile.
It is IP65 rated and only weighs 67lbs. (30.8kg). There are a nice set of four handles on the yoke for easy lifting. One set pops out toward the head end of the fixture, the other set are hand holds carved into the yoke toward the base. The fixture is pleasantly manageable to remove from road case and deploy.
A brief side note about Ayrton and their IP65 rated fixtures: Someone in their demo video department is heavily influenced by the 1983 movie Flashdance. Slow motion, backlit showers of water—I can’t be the only one who’s noticed this? (I imagine PLSN can’t print the iconic movie image [Ed note: no we can’t due to copyright issues]—For the unfamiliar, a quick Google search will fill in the visual blanks for you). Prove me wrong Ayrton!
Quality Light
Rivale uses a white LED engine with a total output of 30,000 lumens. It will function on 100V to 240V of power and draws 700W maximum. Optically this light is gorgeous with an incredibly even field. It zooms from 4º to 52º and shows no intensity anomalies throughout its zoom range. The zoom is fast, and the beam (and gobos) can sharpen at both ends of its range.
A recurring theme when evaluating this fixture was how smooth it is, in its field, movement and all the functions. Nothing felt steppy or slow. Dimming is a perfect example, its curve was smooth and consistent over long fade times, and fast on bumps.
Rivale moves with speed and accuracy returning to preset positions consistently, even when using its infinite pan and tilt functions. While watching it whip itself around in a 360º frenzy I was amazed that there was almost no noise. A slight whir of the motors, but at that point I stopped the fixture and listened. Rivale is quiet.
Checks All of the Boxes
Automated LED Profiles mostly support the same feature sets. All the things you would expect (demand) in a profile are here, and all are high quality.
Color Mixing
Rivale uses a CMY mixing system that is surprisingly fast (and smooth). Mixing effects are as fast color wheel effects. Its colors are deep and rich. The light is still vibrant even in saturated mixed colors like red. CMY and variable CTO mix with little variation throughout the field even at maximum zoom. There is a variable CRI filter that adds even more richness to the colors and gives a nice minus green filter for camera applications.
Shutters
Full frame shutter system with a nice 90º rotation of the full module.
Beam Shaping
There is a variable Light and Heavy Frost. Light is good to take a little edge off beam or soften a gobo consistently. Heavy is HEAVY. You can use both at the same time and almost make your profile a wash.
There are two Prisms—5-facet Circular and Linear. They are in separate rotating wheels so they too can be used in combination for great effects.
Rivale has an iris. It’s fast.
Zoom and Focus
As mentioned above, its optics are excellent—with a large (13:1) zoom range.
Strobe
Flashy flashy, strobey strobey. Fast, slow, random.
Gobos
Nice selection of gobos in two wheels. Fixed wheel has 9 gobos, with a nice mix of shapes and textures. A few of which I wish were in the rotating wheel—including the mirror ball. I realized while contemplating the static mirror ball that if it was in the rotating wheel, it wouldn’t rotate horizontally like a real mirror ball. Which reminded me why we can’t have everything.
The rotating wheel has 7 slots. Gobo Rotation is (smooth), rotating very slow if desired without feeling steppy and stupidly fast if that’s your thing. The nested Yellow Rings Gobo in the rotating wheel takes color in surprisingly interesting ways.
Both wheels can be focused sharp at maximum wide zoom and tight (but not max) narrow zoom.
Conclusion
Ayrton brands Rivale Profile as the first fixture in its “ultimate” series, and it is an excellent first entry. It does everything you want and need an LED Profile to do, with quality and style. It is smooth, fast, and consistent throughout its feature set.
Flying my airline analogy into its full crash position—Ayrton’s Rivale is first-class.
(Feel free to mail any complaints or rotten vegetables directly to the editor -KL)
Ready for Takeoff
Sleek lines and square framing around its round lens give this compact fixture a distinctive look. The first in Ayrton’s new “ultimate” series, it checks all the boxes with a full array of high-quality features.
Ayrton Rivale Profile Luminaire
PROS
- Smooth Compact Design
- Bright Source and Excellent Optics
- Excellent feature set
CONS
- None
SPECS
- Light Source: 450W Sealed Mono-Block LED Module, 6,500K
- Output: 30,000 Lumens
- Zoom: 13:1; 4° – 52°
- Input Range: Electronic w/Active PFC, 100-240V, 50/60Hz
- Power Draw: 700W Max.
- Color Mixing: CMY, Color Wheel, Variable CTO, Variable CRI from 70 – 86
- Color Temperature: Progressive CTO, 2,700 to 6,500K
- Color Wheel: 7 Colors on fixed wheel + Open
- Rotating Gobos: 16 high-definition glass gobos on two wheels: Rotating wheel w/ 7 positions + Open; Fixed wheel w/ 9 positions + Open
- Animation Wheel: Monochromatic
- Framing: Accurate positioning of each shutter blade on a 100% surface area with a rotation of +/- 90°
- Iris: 15-Blade Iris Diaphragm
- Frost: Two Frost filters, Light & Heavy
- Prism: Two combinable
- Dimming: Electronic Dimming
- Strobe: Speed adjustable from 1 to 25 flashes per sec.
- Control: DMX512-A, Integrated wireless CRMX TiMo™ RDM receiver from LumenRadio™, sACN, and Art-Net; 65 DMX Channels
- On-Board Control: Built-in IP65 LCD Touchscreen Display for Control and Feedback.
- Connectors: IP65 powerCON TRUE1 Power Input, IP65 XLR 5pin In/Out, IP65 RJ45 (x2)
- Operating Temp: -4° to 113°F (-20° to 45°C)
- IP Rating: IP65
- Dimensions: 14.17” H x 26.574” W x 12.4” D (360 x 675 x 315mm)
- Weight: 68 lbs. (30.8kg)
Manufacturer: Ayrton
More Info: www.ayrton.eu/produit/rivale-profile/
