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EAW Anya — manufacturer photograph·Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW)·© Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW); used for identification and historical commentaryWhy it mattered
- 01
Moved concert coverage adjustment from mechanical splay angles into per-transducer processing.
- 02
Made it possible to modify coverage during a show without physically re-aiming the array, a practical attraction for festivals near residential areas.
Engineering record
- 22 independent signal paths
- Each module contains two 15-inch low-frequency cones, six 5-inch mid-frequency cones and fourteen 1-inch-exit high-frequency compression drivers, with 22 channels of DSP and amplification.[1]
- Straight hang, adaptive coverage
- Columns hang without vertical splay. Resolution 2 calculates the processing needed to shape an asymmetrical coverage profile for the user-defined listening area; the loudspeaker geometry and available array size still constrain the result.[1][2]
- Network and transport
- The current product specification lists Dante-enabled etherCON connections alongside analog and AES input/loop connections. A module weighs 285 lb (129.3 kg), making rigging and transport substantial parts of the deployment.[1]
- Steering is not object mixing
- Anya's Adaptive Performance addresses the array's coverage and response. It is not itself an object-position renderer: spatial mixing and electronically reshaping a PA's radiation are different jobs.[1]
Original pricing
No reliable public launch price located
2026 equivalent
Not calculated without a reliable original price.
A touring system is quoted with modules, rigging, power and support; no unsupported price or inflation estimate is published.
Use in the field
FOH's January 2014 report dates the prototype public debut to Coachella in April 2013: two seven-module main hangs covered the Gobi tent, with SB2001 subwoofers and KF364NT front fills. Rat Sound subsequently ordered the first 40 production modules.[2]
Dave Rat described adjusting coverage for offsite noise control and reducing a reflection from a distant building at the August 2013 FYF festival by changing coverage distance in software.[2]
Sound Image purchased Anya at Robert Scovill's request for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 2014 Hypnotic Eye tour. FOH reported a 54-module system, with stops including the Gorge, Red Rocks and Fenway Park.[3]
Professional reactions
Release-period reaction · 14 January 2014
Rat valued changing coverage while an artist was performing, allowing offsite noise concerns to be addressed without physically moving the rig. He described reducing coverage distance in software to deal with a distant reflection at the 2013 FYF festival.
Release-period reaction · 24 June 2014
Scovill said he had not felt this excited about a new approach to PA technology in decades. After a private evaluation he requested Anya for Tom Petty's tour, seeing an advance in how sound could be presented to a large audience and welcoming the chance to be an early adopter.
Manuals & original documents
Sources
- 1Anya product specifications and documentationEAW · reference
- 2Travels with Anya: Dave Rat on EAW's latest array systemFOH · interview · 14 January 2014
- 3Sound Image supports Tom Petty tour with EAW Anya systemFOH (EAW announcement) · case study · 24 June 2014
- 4Travels with AnyaFOH · interview · 14 January 2014
- 5Sound Image supports Tom Petty tour with EAW Anya systemFOH (EAW announcement) · case study · 24 June 2014
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