ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Three-way triamplified touring loudspeaker

KF850

EAW · 1988

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The KF850, designed by Kenton Forsythe, combined a horn-loaded 15-inch woofer, a horn-loaded 10-inch midrange and a 2-inch compression driver on a 55°×40° horn in a trapezoidal cabinet. EAW called arrays of them a 'Virtual Array', curving matched boxes for even horizontal coverage.

Introduced
1988
Category
Three-way triamplified touring loudspeaker
Intended use
Full-range touring and large-venue sound
Production
EAW from 1988; later KF850E and KF850z

Equipment photographs · 1

EAW KF850 cabinets with SB1000 subwoofers at a live event

1 / 1 · EAW KF850 cabinets with SB1000 subwoofers at a live event

EAW KF850 cabinets with SB1000 subwoofers at a live event·Kurt Snieckus·CC BY-SA 2.0

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    EAW describes it as the touring standard, accepted on more riders than any other loudspeaker for over a decade.

  2. 02

    Its matched trapezoid arrays preceded the [[eaw-kf760|KF760]] line array.

Engineering record

Drivers
15-inch horn-loaded woofer, 10-inch horn-loaded mid, 2-inch compression driver[1][2]
Coverage
55° × 40°, triamplified[2]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Flown with SB528 subwoofers as a touring main system[1]

Professional reactions

Later recollection · 2023

Forsythe remembered the KF850 as an outgrowth of earlier designs, valuing its coherent timing across the range. He credited it with giving EAW traction in touring and opening the installation market.

Kenton Forsythe, EAW co-founder and loudspeaker designerEarlier interview recalled in a memorial article; designer’s assessment, not a launch review. · Manufacturer representative in trade interview · Paraphrased account[3]ProSoundWeb · In Memoriam: Kenton Forsythe, 1944-2023

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 1EAW KF850 system overviewEastern Acoustic Works (via AboutProSound) · brochure · 1988
  2. 2Technical Specifications KF850EFEastern Acoustic Works · manual
  3. 3In Memoriam: Kenton Forsythe, 1944-2023ProSoundWeb · interview · 2023

Contribute to the record

Know more about KF850?

Corrections, firsthand information, original documents, and credited photograph sources are welcome.

Your email is private and will not appear in the archive. Contributions are not published automatically.

Back to all equipment Back to The modular touring machine

Help build the archive

A missing piece? A correction?

Contribute to Resonant

Support the archive

Resonant is built one verified record at a time: research hours, archival image rights, and the hosting that keeps every era, equipment file, and citation free to read. If this archive is useful to you, a donation of any size keeps the next entry moving.

How donations are used
Venmo@mercer-aplinOpen Venmo, tap the pay field, type the handle, then send any amount.Send any amount · no account needed to viewCash App$MercerAplinOpen Cash App, tap the $cashtag field, type the tag, then send any amount.Send any amount · no account needed to view

Payments go directly to the archive’s editor through Venmo and Cash App. Resonant is an independent project rather than a registered charity, so donations are not tax-deductible and nothing is sold or subscribed to in return.