Astera Debuts High-Intensity AX9 PowerPAR
The AX9 with IP65 rating
Astera launches another new product – the AX9 PowerPAR. The AX9 is a high-intensity, rock-solid, all-purpose everyday LED lighting fixture with battery operation, wireless control, and quality engineering.
AX9 is bigger, brighter and benefits from all Astera’s latest innovations, like the Titan LED engine, an optimised bracket with Airline Track, a Titan-style keypad for fast and easy local control and direct control via the versatile AsteraApp. Effectively it is a three-in-one solution. Offering a wireless PAR light source that can also be run as a wired PAR for longer-term installations and an elegant up-lighter, with the fixture’s 105 Watt output offering over 3000 Lumens of beautifully homogenised light. Being wireless, AX9 can be used anywhere – on set, onstage, in the studio or on location – and at short notice, quickly deployed as and when needed.
In situ as a wired PAR – it is just like any standard PAR – it is perfect scenarios requiring the lighting to be on for sustained periods of time. AX9 is an excellent wall or surface washing up-lighter – without a flex cover and with the bracket removed – which can produce a sleek, streamlined effect to transform any space. The AX9 is overall a fantastic multi-purpose lighting fixture that is hugely efficient and can be used on the widest range of jobs as a cost-and-carbon-efficient quick ROI solution offering extreme brightness in a compact, stylish housing.
Astera’s Titan LED engine includes high CRI and the wide range of tuneable colour temperature whites, plus that rich and diverse gamut of colours encompassing the whole spectrum. The inbuilt battery offers up to 20 hours of reliable runtime which can be programmed to maintain optimal output over the designated period. Direct control via the AsteraApp removes the need for an AsteraBox, further optimising and making setup simpler.
The keypad on the rear has a logical and easily navigable menu resembling the Titan Tube layout with dedicated buttons for quickly adjust colour and brightness. Wireless DMX is available utilising LumenRadio’s CRMX technology, and for wired options, there is a choice of Powercon and XLR connectors on the rear.
The AX9 unit can connect to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and can then act as a transmitter, sending the radio signal to other Astera fixtures. The standard 13-degree beam angle can be modified with the addition of two filters, a 32-degree flood filter and a 17 x 46-degree elliptical wall-wash filter. The AX9 – as you might expect from Astera – comes with practical and handy mounting / rigging brackets that can easily be slid on and off (a feature of the original Astera AX5 PixelPAR), and importantly, this bracket contains an Airline Track to hold a selection of rigging accessories like Astera’s TrackPin.
A 3/8-inch thread is also integrated into the bracket, with a 14mm hole for attaching clamps. The AX9 legs can be folded for transportation and the same legs used for truss hanging, also like the AX5. A spring-loaded quick-release kickstand is available for the fixture, a neat tool that pops out with a button press and is perfect for angling an AX9 without a bracket. The AX9 is IP65 rated for outdoor use and combines beautifully with any / all other Astera products. X9 accessories include flexible covers – available in white and mirrored finishes in addition to black for blending into different environments – which can be wrapped around the light to suit the set, room or other visual elements. Glare reduction can be enhanced by using an egg-crate which also produces sharper beam definition.
The main applications will be for film and television productions, stages and concerts and all indoor and outdoor events. Astera Sales & Marketing director Sebastian Bückle states, “The AX9 is Astera’s best value for money light right now with twice the output of the AX5 and only 1.5 times its price, featuring cinema-grade light output and tons of premium features to make daily lives and usage even easier! We are expecting this to be very popular!”