AYRTON RIVALE PROFILE

The Ayrton Rivale Profile is an IP65 rated moving head LED profile. Though it boasts a number of features, its main selling point would have to be its weight-to-lumen output ratio. It behaves like a much bigger light than it is.

The other standout for the Rivale profile is just how refined it feels, especially when you are setting and recalling presets. In some of the earlier Ayrton lights, you might want to project a custom gobo somewhere in a room. You position the light, you set the gobo, rotate it and adjust the focus, storing the presets as you go. When you recall these, the gobo is about one degree off and a little fuzzier than you remembered. This is not the case with the Rivale. Although hard to quantify, it makes a huge difference when precision matters.

Construction

Its construction is much like any Ayrton fixture we see these days – sleek and modern looking. This one has a bit more of a squared off design and a larger 160mm frontal lens; on the larger end for a profile. It has fold-out handles towards the top of the yoke. I love the concept, but I do wonder if it will be the first thing to break.

While it produces a high output from a ‘smaller’ light, it is still a 30kg fixture. It’s a two-person lift with two Omega ¼ turn brackets designed for use with standard clamps. Dimensions are 360mm x 675.5mm x 315mm (l x h x d). This would have it classed as a mid-sized moving light, comparable to the Ayrton Ghibli or Perseo, a bit smaller than the Martin MAC Encore Performance and a bit bigger than the Claypaky Arolla MP.

Optics, Colour and Brightness

The Rivale outputs 35,000 lumens with a colour temperature output of 6,500K. With zoom from 4° to 52°, it has a very impressive 13:1 zoom ratio. The zoom range feels much greater than the numbers suggest, and you have to see it in person to fully appreciate it. At its smallest it is a pin spot; at its largest it is a flood. When you see it zoom in and out, it is remarkably smooth across the whole range. It has a very flat, even beam field, even when zoomed all the way out.

Ayrton placed serious emphasis on making the Rivale a high output fixture while keeping the light on the smaller side. This is evident with an impressive lumen to weight ratio of 1,136 lumens per kilogram.

The Rivale has a variable CTO filter, allowing you to adjust colour temperature from 2700K up to 6500K. It also has a variable CRI which lets you adjust from a CRI of 70 up to about 86. It also features an electronic dimmer. It claims to be able to go from 0 to 100% without colour temperature variation; a very good feature to have for TV and film applications. The Rivale has CMY (subtractive) colour mixing.

Applications and Features

One of the most noteworthy observations for the Rivale is how much output you get for such a relatively small light. On the flip side of this, the Rivale is big for a light that has infinite pan and tilt. It may not be the fastest pan and tilt I’ve ever seen, but it is infinite nonetheless and actually quite impressive to see in person.

The features on this light are not the most extensive but things like the shutter kit, the pan, zoom, focus, and tilt are all very smooth and very accurate, both in programming and playback. Though not the quickest light, it’s a trade off that one would be happy to make in just about any scenario.

The Rivale would be right at home in a lot of different places. It is a bright light with an IP rating so it would naturally fit in quite well in a stadium or festival setting. Its high level of refinement lends well to a corporate setting where it would be a great workhorse fixture with low maintenance due to being IP rated.

For the same reasons, it would do well in a theatre. It could also fit in quite well in an installation. Ayrton have quickly gained a name for reliability, meaning the Rivale would also be suitable for touring.

The shutter kit on the Rivale features four individual shutter blades on a 100% surface area in all positions. The shutter kit on the Rivale is fantastic. Each blade is capable of full blockout (as they should be!) and the accuracy when you recall them as a preset or a cue makes it one of the best shutter kits on the market.

It has 15 high-definition glass gobos located on two wheels: one rotating wheel with seven positions and one fixed wheel with eight positions. The Rivale also has a monochromatic animation wheel, two combinable rotating prisms and two frost filters. Strobe effect is there as well, with speed adjustment from 1 to 25 flashes per second.

Control and Programming

It runs in one DMX mode with a footprint of 65 channels. It has IP65 XLR 5-pin male and female connectors for DMX connection and IP65 powerCON TRUE1 male and female connectors for power. It also has IP65 RJ45 in and out connectors for Art-Net and sACN.

Settings are available with an onboard display. The onboard display looks like every other Ayrton moving head light, which is a good thing. Basically, it has the control, power connections, and capabilities you would expect from a light of this calibre. It draws 700W of power; reasonably efficient for what it can do. You can get three to a circuit.

Verdict

Not excusing the pun, the Rivale really punches above its weight. For such a relatively small fixture it outputs a lot of light. It’s a proper outdoor light too, not just IP rated to be outside. It’s a light that actually does what you want it to do outside, like sending a heap of beams into the sky at night. It doesn’t boast the longest list of features, but has just enough and everything it does offer, it does incredibly well in such a smooth and refined fashion.

Product Info: www.ayrton.eu/produit/rivale-profile

Distributor Australia and New Zealand:

www.showtech.com.au

www.showtech.com.au/homenz

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A few lumen-to-weight ratios for some similar IP-rated Ayrton Lights

• Perseo: 706 lumens per kilogram
• Domino: 980 lumens per kilogram
• Rivale: 1,136 lumens per kilogram

Ayrton Rivale – The Specs

• 13 element 13:1 zoom high-resolution optic system
• Beam aperture: 4° to 52° 160mm frontal lens
• 35,000 lumens white light engine
• Total luminaire output: up to 30,000 lumens (integrating sphere measurement, Stage Fan mode)
• Colour temperature output: 6500K CRI: greater than 70
• Sophisticated colour mixing system providing CMY colour mixing
• Variable CTO colour temperature correction
• Variable CRI channel up to 86
• Fixed colour wheel with seven complimentary colours
• Indexable rotating gobo wheel with seven high precision glass gobos, plus open position
• Fixed gobo wheel with nine high-precision glass gobos, plus open position
• Four individually positionable shutter blades on a 100% surface area in all positions
• Rotation of the shutter blades module: +/- 90°
• Two frost filters; one light, one heavy
• Focusable graphic animation effect-wheel with continuous rotation in both directions
• Two combinable rotating and indexable prisms: one 5-facet circular, one 4-facet linear
• Dimensions: 360 x 675.5 x 315mm (l x h x d), weight: 30.8 kg