Portable column arrays that set up in minutes and cover a room with less visual bulk than a conventional PA, typically built from a subwoofer base, a spacer pole and a slim column of small drivers. The range centres on Electro-Voice’s Evolve 70 and Evolve 90 in black and white finishes, RCF’s EVOX J11 and NEXO column options.

Column systems earn their keep on speech, acoustic and DJ work in rooms where wide, even horizontal coverage matters more than raw throw. A tall, narrow line of drivers gives controlled vertical dispersion, which keeps energy off ceilings and back walls and helps intelligibility in reverberant spaces. When comparing models, look at sub size and amplifier power against your programme material, whether onboard mixing and Bluetooth playback would remove a separate mixer from the job, and packed size and weight, since one-person load-ins are half the point of the format. White variants suit installs and events where a black box looks wrong.

These pair well with the stands, covers and dollies in the PA accessories section, and we can advise where a column system stops being enough and a point source rig takes over.