THE MAC VIPER XIP MARTIN TAKES OVER

First visual contact with this new LED and waterproof Viper, it seems more muscular than its “big brother “

Every lighting technician and lighting designer knows the Mac Viper, the huge success of the Danish brand over the past 12 years, which is still frequently found on tour technical sheets. Martin chose the Prolight+Sound 2024 to formalize the release of its descendant the Viper XIP, follow the guide!

At first glance, they look a lot alike! The new Viper XIP inherits the look and general proportions of its big brother. We notice a slight enlargement of its head, the same slender yoke topped with handles as well as a thinner base, whose layout and appearance are reminiscent (relatively speaking) of those of the recent MAC One.

On the scales, we take 2 kg off. This is always a good idea, knowing that the fixture is fully IP54, which generally tends to make them heavier. This weight gain is also justified by the abandonment of the lamp and its electronic ballast for a white LED source of 760 W at 5800 K entirely developed and manufactured by Martin (five-year warranty) which uses the same 20 W cells as the MAC Ultra.

The Viper XIP LED was entirely designed and developed by Martin. © Martin.

This source will allow the Viper XIP to produce 28,000 lumens at the front lens output. We continue to browse the curriculum vitae of this Viper version 2024, noting that the zoom, which was then limited to 10° in a tight beam, can now reach the value of 5°, now that is a Beam! In wide beam, we have a nice aperture of 51°.

Innovation, the “light recycling” system allows a gobo projection to be 25% brighter and the iris to lose only 2% of flux, to be continued! Still, on the subject of gobos, the fixture is equipped with two rotating glass gobo wheels with seven positions. Five per wheel are borrowed from the MAC Ultra and Martin slips in two new ones.

Video presentation of the Martin Mac Viper XIP by Bjorn Stolt Design & Application Engineer

The beam will also encounter on its way a CMY trichromy supported by a progressive CTO allowing the white to be heated up to 2850 K and an additional color wheel. It is on this wheel that we will find the “Spectral Enhancement Filter”, which will increase the CRI of the fixture to 90 for a few lumens. This new Viper also integrates not one, but two progressive frosts, one smoother than the other.

Combining the strengths of the different versions of the Viper series into a single head and thus rationalizing its ranges, Martin decided to release only one version of MAC Viper XIP. It is therefore quite natural that it includes a framing blade/shutter module with four fully inserted blades, movable through 30°, all mounted on a cassette whose orientation can vary by +/- 83°. Finally, a rotating four-faceted prism and an animation wheel complete the range of effects of our moving head.

The Martin stand at PL+S 2024, the MAC Viper XIP at the center of an inverted MAC One pyramid.

An important point is the cooling: Still with this aim for versatility we find several cooling modes that will favor flow, noise (almost silent and therefore appreciated in theaters), or a compromise between the two.

The new base of MAC series moving heads and details of its different connections. © Martin

The Viper XIP is controllable in DMX & P3, but also in Art-Net and sACN, equipped with an active Ethercon input / output acting as a switch (with integrated bypass).
The fixture will also be configurable via NFC technology and the Martin Companion app, available on iOS and Android.
A very nice technical sheet full of promises for a Viper which has already caught the eye of service providers and rental companies.

For more information on the Martin website