Hi Guys,

I've been thinking for a quite a while about investing in some Mackie SRM 450's and keeping my current speakers as backup.

Just wondering if anyone that has these can give me any pointers, I know they are meant to be good but what happens if the amp goes in the speaker, is that it for the night? Can the other speaker power it?

Also are they heavy? Could you lift them on to a speaker stand by yourself.

Would you need a base speaker with them?

Anything else I should think about?

I've seen them for around £800ish.

Look forward to your thoughts.

Cheers

Jose

Hi Jose,

Ive got some Mackie SRM450 V2's and although I have only had them a short time I am very impressed with them. As they only have a 12" driver, they are a nice compact size and with carrying bags they are easy to transport. I can easily lift them onto a stand by myself, and I dont think you would need a separate sub unless you were playing to a large crowd. I do have a DB Sub 12 as well which I got to cater for larger gigs, but have not used it yet as have not had the need.

Each speaker as a safety cut out in case it gets too hot, and if this happens I think you can wait for it to cool down and reset it. If you had an actual fault occur with the amp in a speaker, I dont think you could power the speaker any other way, but Im not an expert so I might be wrong!

At least as they are powered by separate internal amps, if you had a problem with one speaker you could continue the night with the one remaining speaker - not ideal but a lot better tha nothing!

Anyway, I hope this was helpful and if you do get one try and get a deal with poles, bags, leads etc - thats what I did and it saved me quite a bit!

Good luck,Mark

Hi Jose,
I've had my 2 450V2 for about 1yr. No problems for me, but others have seen problems.
Weight wise, they are ok - I can easily lift onto a stand. there is a handy grip at the top of the speaker, and also handles on either side.
For storeage/transport, I use wheeled Gator bags, these have pockets for cables etc, and can be wheeled around - so nice and easy for gigs where you need to walk for access.

Mine do not get hot, even when run at fairly high levels for a few hours. I estimate the rear heat-sink is about 40C. This is them running at about 75%.

If one amp/speaker fails, then you should switch it off (power switch on the rear).
The other speaker is independent, so providing the failure is not related to a mixer problem, then you'll have 1 active speaker still working.

The amp+speaker is fully integrated, with no facility to power external passive speakers, or take a power signal direct.

I have recently heard of problems with getting spares- and so keep your old gear as a back-up.

For many small/medium gigs, a single speaker will be ok if one does fail during the night - so you could continue. even more so if you have a bass speaker.

For medium+ parties I run 2 active subs with the mackies on poles.


The RCF's sounded better, but were much more expensive and out of my budget.

Jason

I've got Mackie SRM 450's MK 1's and for the past 3 years they have been fine with no problems. Dealers speak more highly of the Mark 1's.

There are other alternatives to Mackie - most Actives are bi-amped and sound fine.

The LD Systems Dave 15 can be had for £595, this includes sub+2 satellites.
W-Audio 15" Active can be had for £285ea, 400WRMS

I use the LD Systems Kappa 15" Subs, no complaints, but have no experivce of the Dave Range, or W-Audio.

I think its best to keep the options open. and buy with your ears with a view of reliability.


From what I've read, IF the Mackie requires a replacement part, it can be a nightmare. I'm not sure if this is still the case?

Tne rcf 3 series have just come down in price due to the launch of the 4 series

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~R...2-A~ID~5292.asp

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~R...5-A~ID~5295.asp

Bargain!

My old peavys weigh over 6 stone and i can just manage to lift them to head hight, but i am butch!

The best are the 310A due to their lightweight or the fantastic 322A

Most Mackie SRM450 parts are generic, and won't have to come from Mackie. Indeed Mackie don't supply spares to non Mackie Main Dealers. I once needed a mains transformer for a very expensive Mackie PA desk and it was so much trouble trying to get one that in the end I wrote the desk off.

But Mackie are a worldwide brand, so there's lots of them out there in the world, they are very successful workhorses. (you sometimes see them on TV in the background at US Presidential conferences, X Factor rehearsal rooms, Iranian rallies etc). I can't say the same for W-Audio, they're a UK brand of chinese speaker so even different models may be made by different companies. RCF seem to be constantly being taken over by one company or another and the last time I spoke to them, nobody seemed to know anything about any product that was more than 6 months old.

Thanks for the comments guys...

Just a case of when to take the plunge and splash out