Mackie SWA1501 Powered 15 in. Subwoofer

Extremely powerful. Compact cabinet. Level control.

Item: MACSWA1501

  • Pricing
    • $1,049.95
    • Installment Plan:4 payments of $262.48
    • List: $1,259.99
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    $19.99
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customer reviews

Rate and Review This Product:

85 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 7 out of 10

6 People wrote reviews

* * * * * * * * * * 7 out of 10

"SWA 1501 Subwoofer... not all it's claimed to be by the 'Mackie Clan'"

Desirability:
Great, small, can be handled by one person in transporting.

Sound:
I have used this product for a little over a year now. I A-B'd this speaker with JBL, QSC and a couple of other competitors at my local Guitar Center. The Mackie had a tighter sound and seemed to have more presence. But, I've had problems using this speaker on the gig as 'live-band' reinforcement. I've blown through 2 of them already. Maybe it's how much I'm pushing them but I don't believe so. I've been running sound many years and I'm also using 'acucurve' limiter on the subs just in case... The SWA 1501 sounds great when it's working.

Support:
Mackie has no authorized warranty repair in Orange County Califonia. That's just not cool! I had to find out the hard way that when my speaker quit instead of just taking it back to Guitar Center or using OC Speaker... I had to send the product back to Loud Technologies in Seattle Washington!

Overall:
It gets a 7 only because it wasn't totally reliable with my PA set-up.

Submitted: 3/28/2008

Style of Music: R&B, Rock, Reggae, Jazz

* * * * * * * * * * 7 out of 10

Feature:
Has a good feature set. You can run through the speaker and take output that have the lows filtered out or take the full-range signal. I have found that the filtered signal is missing too much of the low spectrum if you are sending it to SRM450. Probably because its a passive filter as opposed to a crossover (I'm not sure)

Quality:
The construction of the cabinet is great. However, my unit failed after 3.5 months of using it 7-8 times per month. I spoke with a club owner who uses his 8-10 times a month and he has had several subwoofers fail also. My failure was in the amplifier unit. I'm still waiting to get it back, its been two weeks so far. I am the only one that moves the cabinet, so I am confident that it hasn't been mishandled or dropped. We also don't drive it that hard.

Value:
This is an expensive piece of equipment. So I would expect it to be well engineered and manufactured. While it preformed beautifully for the first 25 times I used it. I expect greater longevity for a $1,000 piece of equipment.

Desirability:
This is a very sexy piece of equipment and when used properly gives us a "pro" sound. Several musicians who have seen us play are considering adding a sub woofer to their system.

Sound:
It puts out a lot of bass for its size. It sounds fantastic.

Ease of Use:
Its pretty easy to use. You can tell when a signal is getting to the subwoofer by seeing a green LED. Once it gets a signal you are pretty much done.

Support:
I tried calling them directly and they asked me to take it apart to check and see if the speaker was seized. I was a bit surprised, I didn't want to take the thing apart and risk voiding the warranty. I figured they would provide shipping to get it out to a warranty shop. They wanted me to pay for shipping (or drive it myself) 2.5 hours. Instead I took it back to where I bought it. They diagnosed the problem and are waiting for the replacement part (the amplifier unit) from Mackie. I have dealt with them on a smaller piece of equipment and they did a swap. I am a bit disappointed on this one, but its a much heavier piece of equipment and would cost a fortune to ship.

Overall:
I will continue to stick with this product because I believe in Mackie and I think its a good product that may have a flaw. I am hoping that they get it sorted out, or that I received and faulty amplification unit.

Submitted: 1/28/2008

Style of Music: Classic Rock, Blues. Roots

Read all reviews...

Additional Images:

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Rear Panel
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About This Product!
Description
Docs
From Our Catalog
The SWA1501 is a 15 in. high output, active subwoofer system. It features a high precision 15 in. transducer combined with application specific amplifier technology. The system is composed of a single, compact subwoofer cabinet with built in control and amplifier Target.

Features:
128dB Peak Output

Extremely powerful system capable of real, professional output levels

Extended bass response from a compact enclosure allows you to enhance and extend the bass performance of any small to medium full range active or passive PA cabinet

Compact cabinet provides highest output per cubic inch possible in its class

Level control (-15dB to +5dB)

RCF Precision high efficiency 15 in. woofer with high temperature inside/outside coil technology

Drivers are designed specifically for the SWA1501 -- no "off the shelf" components

13-ply Baltic Birch enclosure finished in black splatter paint

Cast aluminum side handles

Signal present LED

Limit LED (Indicates that active protection circuitry is engaged)

The transducer used in the SWA1501 system features a 3-inch, inside/outside wound voice coil that offers extreme power handling capabilities. The magnetic assembly used features advancements in coil venting and structural cooling that provides lower temperature rise and substantially improved power compression characteristics.

The amplifier module found in the SWA1501 cabinet is an example of application specific amplifier design that can be exercised when designing active speaker systems. The system uses a proprietary high efficiency, high current amplifier module designed to provide high current levels at all levels of operation. Having access to high current levels, no matter what the power output, is absolutely critical in achieving precise, total control of the woofer mass. This control is responsible for lowering audible distortion artifacts and providing aggressive attack through the operating band pass of the system. The amplifier module is mounted on a large, finned aluminum heat sink. The amplifier system is rated at 500 watts RMS of continuous output and 700 watts peak output.

The SWA1501 features a sophisticated on board control system allowing for flexible integration with active or passive full range or mid/high speaker systems. The input panel accepts line level input signal and has LOOP OUT connectors for signal routing to other devices. It also has HIGH PASS out connectors for connection to active full range speakers or amplifiers powering passive full range speakers. All signal routing is through XLR connectors in L+R stereo or mono. There is a phase selection switch and a recessed level control. The system features thermal protection for the power supply and amplifier module and also incorporates RMS limiting protection for the amplifier stage that limits the amount of long term power deliver to the transducer.

The cabinet is constructed using 18mm thick multi-layered birch plywood and finished in black splatter paint. There is one handle on each side for efficient loading and transport as well as a top, female pole mount fixture.

High Resolution Audio Reproduction
The SWA1501 does not behave like a typical 15 in. subwoofer manufactured by so many other companies. It has been designed using Mackie's belief that live audio subwoofers should focus on the character of the "attack" the device has. They have also focused their energies on the design of double horn-loaded chambers to achieve a significant increase in output and lower distortion characteristics which lead to high resolution performance.

RCF Precision, the same company that provides high-tech compression drivers and woofers for high-end touring rigs like EAW 's KF760, has developed a new woofer for our use.

On-Board Active Electronics with Flexible Rear Panel Controls and I/O
A flexible input panel provides both stereo and mono signal input and output capabilities. There are High Pass outputs that are work above the operating band pass of the subwoofer cabinet. The panel also features four function LEDs that provide Power On, Limit, Signal Present and Thermal condition indication. You can also control the level and phase of the system using recessed controls.

The low frequency amplifier is a unique switch mode hybrid topology that has been extremely successful as used in the SRS1500 active subwoofer. As used in the SWA1501, it provides 500 watts of continuous output with over 700-watt peaks. More importantly the design delivers over 90% efficiency resulting in very little power the heatsink during the demo being dissipated thermally through the heatsink.

Active doesn't mean it has an amplifier bolted on the back, it means seamless integration of optimized electronics that provide complete control and maximum performance. The on-board control system provides crossover filters, equalization, protection for speaker components and electronics as well as real time active vigilance over the operating parameters of the system.
With 15" speaker, 700 watts peak, and 36Hz-120Hz frequency response.

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