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Sound:
These speakers sound AMAZING! I use them mainly for live performances with an all acoustic bluegrass band that plays in the traditional style, using a single large diaphragm microphone for ALL of the instruments and vocals. We also run a Schertler transducer on the upright bass fiddle for that extra bump when needed. Anyway, these speakers have plenty of volume and the clarity is unbelieavably accurate for this type of single microphone set up. A set up that is generally very difficult to control and push the necessary volume. But these speakers in addition with a good 31 band EQ do the job with ease. As far as the rest of the sound rig goes, all we use is a Mackie cfx20 mixer ran into a DBX IEQ 31 band equalizer and then send out two xlr cables to these self powered speakers and thats it! It's simple and it's by far the most acoustically accurate sound that i've heard from a pa speaker! We use them on average of two to three times a week year round and they hold up great and consistantly sound amazing at both the indoor and outdoor venues night after night. I've also used these speakers in the live rock and roll setting with the standard Shure sm58's and 57 mics for vocals, electric guitars and basses, keyboards and drums, horns and the whole nine yards and they are equally just as great in this environment too.
Feature:
I rated a little lower in the features department because these speakers pretty darn heavy and they are not pole stand mountable. You would think that Mackie would offer a stand for these speakers. We got some quick lock speaker stands and they have worked great for our needs so far.
Ease of Use:
1300 watts built into a 3-way speaker means no more messing with amps and crossovers and all of that. As I said before.. Just two xlr cables and that's it.. Plug and play.. You can't beat that!
Quality:
I have always relied on the quality and reliability of Mackies products and they have never left me dissapointed.
Manufacturer Support:
In ten years of using Mackie products I have never had a need to use their support staff yet. Thats why I keep coming back.
Overall:
I wouldn't buy a product like this without the confidence that it is going to stand up to the test of time. I do plan to add a pair of JBL prx535 3-way speakers to the mix very soon for extra sound reinforcement in larger venues and for venues that are too small for the mackie monsters. JBL is the only other company in the industry that I trust who produces an active 3-way speaker. These ones are smaller than the Mackies and are also pole stand mountable which is a BIG plus in my mind.
5 of 5 people
(100%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Sound:
I'm saving my money and when I have enough I will purchase a pair of the "TWIN TOWERS". I have used MACKIE products for the past 10 years and have nothing put the highest praise for all or their equipment. I mostly work with churches, youth choirs, small bands and do weddings and civic functions. MACKIE has stood strong each time I have used it. 1604, 450's, 1501's are the heart of my system.
AGAPE PRAISE and WORSHIP, Graham, Texas
Feature:
All that is needed is already installed.
Quality:
All my MACKIE products are built strong and have stood up to rough handling, ( Youth Choir teenagers can give them a work out ).
Value:
YES! Functions to price, you can't beat it.
Manufacturer Support:
When you call MACKIE, you get a person and not a "Punch 1,2,3...". It's nice to be able to talk to a person who will direct your call to the people who can help.
The Wow Factor:
It's not 'sex appeal', Its just 'RAW POWER'.
Overall:
If a product won't last 10 years under my usuage, I will not waste my money on it.
6 of 7 people
(85.71%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Sound:
how anyone can say jbl sound better than mackies wants to go get their hearing checked, mackies are the best sounding speakers in the industry and even sound better than ev's which are a lot more expensive, as ive worked at a 2 room venue with ev's in one room and mackies in the other and the difference was obvious as with jbl's and when it comes to sound quality as everyone knows heaveyer is most definately better.
Feature:
plug and play say no more.
Ease of Use:
ok just once more then plug and play, with integrated amps it couldnt be simpler.
Quality:
i havnt used the sa1232z's but have used the srm 450's and the sr1530's and the only thing ive found as a problem with the srm450's was in very hot weather they are prone to cut out with the thermal protection, which we solved by directing a fan at the heatsink at the back of the speakers this happened on maybe 2 occasions in a year at the height of summer using them every week 1-3 times per week which wouldnt put me off buying them but just something to bear in mind, the only thing that would put me off buying the srm450's would be having enough cash to buy a pair of sa1232z's ;-)
Value:
as sound systems go theres only 2 names i would choose and that would be mackie or peavey and when you compare the active mackie speakers to anything close in terms of quality and power youd be lucky to get passive speakers for the same price and then your gonna have to think about buying amps, and when you consider that the amps inside a pair of mackies are perfectly matched to the speakers its a no brainer, as we all know, in general, you pay for what you get, with a pair of mackies in my book you pay for the best speakers in the industry and get the amps thrown in for free and in the sa1232z's thats a total of 6 amplifiers per pair which is one of the reasons they sound so crystal clear, if you were to buy a pair of passive speakers and then add to that the cost of 6 seperate amps or even 3 stereo amps you'll definately wish you had gone mackie when the bill came in, and after all whats the point of having 3 band speakers and then trying to get 1 amplifier to power them all, it kind of defeates the object of having 3 way speakers in the first place, you seperate the frequencies as sound is so complex that you get better quality and clarity by splitting it up into bands so each component has less to deal with, therefore being able to perform its bit to the best of its capabilities, so then why muck all this up by expecting the amplifier to defy this law, it has limmitations as the voice coils do in the speakers the smaller frequency range it has to handle the better it will perform, so right an amp for each driver is better get your passives and your multiple amps and remember when your at the venue an hour before the mackie user time is money and at dj rates thats about 30-50 quid a night your saving as the mackies have the best of everything rolled into one plug and play unit so why buy anything else.
Manufacturer Support:
well i hear the support is very good but when you buy quality products who cares, mackie is becoming the industry standard as are technics 1210 turntables and pioneer djm mixers and pioneer cdj's dewalt power tools and a product doesnt reach this status because its support has been well evaluated, but the fact they have such a personal level of support says it all, if you ring them your an isolated case and either very unlucky or stupid coz you wired it up wrong eg wired high level into the line level or summat daft like that, you probably get to speak to someone instead of an automated option process coz probably only 1 guy works there lol coz thats all they need
The Wow Factor:
who wouldnt want the best, if turntables turn you on then you'll definately buy technics 1210's, if mixers float your boat then buy a djm, if prostitutes do it for you then i think julia roberts would be your choice (hyperthetically speaking of course no implication implied no offence julia xxxx) cars then you'll probably go with the veyron, speakers float my boat along with all the above and id definately choose mackies
Overall:
if i owned a set of mackies i think if i was going to replace them it would be with a better set of mackies, and if i was to improve the mackies id add a switchable cooling fan to the heatsink so if it was a paticularly hot day in a sweaty poorly ventilated venue i could just flick a switch and turn on an extra fan for cooling or more accurately a set of fans maybe have them clip on in a plastic frame such as with hard drive coolers and being an oblong heatsink it would require a row of fans maybe something along this line is already available as an optional extra who knows but if someone at mackie is reading this then its definately food for thought, why stop at almost perfect!!!
2 of 3 people
(66.67%) found this review helpful. Did you?
Sound:
When they are brand new, and not clipped, they sound excellent.
Quality:
Unless you are a sound engineer, don't buy these. They cannot handle clip from any source for any period of time. When I came into the venue I'm at now, they had blown every single driver in the 4 3way tops/2 sub configuration at least twice. And this is a 200 seat venue. Go with JBL, Mackie has a really bad history of producing Behringer-esque products.
Value:
JBL is cheaper, lighter, and so far more durable.
Manufacturer Support:
They do have a great support staff. I feel sorry for them though, they have to be overworked.
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