P-A.ACTIVES SPEAKERS

[emilioandelsie]

Hi There! to one and all.It's Emilio here looking for some of your expperts advice on actives speakers,as i want to up grade my old
staf and i'am torn between the mackie and the alto ps4 which are
all most half of the price and they sound very nice.Is there any one out there with experience on the alto and the mackie who could offer some good advice preferably someone who use's either one or both.
Your advie would be very much appreciate.Regards.Emilio.

[themd21]

Hi Emilio

One difference that immediately stands out is the power.
The Mackie 450 pumps out 300 watts low and 100 watts top.
The Alto 150watts low and 50 watts top.
Twice the power twice the price and in my humble opinion the Mackie's are twice as good.

[JohnG]

Hi Emilio,

Amplifier power isn't everything. If one loudspeaker's drivers are half half the efficiency of another's then you would need to double the power to achieve the same sound level anyway. There are also several ways of measuring power output; e.g. peak, programme, RMS.

So, don't be too fooled by power differences. Double the output power means just a 3dB difference in Sound Pressure Level (SPL) with the same drivers, assuming they can use the power without going into distortion. However, things like quality of drivers, efficiency, flatness of frequency response, protection of drivers and so on do make a difference as well as, of course, cabinet construction. If you want to know how loud it will go you need to look for a figure that goes something like "120dB at 1 metre SPL". For some you'll see a figure as high as 127dB. That's the real measure of how loud the speaker will go.

There's no doubt many people do think that the Mackie's are the "bee's knees". And I'm not going to disagree with them. Their price reflects their build quality. The only criticism I've heard about them is that when they're driven VERY hard they can sound a bit harsh. But very hard means very, very loud indeed. In other words to levels you may never reach.

What you have to do is listen to both at realistic levels that you would use at a gig. Do the Altos still sound good when pumping out the sound? If you have a good dealer he may let you buy and try the Altos then if they don't do the job (providing you don't blow them) let you upgrade to the Mackies. He'll want some money up front though and do try to get something written on the receipt that commits to an upgrade say within a week or so if the Altos don't do the job. I know it's not the same but I always did that with my hi-fi separates.

So I'm not disagreeing with the previous post at all really the Mackie 450s ARE indeed good speakers and used by many, many groups.

IMHO,
JohnG.

[emilioandelsie]

Hi there guys thank you both for that bit of advice it's appreciated.I should have said that allthough Idont own Mackies I have on occasion used them and of course they have a wonderful sound.But a few weeks or so ago I went and done a gig where they provided all the sound and Idid not even look at the speakers properly but at a glance they looket just like Mackies.But when I'd done my frist set I made a remarket on how good thoes the Mackies did sound and to my surprice the sound man there told me that they where not Mackies at all but Alto ps4.I Must say that they did have a very rich and ditinctive sound about them.I do understand what you mean Jimmy when you say twice the power=twice the price but have you ever heard them. And JohnG I have tried doing a few of your suggestion frankly I'm none the wiser.So thank's guys I gess It's going to have to be Mackies just to be on the safe side.Thanks regards Emilio.

[moonie]

Another option for you would be RCF speakers, very similar to Mackies in weight and power but a very nicely tuned cabinet. Of cousre this doesn't help you decide between the other two but the more you have to choose from the better...if your like most of you'll be using them for some time to come...best of luck

[artwire]

Emilio
I have both the Mackie450 and the RCF310a. You really can't go wrong with either one of these. For smaller gigs the 310's are great and only weigh 11 kilos. One thing about the Mackies tho' is that if you lay them on their sides and use them as moniters if yer pumping a lot of sound through them they can shut down. Thermal overload. They will come back on unharmed after a few minutes. You can avoid this by having a fan blow on the heat sinks. But that's more equiptment to carry eh? actually I had one shut down when it was on a speaker stand but it was a hot day in the direct sunlight.
best, art

[thingyy]

Might pay you to get the thermo cut out reset if only one speaker is doing it. It can become a habit once they operate a few times.

[mickyb]

yes my friends had the same problem with the Mackies. The thermal overloaded when they were driving them at bigger gigs,eventually cutting out altogether. I think they had a real problem with the pair they had.

[paulo]

One thing that I would say Emilio is if you decide on the Mackies beware of the "made in China "ones.Apparently the originals made in America and the Italian ones have RCF componants in them but the Chinese ones havn't.They don't sound as good as the originals and are more prone to overheating and breaking down.
I can say that the Mackie C300s are an awesome speaker(unpowered version of SRM450s)and the RCF 310a is a punchie wee speaker but would need a sub for gigs where punters are dancing!!