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4

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for choosing Mackie Designs’

active sound reinforcement speakers.

The SRM450 is an active two-way loud-

speaker capable of extremely high sound
pressure levels, and designed to give you the
best performance of any loudspeaker in its
class and price range.

Our design goal was to build a sound re-

inforcement speaker with the same fidelity
and flat frequency response found in our
reknowned HR824 studio monitors. We
think you’ll agree that the SRM450 sound
quality and accuracy reaches this goal and
more. The result is a sound reinforcement
system equally at home in a concert setting,
in the studio, impromptu concerts on the
studio roof, in the cinema, or in a home the-
ater.

Mackie Designs’ entry into the sound

reinforcement loudspeaker market began
with the acquisition, in June of 1998, of
Radio Cine Forniture (RCF), headquartered
in Reggio Emilia, Italy. RCF has a long tra-
dition in developing speaker technology for
the high-end pro-audio market.

The Transducers

The SRM450 active speakers feature a

12” high-power low-frequency woofer and
a 1.75” titanium diaphragm high-output
precision compression driver. This high
frequency driver is mounted on an acousti-
cally non-resonant exponential waveguide,
providing a wide, controlled dispersion and
precise reproduction of the critical upper
mid-range and high frequencies. The result
is an unbelievably smooth off-axis response
that allows everyone in the audience to
experience the same high-resolution audio
no matter where they are seated.

Each driver has been specifically designed

by our engineers for optimum performance
in the lightweight high-strength cabinet.

FR Series Power Amplifiers

To power these beautiful things, each

SRM450 includes two of our acclaimed FR
Series “Fast Recovery” power amplifiers. Our
exclusive design uses low negative feedback,
yet allows the amplifiers to maintain low dis-
tortion and stability and to quickly recover
when driven into clipping.

The amplifiers include the following

features:
• The low-frequency amplifier produces

up to 540 watts peak (300 continuous)
before clipping.

• The high-frequency amplifier produces

up to 150 watts peak (100 continuous)
before clipping.

• Each amplifier has its own compressor

circuit that acts when the input signal is
large enough to cause clipping, distor-
tion and excessive voice coil heat. The
compressor will automatically decrease
the input signal to a safe level. The
compressor in the low-frequency amp
works independently from that in the
high-frequency amp.

• The low-frequency amp uses a servo

feedback loop which senses the current
flowing in the woofer coil. This controls
the low-frequency response and main-
tains low distortion at high output levels.

• The low-frequency amplifier also has a

sweeping filter. This will automatically
move the low cut-off frequency up or
down depending on the amplifier
output. For example, if the amplifier is
below clipping, the low-frequency cut-
off point is 55Hz. As it approaches
clipping, this shifts up smoothly to
120Hz, providing more power reserves
and less distortion before clipping. This
happens quickly and continuously,
protecting the amplifer and the woofer
and reducing any noticable distortion.

Warning:

 Although the

amplifiers have these
protection circuits, you
must still make sure the

PEAK

 light is not blink-

ing continuously. If it is, turn down your
mixer faders, or preamplifier gain, or turn
down the SRM450 

LEVEL

 control.

Summary of Contents for SRM 450

Page 1: ...SRM450 ACTIVE SOUND REINFORCEMENT SPEAKER USER S MANUAL AND WARRANTY REGISTRATION...

Page 2: ...e in performance or E This Mackie product has been dropped or its chassis damaged 12 Servicing The user should not attempt to service this Mackie product beyond those means described in this operating...

Page 3: ...worn when operating this amplification system in order to prevent a permanent hearing loss if exposure is in excess of the limits set forth here Duration Per Day Sound Level dBA Typical In Hours Slow...

Page 4: ...htweight high strength cabinet FR Series Power Amplifiers To power these beautiful things each SRM450 includes two of our acclaimed FR Series Fast Recovery power amplifiers Our exclusive design uses l...

Page 5: ...nitor applications The Active Advantage There are a number of advantages to us ing an active speaker system over a passive loudspeaker The internal crossover is active and its low power circuitry oper...

Page 6: ...M450 Plug the other end into an AC outlet properly configured with the correct voltage for your particular model 4 Turn on your signal source Make sure its Master Volume control if it has one is turne...

Page 7: ...SRS1500 Subwoofer to create an incredibly powerful system The active crossover inside the SRS1500 splits the full range in put signal into two ranges The SRS1500 plays the low frequency range through...

Page 8: ...here is plenty of ventilation to the rear panel Please see Ther mal Considerations on page 12 The SRM450 has several connectors controls and indicators that you should understand IEC Socket This is wh...

Page 9: ...it will be in the NORMAL position 12 o clock If you have a particu larly high line level signal connected to the SRM450 you may need to turn the control down to the LINE indication 9 o clock If you h...

Page 10: ...450 helps to minimize the problems that typically arise Balanced XLR Connectors CONNECTIONS The SRM450 has a female XLR input that accepts a balanced or unbalanced mic or line level signal When connec...

Page 11: ...to cover large glass windows or hanging tapestries or other materials on the walls to absorb some of the sound However in most cases these remedies are not possible or practical So what do you do Maki...

Page 12: ...in the U S This provides two phases of AC power on either side of the center tap at 120V each If lighting is used in a show it is prefer able to power the lights from one leg of the service and power...

Page 13: ...thumps and bangs from your source equipment being amplified When turning off your system turn off the SRM450s first This will prevent any turn off thumps and bangs from your source equipment being am...

Page 14: ...ecurely connected at both ends Make sure the output volume gain control on the mixing console or preamp is turned up sufficiently to drive the inputs of the speaker You should be able to see the SIGNA...

Page 15: ...s is very dangerous The hum may appear when using an unbalanced source consumer preamp CD player VCR etc This is caused by the unbalanced to balanced interface shield 1 2 3 XLR RCA 3 Conductor Cable b...

Page 16: ...f the prob lem including how we can duplicate it 6 Write the RA number in BIG PRINT on top of the box 7 Ship the active speaker to us We recommend United Parcel Service UPS We suggest insurance for al...

Page 17: ...Over Excursion Protection Second Order High Pass Filter Thermal Protection Amplifier shutdown auto reset Low Line Voltage Shut Down 60 Nominal line Acoustic Frequency Response 48Hz 20kHz Low Freq 3 dB...

Page 18: ...ET LO FREQ AMP HI FREQ AMP SENSE RESISTOR BASS CONTROL SERVO LOOP WOOF PEAK LIGHT PEAK DETECTION MACKIE DESIGNS SRM450 BLOCK DIAGRAM 071699SE THRESHOLD LPF THRESHOLD MID VDC LO VDC HI VDC TOROIDAL POW...

Page 19: ...ke sure that the problem can be dupli cated If you bring your active speaker to an Authorized Service Center and they can t find anything wrong with it you may be charged a service fee 4 If the Mackie...

Page 20: ...rope Asia Central South America 425 487 4333 Middle East Africa 31 20 654 4000 Fax 425 487 4337 www mackie com E mail sales mackie com Some of the people at our factory who helped design build sell an...

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