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Review of the Mackie SRM350 Active PA Speakers
Mackie advertises the SRM350 as a small portable loudspeaker producing gigging sound pressure levels with recording studio monitor sound quality, and encourages comparisons with larger 12” bass systems even though the SRM350 uses only a 10” bass speaker. I decided to put their claims to the test and try out a pair of Mackie SRM350 during a gig last weekend. Are they as loud and as clean as Mackie claims? Lets see.
The first thing I noticed when carrying them out of the warehouse was their light weight, only 32 lbs each (about 15kg in new money), and that their compact size, about a foot wide and deep and about 21” tall, meant that they easily fitted into the boot of my car with the other gear. So at least the SRM350 is studio monitor size, and are easily transportable, particularly since they have a moulded-in handle on both the top and one on the side too. So far so good.
At the gig, I mounted the SRM350s on pole stands and connected them to the mixer with some spare XLR mic cables, plugged the CD player into the mixer, bypassed all the EQ, and began putting some level through them. The first thing I noticed was amount of power the SRM350 kick out. Mackie claims that each box’s active amps produce a total of 195 watts, being 165 watts through the woofer and 30 watts through the horn, which when you compare that to other active PA speakers, isn't a lot really. But the SRM350's are so efficient that the 195 watts becomes an impressive amount of sound pressure level, 121dB peak SPL according to Mackie’s specs, which is amazing for a box this size. 121db doesn't sound like a lot but it is when you think that most gigs only have 130db at the recording desk, 121db is quite a bit from a 10" speaker. You also wouldn't want much more. 130 dB is about where sound starts to become painful.
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As for the
quality of the sound, Mackie's claim was right, the SRM350 does
compare to a studio monitor. Part of the reason for the quality are
the components Mackie uses, a 2” voice coil woofer and a titanium
diaphragm high-frequency compression driver mounted on a horn with
90 degree vertical and 80 degree horizontal dispersion. But what
sets the SRM350 apart from other portable active speakers is some
clever electronics Mackie includes: built-in equalization, phase
alignment, and active electronic crossover with Linkwitz-Riley
filters and speaker protection circuitry. Probably, the most
interesting of these is phase alignment, which can be described as
electronically compensating for the time differences created when
the music passes through the crossover. Without this compensation
the part of the vocal frequency range which goes through the woofer
would arrive at the listener at the wrong time relative to that bit
of the vocals coming from the horn, muddying the vocals. Phase
alignment is a technology uses in studio monitors and expensive PA
systems, but not often used in portable PA systems. I also noticed that the low end did not disappear as I lowered the volume level. Mackie uses Dynamic Bass Boost, technically a 70Hz band-pass filter that adjusts itself according to the volume level, so the SRM350 bass response was loud and full, whether playing CDs at low levels, or at gigging levels. There is also a Contour control, which you can switch for more bass and high-end EQ. In between sets, I put a CD through the Mackie's and was pleasantly surprised with the sound that the Mackie's produced. Previous active PA speakers that I have used always made the CD's sound tinny but these gave a clean accurate sound. During the gig, we noticed the SRM350s were less susceptible to feedback than our existing system. This is because the SRM350s have a very flat frequency response. Feedback first occurs at peaks in the frequency response curve, so with no peaks in the response, no feedback. I’d heard that a 10” woofer is better for vocals than a 12” or 15”. I now believe this to be true, as the SRM350 were very open and clean on vocals. I often find 12” and particularly 15” bass speakers give vocals a honky nasal quality. |
Most impressive was the way the SRM350 showed no evidence of heating problems as it got later, louder, and hotter. What normally happens is that as the speakers get hotter, because the impedance goes up, the sound level goes down. Our old portable system has been known to turn itself off late in the night, as things got louder, going into thermal standby while things cooled off. Not the SRM350, which uses an Active Protection Management System that monitors the system’s temperature and limits the input signal rather than shut the speaker down if the amp/speaker becomes overheated. The temperature is constantly monitored and the system is continually adjusted to keep the temperature at the desired operating level. It's certainly nice to know that your speakers are not going to just shut down just when your reaching the best part of the show.
The morning after verdict, yes the Mackie SRM350 are very impressive, very loud, a good clean sound reproduction, easy enough to transport around and carry, and most importantly, they didn’t overheat. The Mackie's are very suitable for gigs where you put vocals and acoustics through the PA, and go direct with the guitar backline and will work just as well with the guitars coming through the mixer too. I would fully recommend the Mackie SRM350's and will be using them again for my next gig. The price of these Mackie boxes is easily justified by the sound levels and quality and the knowledge that they are not going to let you down.
The other great thing about these Mackie's is because of the trapezoidal shape, they can be used a foldback monitors too.
For anyone interested in all the technical specs, or if you fancy buying a pair of these cabs, look at the Mackie SRM350 Active PA Speakers
Reviewed by "Nobby Fingers"
