More Sound

[Dj Diddy Davies]

Hi chaps (chapesses),

I currently use 2 x Mackie SRM 450 speakers, now whilst these are brilliant, i've started doing a few gigs in bigger venues i.e. very large Marquees and aircrfat hangers for the Army. I can get a good loud sound without distortion, but feel it's running the system close to the limit and so want to add.
So the question is - Do i add subs (i.e. Mackie 1501's)? Will this just give me more bass? ( i don't really understand how it works with mains and subs!!) or if i added a couple more of the Mackie 450's would that give me a better spread of sound.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Steve.

[Totally Plucked]

Personally I'd get your mackies up over head height and add a pair of bins.

[Silver]

I had 450's and I put one of these with them ... www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=15828 You only need the one as it's rated at 800w. It's still available, somebody might be having it after Christmas though.

Sorry if this blatant piece of advertising is not allowed Mods, please feel fit to bin. http://planetsmilies.net/grinning-smiley-9522.gif

[Corabar Steve]

Why? It looks like a solution to me.

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

the reason why people add subs, isnt necessarily to add bass

yoiu flick the switch on the mackies and it kills alot of the lower bass (from the tops) This means the cab isnt running so hard and can concentrate on the highjer frequencies (which are alot easier to reproduce)

So basically your tops should run a bit louder, and you wont be pushing them so hard either

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

the reason why people add subs, isnt necessarily to add bass



Are you sure?

[rob1963]

the reason why people add subs, isnt necessarily to add bass


Are you sure?

I was wondering the same thing.

The only reason I would ever use subs would be to increase bass...not so I didn't have to drive the tops so hard.

[Penfold42]

The only reason I would ever use subs would be to increase bass...not so I didn't have to drive the tops so hard.

Agree.....but also - I thought :o - you add bass bins to give more bass and not to over work the tops, I believe you can opperate this with high pass out which cuts the bass on the tops and uses just the bass bins.....:)

I think that's it......i'm sure someone will put me right.....:D :D

Anyway back to the question.....i've just started to use these cabs but also have 2 of these http://www.soundsavers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1067 they give enough punch for what i need.

[Corabar Steve]

Correct. Increasing the overall sound output, not just the bass.

[nigelwright7557]

I was wondering the same thing.

The only reason I would ever use subs would be to increase bass...not so I didn't have to drive the tops so hard.

A lot depends on the subs.
Some subs will only work with very low frequencies.
I have an 18 incher that works upto 2KHz.

[Corabar Steve]

Did you build it yourself?

[nigelwright7557]

Did you build it yourself?

I bought the driver but built the cabinet to the specs supplied with a vented enclosure.

[Tom]

For the original poster,


If you love the sound of the Mackies srm450, why change them.

Why not take a look at the mackie subs and see what works for you. If you let the subs work from 120hz and under and the speaker tops about 120hz (for example) then you will be able to get a larger, fuller sound. :)

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

i still stick by my previous comment, if you did the same room with and without subs. If the subs are setup properly and the tops (when used with subs) are set mid/high, you will notice quite a big increase in volume

I originally noticed this with the peavey HiSys range, the tops are full range, but when you use the bass cabs, you go into the bass and only mid/high is passed onto the top cabs, i always wondered why, until i tried a side by side comparison, wow big difference in volume!!

Ive since tried this with the Mackie SRM450's V1 and the 1501 bass cabs

[CRAZY K]

i still stick by my previous comment, if you did the same room with and without subs. If the subs are setup properly and the tops (when used with subs) are set mid/high, you will notice quite a big increase in volume

I originally noticed this with the peavey HiSys range, the tops are full range, but when you use the bass cabs, you go into the bass and only mid/high is passed onto the top cabs, i always wondered why, until i tried a side by side comparison, wow big difference in volume!!

Ive since tried this with the Mackie SRM450's V1 and the 1501 bass cabs

By using 4 speakers instead of 2 isnt it going to seem to sound louder generally as well as more pronounced bass anyway?

If not then stick to 2 speakers:D

CRAZY K

[Dj Diddy Davies]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the answers so far.

Just to confirm, i have no intention of getting rid of the Mackies. I want to add to them.

Bass bins seem to be the way forward. Would the Mackie 1501's be better suited to the 450's (i.e. same maker etc.) or doesn't it make any difference and something like Silver's RCF ART 705 be better?

So what happens if you just add more of the same (i.e. 450) speakers?

Is it relatively easy to set up the tops and subs? (some posters have emphasised properly set up!) What wiring do they need?

Sorry for so many questions, but i don't know the answers!

Thanks again.

Steve.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Bass bins seem to be the way forward. Would the Mackie 1501's be better suited to the 450's (i.e. same maker etc.) or doesn't it make any difference and something like Silver's RCF ART 705 be better?

So what happens if you just add more of the same (i.e. 450) speakers?

Is it relatively easy to set up the tops and subs? (some posters have emphasised properly set up!) What wiring do they need?

Sorry for so many questions, but i don't know the answers!

Thanks again.

Steve.

Having had both 1501s and 705s, I feel qualified to answer this.

The 705 is much better than the 1501. I quite often would see the clip light coming on the Mackies when playing R&B or the like, but very rarely does it come on the RCF.

If you added more 450s, the sound would be louder but not more balanced.

If you add a sub or 2, the sound will be a lot more balanced.

With regards to wiring, both the Mackie and RCF sub have balanced output and high pass output. The high pass will filter the frequencies and keep the bass in the bass bin, so the 450s will run mid-top frequencies only. If you use the balanced output, the whole system will run full range.

Both of the subs have active crossovers which means that they will determine where the frequencies go depending on the configuration of the sub.

The RCF sub also has a crossover switch which you can change from 80-120Hz.

I had real problems with the Mackie subs, but that was nothing to do with sound or power. I would fully recommend the RCF if you can afford the extra.

[Dj Diddy Davies]

Many thanks for the reply Solitaire, looks like the RCF is the way to go. Waiting for Silver to get back to me with some details.

Thanks

Steve.

[sleah]

I think I know what Mr Dancefloor is getting at with the "not to add bass" comment.
It's not to significantly increase the amount of bass specifically, but to shift the bass away from the full range speakers in to dedicated bass drivers, one effect of course will be to increase the bass, but not necessarily massively.

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

yes sleah

basically a SRM450 will be putting most of its juice into the bass drivers, so the horn probably only gets about 100Watts of the power, by making it mid/high, it can devote more of the juice into volume, whereas the bass cab will worry about the low frequencies

Youd get an increase in bass, but not the equivalent of adding another 500Watts of bass, think of it as removing about 300watts of 12" bass and adding 500watts of 15" bass (or 18"). So youd get slightly lower frequencies as well

[Silver]

Many thanks for the reply Solitaire, looks like the RCF is the way to go. Waiting for Silver to get back to me with some details.

Thanks

Steve.

PM gone http://planetsmilies.net/tongue-smiley-8847.gif