Mackie SRS1500

This Item will ship 2 day air

Heavy scuffing and scratches on surface of cabinet

SRS1500 Active Subwoofer If you think it takes a big enclosure to generate lots of bass, think again. There has never - repeat NEVER - been an SR subwoofer like the SRS1500 before. While under two feet high, it can put out more bass than sofa-sized 18-inch passive subwoofers. Up to 127dB of tight, floor-shaking, chest- thumping, hair-parting bass, flat all the way down to 40Hz. High 127dB SPL600 watts RMS of FR Series™ high current amplification15"cast frame RCF LF transducer with 3"inside/outside-wound, high-temperature voice coil & High Flux magnetic circuitBuilt-in electronic stereo/mono high pass crossover networkRecessed level control and 0°-180° phase switchCan be used with active or passive speaker systems Compact, portable enclosure with ultra-small footprint for unobtrusive, strategic placement 18-ply Baltic Birch enclosure with built-in pole mount Hidden inside the SRS1500 is an FR Series amplifier rated at 600 watts. But that nominal rating only tells part of the story. If you had to use an external amplifier, it would have to deliver 1000 watts or more to produce the same effect.   That's because the SRS1500's high-current amp is optimized to drive the long-throw 15-inch low-frequency transducer. The amplifier "knows" how to handle the speaker's impedance variations... and it's designed to put its whole output into just the frequency range of the subwoofer. At any impedance, it delivers massive current for extremely fast response and tight control.   This intimate interaction between amp and LF transducer also makes for extreme reliability. The amp knows what to expect and it can be built to survive stuff an external amp couldn't handle. On the back is a massive rear-panel heat exchanger to protect the amp's output devices, but if you touch the heatsink fins after the SRS1500's been cranking at max output for several hours, you'll discover that it's running as cool as a proverbial cucumber.   Also inside is a precision stereo/mono high-pass electronic crossover. It takes the full-range signal and divides it into two parts. Frequencies under 120Hz go to the internal amp. Frequencies above 120Hz are detoured to the main full-range speakers. Unlike primitive, passive band-pass filters, this sophisticated 18dB-per-octave electronic circuitry introduces zero phase distortion to either the low- or high-pass signals. In other words, what goes in undistorted also comes out undistorted.   On the outside are XLR input sockets, XLR thru/high-pass outputs, a recessed level control and a 0° to 180° phase switch (for matching up the SRS1500 with the rest of your system). Eighteen inches of low-frequency transducer packed into a 15-inch frame.   Because we own one of the world's top transducer manufacturers, we didn't have to resort to "off-the-shelf" woofers ordered out of a catalog. We could create exactly what was needed to make the SRS1500 kick butt and take names. We had the speaker wizards at RCF cook up a mutant hybrid design that was fast, had long cone excursion, and could handle massive power for days on end. The motor of the SRS1500's LF transducer uses an extremely high-flux magnet structure and special 3-inch inside/outside wound voice coil. This bears some explaining. A speaker voice coil is an electromagnet consisting of copper wire wound onto a round "former." When you put lots of power through wire, it gets hot. If it gets too hot, the voice coil croaks. The wire can burn out, or toast the voice coil former, or melt the adhesive attaching it onto the former... and fly off like a crazed copper slinky. All of these things happen all too often to conventional subwoofer transducers because of the way voice coils are traditionally designed (see drawings below, with wire diameter exaggerated for clarity). Note that two layers of wire are stacked on top of each other on the outside of the voice coil former (Drawing A1). The only way voice coil wire can cool off is to dissipate heat to the air and surrounding magnet. But because the wire in an LF transducer must be wound two layers thick, the bottom layer makes no contact with the outside air - so terrific heat builds up. This can lead to catastrophic failure (Drawing A2).   Drawings B1 and B2 show the inside/outside voice coil design used in the SRS1500. One layer of wire on the outside of the former and one layer of wire on the inside. Both layers make full contact with the air, transferring heat to both surfaces of the magnet structure. Maximum cooling takes place. The LF transducer can stand ten hours running flat out at a rave in a 100°F warehouse. Or worse.   In addition, this inside/outside configuration creates a sandwich (wire/voice coil former/wire that is far more mechanically strong and less likely to part company during heavy use.   Bottom line: the SRS1500 LF transducer can handle the full power load of its amplifier constantly without burn-out. In fact it can theoretically handle power up to the point of glowing red hot - and adding to your lighting effects. Built like a tank. An easy-to-drive tank.   The SRS1500 is constructed of premium birch plywood (not particle board) to minimize flexing and external resonances. We're not going to kid you; at 100 pounds, this is no creampuff. What we can tell you is that it's remarkably easy to haul around. There are deep, recessed carry handles on both sides. And internal components are arranged so that weight is evenly balanced instead of being all at the back or front. When you pick up the SRS1500, it doesn't tilt abruptly and dislocate your wrist.