When you first start gigging, you quickly begin to realize that sound dynamics are an incredibly difficult beast to tame. Different performance spaces and crowd sizes result in dramatically different acoustic properties from gig to gig – or even within the same gig as people float in and out. You may find that your standard guitar amplifier sounds great at sound check at 10 or 25 feet away and fills the empty room with sweet tone. Suddenly, people are milling about having a good time dancing, singing and talking. Now the people in the front can hear you but people in the back just hear a muddled bunch of noise – mostly low level frequencies. This problem expands exponentially as you add bass guitars, keyboards, drums, and vocals to the mix.

At this point most bands realize that it is time to invest in some serious sound reinforcement equipment like mixers and loudspeakers specifically designed to improve fidelity from the front to the back of the room. As many of you already know, Mackie is one of the foremost names in sound reinforcement and studio equipment, and they have sent us the SRM350 2-Way Active Loudspeaker to review for you.

SRM350 2-Way Active Loudspeaker from Mackie.

The SRM350 was something of a quest for the engineers at Mackie. They desired to combine the power and features of their older model – the SRM450 – with the audio fidelity you might expect from studio speakers. They also desired to make the SRM350 lighter, more compact, and more versatile in general. From my initial testing it appears that Mackie has achieved their goal.

The SRM350 features a 10” high-power, low frequency woofer and a 1.4” titanium diaphragm compression driver. The speaker was designed to provide excellent off-axis response with wide sound dispersion, so that sound quality is maintained regardless of where people are in the audience relative to the speaker.

The cabinet is probably one of the best features of the SRM350. It is made of a light, composite material that is incredibly durable and features an asymmetrical trapezoidal design so that they can be turned on their side and used as floor monitors. These speakers can also be pole mounted or flown. Handles on the top and side improve ease of transport and setup. This versatility relative to multiple applications is a huge feature that most shoppers never consider.




These speakers are perfect for small and medium sized gigs. However, some houses already have PA systems you will plug into or you may purchase and utilize more powerful speaker systems for large stages. In this case you can just tip these 350’s over and use them as stage monitors so you can hear a high fidelity version of your band’s mix at a reasonable stage volume. The SRM350 provides the versatility you need to move from the coffee shop to the big stage. This feature alone is nearly worth its purchase.



The rear panel is where the magic happens relative to connections and levels. Again, there are a number of key features on the SRM350 that improve its versatility. First the input connectors (labeled 9) accepts both XLR-type and ¼” TRS connectors for balanced or unbalanced mics and line-level signals. The contour button control (labeled 4) controls a filter than provides an additional 3dB to the low and high frequencies that may help to provide better audio in various environments, especially low volume situations. The thru-connector (labeled 10) allows you to daisy chain multiple speakers. This is particularly useful for larger venues and to increase sound dispersion.

Features at a glance:

• Low-frequency amplifier produces 165 continuous watts before clipping
• High-frequency amplifier produces 30 continuous watts before clipping
• Both amplifiers are Class H design with dual power supplies
• Speakers feature an “Active Protection Management System” that monitors output levels and operating temperature and actively reduces output levels in response to clipping
• Dynamic Boost Circuit
• Strong and light polypropylene asymmetrical trapezoidal cabinet
• XLR and ¼” inputs (balanced and unbalanced)

If you would like to see a full representation of the SRM350’s feature set and capabilities, I recommend that you take a look at the product manual available online. Besides product features, the manual contains many useful tips on setup and speaker placement.

http://www.mackie.com/pdf/srm350_om.pdf

Setup and Sound Test

To test these loudspeakers I connected them to a Mackie Onyx 1220 mixer (that will be individually reviewed in the future) using ¼” speaker cables. Once the mixer was connected to the speakers I tested them under a variety of applications including electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals only, and compact disk line in. Overall, I was very impressed with the clarity, articulation, and response of these speakers. I especially enjoyed the SRM350’s ability to reproduce vocals and acoustic guitar. I played my Taylor 714CE through this setup using the Taylor’s Expression System®. Frankly, I was astounded at how accurately the SRM350 reproduced the Taylor’s incredible acoustic dynamics. The frequency response is quite broad and produces an exceptionally balanced tone.

I have only two concerns with this unit. One is that the speakers had a bit of background noise that I was not able to resolve with power conditioning. It was not loud however, and should not be of any concern in a normal gigging environment. Second, the bass response of this unit is great for an acoustic group, lecture applications, or small bands; however, for hard-core rock, DJ, and other bass-heavy applications, I would highly recommend that you add a subwoofer such as the Mackie SWA1501 or 1801. As I mentioned before, you can daisy chain speakers together and with the addition of some subwoofers, you have the ability to build an incredibility powerful PA system over time and as your budget allows. I have included some pictures below of some alternate setups.



Conclusion:

The world of sound reinforcement can certainly be a daunting experience. That is why you should consider three important factors in any of these purchases: 1) versatility, 2) expandability, and 3) sound quality. The Mackie SRM350 meets all of these specifications in spades, and as such I am happy to award Mackie both our GuitarGearHeads “Appoved” and “Rig Ready” awards for 2005!



Written by Daniel L. Halberg

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