http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/17769/2422/0///1727/?SQ=da9f93663459d6afcd9fa1a8900471a9 by Simon T
Location: South West UK Should Get Out More
I did a bit of a comparison of the Mackie SRM350 and 450 the other day in my local music shop ..... let me go into more detail.
I walk in the shop - into the pa room and point out the srm350`s to one of the sales staff (a mate of mine). He says - ahh yeh, they are no good really, especially due to the fact that they are nearly as expensive as the 450`s. So I`m like OK, lets fire them up and have a listen.
First listen was each cab on its own with some well produced music - obviously the 450 went lower and louder, and the 350 sounded a little middly but still went pretty loud. In this situation (without subs) for general pa use, the 450 would be a seem to be a better choice. (Although I find the compression driver to be too "metallic" and not sweet enough.
Second listen was mixer -> SWA1501 then high pass out to each cab. Wow, what a difference. With below 120Hz taken care of by the swa1501, the 450/350 didnt have to worry about sub so now it was all about the rest of it. I can truly say that in this situation, IMO, the 350 blew away the 450 - the middlyness of the box now worked as an advantage providing a really articulate vocal sound and the highs were a lot sweeter. A drum kit came alive - AB`ing between the 2 made the 450 in my opinion sound rubbish (I wasnt a fan of it at the best of times - having owned some in the past, and now use Nexo and EAW). The salesman was stunned (he owns a pair of 450`s) at how good they did actually sound, and how loud they did go in comparison to the 450`s.
Our conclusion; if restricted to SOS, the 450 would be a better choice due to the fact it covers more of the frequency range, but if in a biamped situation, the 350 every day.
This was not a scientific test, only a fairly quick test with a well produced cd - we didnt try a mic or anything.
Just my 0.02
Simon
PS I`ve just looked at the specs on Mackie`s site and was not aware of the Dynamic Bass Boost - so this was not on when AB`ing the two boxes without subs - I`m not sure what difference it would have made.
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