Product Reviews

Why a 3-way? The Mackie HD1531 High Definition 3-Way Powered Loudspeaker

Many loudspeaker systems are 2-way; they have a low frequency device coupled with a high-frequency device. Most professional systems are 3-way (low, mid, high) or 4-way (low, mid, high, sub). Why? In the simplest sense, the less a speaker component has to reproduce in terms of frequency response, the better it can do its job.

Imagine a typical 2-way speaker. One woofer and one horn take care of lows and highs, so many loudspeakers have lots of “bump” and some “sizzle.” Sound system operators often equalize their system so that music sounds good, again by adding “bump” and “sizzle.”

While that may work in your car or home stereo, it doesn’t always work well in the pro audio realm. Without the third component to cover the mid-frequencies, vocal clarity and accuracy can suffer, especially with less expensive speakers. And without midrange definition, your words can get lost.  That's not what you want, especially in the worship setting.

The new Mackie HD1531 is the new 3-way option in its High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers. The addition of the mid-frequency component gives back clarity and accuracy (even if you exaggerate low and high frequencies otherwise) since there’s a device specially designed to cover the very important midrange frequencies that give your words intelligibility and clarity – when spoken or sung.

Good mid-range definition doesn’t stop with vocals. Accurate midrange helps every aspect of every instrument – from guitar, to drums, to keyboards, to bass guitar and more. The HD1531 delivers up to 1800W of peak system power via Mackie’s new Class-D Fast Recovery™ amplification. Mackie’s new high-definition audio processing combines the power of precision crossovers, time correction and acoustic correction for striking clarity and performance.

System tuning and custom speaker components by EAW create an optimized system that can be easily configured for your application using the integrated 3-band EQ with a sweepable mid. The sleek, all-wood cabinet design is pole-mountable and flyable, providing flexible mounting options for portable or installation uses.

In addition to extraordinary clarity and definition, the HD1531 is capable of delivering very solid low-frequency sound and surprisingly high overall output.

This is the first time that we've seen a 3-way active-powered loudspeaker with these performance characteristics available at this price point.

Mackie HD1531 High-Definition 3-Way Powered Loudspeaker $1199.99 each – in stock! Click here to order today.

The New and Updated Audio Technica 3000 "B Series" Wireless systems are here!  Even the older 3000 "A Series" received a nomination for the prestigious TecAwards from Mix Magazine for Outstanding Technical Achievement.  On a recent visit, the Sennheiser sales rep even admitted that Audio-Technica makes a superior product to his at this price point.  Why he said that, I’ll never know.

With automatic frequency scanning to find and set the best available channel, 996-1001 selectable UHF channels, true diversity protection from RF hits and dropouts, soft-touch controls, easy setup and great sound, the 3000 Series wireless delivers truly professional performance.

Read more: 3000 Series True Diversity UHF Wireless Systems

Audio-Technica 2000 Series – the perfect low-cost wireless microphone system.

I write a lot about finding the right product and take pride in helping you select products that meet your needs and your budget.  One of the most common requests that we get is for a good, yet inexpensive, wireless microphone system.  In a few cases, "good" and "inexpensive" actually go together.

Take the Audio-Technica 2000 Series wireless microphone systems for example.  When compared to some systems from other manufacturers, they sound better and are lower-priced.  When compared to others, they're the same price but much better, in terms of quality and features.

The 2000 Series is exactly the product that I want to tell you about.  It's not quite "something for nothing," but it's close.

The 2000 Series features automatic frequency scanning on 10 channels.  No more guessing on frequencies.  Just push a button and let the system set itself.

The 2000 Series features a metal receiver chassis.  No others in the price class have a metal receiver.  It also has an included rack kit.  No others feature that either.  Some manufacturers charge as much as $50 for just a rack kit.

The 2000 Series sounds as good as more-expensive systems and better than systems priced the same, and it's built better, to boot.  The 2000 Series starts at $299.95 for a bodypack-only system (no mic included) and $349.95 for either handheld or lapel system.  Earset systems from $549.95.  Click here for more information.

Protect your AV equipment with the new 1000VA UPS surge eliminator.

You're in the middle of your weekend service and the lights go out.  Not only do you flinch, but the audio and video systems go off then on, and then off again with a flicker, a bang, and a flicker and bang again.  We've all been there, but what can you do?

The first things that we were all taught about audio systems is to make sure that your low-level electronics (mixer, equalizers, processors, recorders - everything except the amplifiers) are to be turned on first (before the power amplifiers) and off last.  In a blackout, everything goes off at once and comes back on together and you'll often experience a loud bang, sometimes followed by puffs of blue smoke from your speakers.  And no one has ever figured out how to put the smoke back inside once it escapes.

Okay, you got me.  That's a little bit dramatic, but spikes from turning some low-level devices on and off are strong and very audible if amplified.  Those spikes can damage your speakers as a result of blackouts or other power failure.  Those power failures can also cause you to lose unsaved settings on computers and other devices in use during your services.

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) have been commonplace in the computing world for years.  The advantages are obvious.  No lost work, longer lasting equipment - no more surges, spikes, blackouts and brownouts, more stable voltage and more.

Why now?  People have been asking for it.  If it makes sense for the computer world, it makes sense for the AV world, too. I'm not sure why this has taken so long.

I can hear your brain humming.  Can I put my entire sound system on one?  In a word, no.  The goal of using a UPS in the worship setting isn't to keep the systems operational, but to give you time to get your wits about you and to shut things down in an orderly fashion.  I can envision one of our clients, in particular, running toward his amp racks now.

The SU1000Li will give you about four minutes to either shut things down in an orderly manner, or to wait for the power to come back on.  Since your low-level electronics will remain on, what the SU1000Li will allow you to do is to make sure that your amplifiers are switched off and/or that you're ready in case the power comes back on in a hurry.

When the power goes out, as long as all of your low-level electronics are plugged into the SurgeX SU1000Li, your system will go silent after the load on the amplifiers bleeds off what's left.  Without the SU1000Li in a power failure, there's a good chance that one of your processors will send a big spike down the line to the amplifiers and that spike will bleed off what's left in the amplifier with a big bang, and maybe a little bit of blue smoke.  If you happen to avoid the blue smoke (which you probably will), and the power happens to come right back on, you'll probably get another big bang.

Those bangs, over time, damage your system and especially your speakers.

The SurgeX SU1000Li offers advanced Series Mode surge elimination, Impedance Tolerant EMI/RFI Filtering, Over/Under Voltage protection, 1000VA battery backup, voltage regulation, power management and diagnostic software, and a 10-year warranty.  It's not only a battery backup, but it's part of the SurgeX family - with some of the most advanced power protection circuitry available today.

The SurgeX SU1000Li is $1189.00 and it's available today.  Please find the SU1000Li in our webstore for specifications and more information.

SU-1000Li, SU 1000Li