DESIGNED AND TUNED BY EAW
The new C Series Passive Loudspeakers represent
Mackie's first
lightweight passive speakers designed and tuned exclusively by the
Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) loudspeaker engineering team--the same
folks responsible for designing loudspeaker systems for the Super Bowl,
the Olympics and the Vatican. And although loudspeakers for these
mega-systems cost exponentially more than the humble C200, some of the
same concepts applied, namely: designing custom 10" LF drivers with a
frequency range from 59 Hz – 3000 Hz and a 2" voice coil that can take
a pounding. And a 1.4" High-Frequency titanium Driver and Horn
providing a wide, controlled dispersion pattern and precise
reproduction of the critical 1000 Hz – 20,000 Hz upper mid-range and
high frequencies.
CROSSOVERS TUNED TO PERFECTION
Tuning a crossover (i.e. voicing a system), involves dozens of critical
decisions that many manufacturers overlook. In the end, it is all about
balancing the design so that you get the best subjective results from
the speaker while maintaining a good technical implementation. The
crossover in the C Series is a unique Low Impedance Compensated
Crossover (LICC) design with an asymmetrical slope. With EQ and
crossover points meticulously chosen so that beamwidth patterns match
in both drivers, C Series loudspeakers offer natural sound at all
volume levels.
CROSSOVER SCIENCE TO IMPRESS YOUR
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
CROSSOVER/FILTER DESIGN
Crossover design is
critical to loudspeaker performance. Yet, many
loudspeaker manufacturers design crossovers within narrow guidelines of
price or performance, leaving the end-user to deal with equalizing to
compensate for lazy crossover design.
When
Mackie turned to EAW for driver and crossover design, we knew that they
don't expect system operators to make their loudspeakers sound
great—EAW loudspeakers are intentionally engineered to produce great
sound right out of the box. To accomplish this, EAW incorporates the
time consuming — but superior — iterative process of development that
includes creating complex, asymmetrical passive crossover networks to
optimize total system performance.
An iterative process
repeats a cycle of operations, beginning each new cycle with the
results of the previous one. With each cycle (iteration), the end
results moves closer to the "ideal", or "model", result. For EAW
loudspeaker systems, the ideal result is perfectly flat on-axis
response and perfectly linear power response. This latter parameter
ensures smooth off-axis performance.
The iterative
process begins with the measurement of the acoustical and electrical
response of the individual transducers in the enclosure with a
dedicated laboratory measurement system. The data is then fed into a
proprietary software program called Filter Designer. Based on the data
obtained, EAW engineers build a prototype crossover network. The
loudspeaker is measured again and the new data is fed back into Filter
Designer. The network is refined through each iteration until optimal
total system performance is achieved.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ASYMMETRICAL CROSSOVER SLOPES
Only asymmetrical crossover slopes can precisely match the
characteristics of a specific driver through the crossover transition.
Unfortunately, some manufacturers cut corners using mathematical
abstractions to design filter networks.
To
optimize power response, a system-specific crossover network utilizing
asymmetrical slopes must be designed around the actual performance of
the raw components and enclosure.
Raw drivers in a
three-way system sum incoherently. "Mathematically correct" crossover
slopes provide some improvement but only complex, asymmetrical slopes
provide optimal summation.
ULTRA-WIDE DISPERSION
A loudspeaker's dispersion characteristic shouldn't be lame
just
because its compact in size. We know that venues like coffee houses and
small theatre / rec rooms can be hard to cover. Owners usually have to
make do with odd shaped rooms and fixtures placed wherever they fit.
The
C200's high-frequency compression driver is mounted on an acoustically
non-resonant exponential waveguide, providing a wide, controlled
dispersion pattern and precise reproduction of the critical upper
mid-range and high frequencies. The result is an unbelievably smooth
off-axis response that allows everyone in the audience to experience
the same high-resolution audio no matter where they are seated.
THINKING INSIDE THE BOX
Anyone
with a factory can build a box and stick some speakers in it
(and that's just what many do). But low-frequency transducers in square
boxes can create resonances that reflect off the rear wall and pass
through the woofer cone out of phase, and ready to mess up your sound.
The C200 enclosure is an asymmetrical monocoque design with no parallel
surfaces, causing mid and high frequency resonances to be reflected at
angles into internal damping materials, instead of interfering with the
woofer doing its thing.
BUILT FOR SERIOUS ABUSE
Designed for use with existing speakers and power amps (and optimized
for use with the Mackie PPM Series), the C200 loudspeakers are passive
versions of our industry-standard SRM350 portable active loudspeakers.
These speakers' injection-molded composite chassis is built for the
rigors of the road. And they shrug off impacts that would turn those
cheap-o, fuzz covered wood box speakers into toothpicks.
MAKES A WONDERFUL FLOOR MONITOR TOO!
A good floor monitor plays loudly without
generating feedback through
vocal microphones. A poor floor monitor, on the other hand, will
generate feedback just about the time you turn it up to a useable
level. Floor monitor feedback is often caused by uneven frequency
response and dispersion; some frequencies arrive at the microphone much
louder than others. These "spikes" are what trigger feedback as the
floor monitor volume is increased. The C200 has incredibly smooth,
spike-free response and dispersion over a wide range of treble
frequencies. So you can increase its volume without boosting those
nasty, feedback-inducing spikes. Without extensive tuning, no passive
speaker or specialized floor wedge in this class can even come close.
