Mackie SRM450 vs. Yorkville NX550p

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by DrDavid

And, for that matter, what kind of approach to thermal management does EV employ with their ZXA1-90? There's not a fan, or am I wrong about that?

Looking at the specs and photos on the EV website, I see no fan or external cooling heatsink. Except for the speaker ports, the amplifier is enclosed within the box. This being a Class D amplifier design, as is the QSC K Series speakers, I don't think the amp tends to run as hot as other amp classes and perhaps good cooling isn't as essential to a Class D amp design? But why would QSC decide to put a fan in their K Series speakers? I've noticed my two speakers' fans very seldom come on when playing at low to moderate volume levels but what about high volume levels in a hot summer sun at an outdoor music festival? Bose recommends not placing their L1 systems in the sun and they're Class D designs. Actually, I think all active-speaker makers, who use plastic enclosures, discourage usage of their gear in direct sunshine both as a hedge against thermal shutdown and perhaps plastic case warpage.

Regards,

SpruceTop

[irish_admiral]

We've got a pair of the v1 SRM450s that we use every week at our church, and they get fairly abused as we throw them in a trailer every week, bounce them round, no problems.

We DID have an issue with them shutting down, and then realised someone had depressed the little timer shutoff switch on the back that kills the power when there's no signal. I wonder if some of these so-called issues were the same?

Good sound quality, good reliability, no problems. Ours are on stands, but never get remotely near being hot. Slightly warm, maybe.

Realistically, for the original application required, they aren't going to be driven that hard, so I suspect the overheating issue (if it is an issue), won't be an issue.

YMMV.

Get whichever you like the sound of best and which leaves your wallet feeling happy.

[trpullen]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

What percentage of the original versions overheated?

based on my non-scientific data, 100%. Real-world? who knows....

[wthurman]

I bought SRM450's right out when they first came and never once had a problem in any condition. The only issue I had was getting Mackie to send a new clamp for stands when one of them stripped out. I don't have them any more - they went the way of most of my gear this past year thanks to extended unemployment.

[Pete on guitar]

This may not be a level playing field, but I had a pair of Yorkville PL315 350w speakers, with a rather ambiguous power rating. We decided that their "continuous" meant RMS. They were really loud, clear speakers, certainly better than the ubiquitous Mackies which sounded a bit too much like an over-processed hi-fi to me.

Pete