Mackie SA1532z Three-Way Active Loudspeaker
Imagine that you’re on the tech team for a large church, and your annual outdoor missions fundraiser starts tomorrow. The church’s softball field will be transformed into a cosmopolitan carnival, and the portable stage will be hopping with live worship, guest speakers, giveaways, special music and other fun happenings. It’s time to set up the main speakers, and you have two rigs to choose from. The first is a traditional three-way system with two subwoofers, two 12-inch two-way cabinets, a 70- pound amp rack, a second rack with crossovers and 31-band EQs, two speaker stands and a large box of cables. The second option is a pair of active speakers and two 50-foot mic cables. If option #2 sounded as good (or better), which would you choose?
For most of us, the answer is obvious. This scenario underscores why active, self-contained speakers have grown so popular in recent years. Combine amplifiers, crossovers, equalization, time-offset correction, protection circuits and other goodies right into the speaker cabinet, and you’ve got a recipe for convenience. The racks of gear and endless coils of speaker cable stay in the storage room—all an active speaker needs is power and an input signal.
You’ve also got a jump-start on unbeatable sound quality, as every component can be optimized in the context of the overall system. Amplifiers can be designed for optimum ef- ficiency and perfectly matched to their speaker components. Equalization, crossover filters, phase correction and time alignment can be set with laboratory precision, with no need to ever be adjusted again.
Mackie has been a leader in the self-contained speaker trend, and their “Super Active” product line is now one of the largest in the industry. Speaking of largest, the dual-15-inch Mackie SA1532z speaker ($2,300 list) is both the king of the Mackie SA product line and one of the largest all-inone speakers on the market. We take a closer look at the SA1532z in this issue of Church Production Magazine.
Big Feet
The SA1532z’s large ported cabinet holds two 15-inch woofers and a horn-loaded mid-high system. The latter consists of a six-inch midrange driver and a 1.75-inch compression driver. Three internal amplifiers power the system, with 1,100 watts dedicated to the woofers and 100 watts each going to the midand high-frequency drivers. This 10-to-1 ratio may seem odd at first, but it reflects the reality of how speakers create sound. Low sound frequencies require much more power, and front-loaded low-frequency drivers (in contrast to horn-loaded) are considerably less efficient than their higher-frequency counterparts.
Out back, the Mackie’s rear panel is dominated by a large heat sink. With nearly a full square foot of area, this heat sink keeps the amps running cool even without a fan. The speakers have thermal protection just in case, which mutes the speakers (and lights a backpanel LED) until internal temps drop to acceptable levels. Limit protection keeps high signal levels from damaging the speakers. If the Limit LED is on more than the occasional blink, input levels are too high. Also on the back panel is a level control with +/- 20 dB range, XLR balanced input and convenient Loop Out jack for connecting multiple speakers.
One minor disadvantage of loading everything into a single box is weight. The SA1532z weighs just over 130 pounds, which makes transporting it a two-person affair. Thankfully, Mackie provides handles on the sides as well as the top and bottom of the speaker. The SA1532z stands 50 inches tall, which makes it easier to get the mid- and high-frequency drivers up over the listeners for optimum coverage.
On that note, SA1532z buyers need to understand that these speakers are afraid of heights—they’re designed for ground use only. There’s no way to fly or otherwise suspend these speakers, and they’re too large for stands. Put them on the edge of the stage, or—even better— set them on top of subwoofers. But don’t ever put them up in the air.
Big Voice
We tested the SA1532z in an outdoor setting with a variety of source material. For speaker listening tests, you can’t beat the “uncolored outdoors,” where a speaker’s sound is free from the influence of room acoustics.
Let’s start at the top. The SA1532z’s high-frequency response is smooth and natural-sounding, with wide dispersion and nice top-end extension. The sound of the compression horn gets slightly brittle when pushed hard. Midrange response of the Mackie is strong, but not as smooth as it could be. Some buildup just above the woofer-to-midrange crossover frequency (700 Hz) makes for a somewhat “honky” sound that affects snare drum, vocals and guitars. Low-frequency output is good, with enough bass for most applications and music styles. That said, the SA1532z can definitely benefit from a subwoofer to cover the bottom octave.
Having been very impressed with the dual 12-inch version of this speaker (the SA1232) over three years ago, we were surprised that the SA1532z didn’t offer a more cohesive, transparent sound. Not having any SA1232 cabinets handy, we compared the SA1532z to a Mackie SA1521 (single 15-inch, two-way active speaker). The results were surprising. Though obviously not as loud, the smaller SA1521 had a more accurate, open sound with better highs and a more natural midrange character. In simple terms, the SA1521 sounded less like a speaker and more like music.
The SA1532z does benefit from tuning tweaks courtesy of the sound gurus at EAW, and Mackie stands behind the SA1532z with a generous five-year warranty (two years on drivers).
Quality issues aside, there’s no debating the quantity of sound the SA1532z will put out. With a rated maximum continuous output of 135 dB, this speaker will deliver concert-level sound to smaller churches and voice-range coverage to large venues. Outside, where a speaker gets no help from reflected sound, the SA1532z puts in a very good showing.
Big Question
The SA1532z is as substantial an all-inone speaker as you’ll find anywhere. Or, to put it another way, the SA1532z cranks out as much sound as you could ever hope to get from a single outlet. It’s also a good-looking speaker, which is a plus. So what can a church do with a big, loud, self-powered speaker? Plenty. The SA1532z would be an excellent choice for a larger church needing a convenient mobile sound rig or “floater” system. Pull it out for worship on the lawn, for a youth group event, or an outreach concert in the park. Give it a signal and 20 amps of juice, and you’re ready to go. You just can’t knock the convenience.
With a street price of under $2,000, the SA1532z is a good value. Similar systems from other manufacturers can cost twice as much. If you need big sound and big convenience on a limited budget, the Mackie SA1532z deserves a closer look.
Special thanks to Leo Gunther Enterprises (www.leoguntherent.com) for valuable assistance with this review.
