Over the years, Mackie has developed a reputation for producing high-quality, durable, yet reasonably priced products. The SRM450, the company's new powered P.A. speaker, continues that trend. Combining the best of Mackie's design efforts in both studio monitors and P.A. speaker systems, the SRM450 offers great sound in a winning package, and is ideal for performing musicians at all levels.

Housed in a durable cabinet, the biamplified SRM450 supplies plenty of power (a 300W amp for the low end and a 100W amp for the highs), yet is reasonably lightweight and easily portable. It's also quite versatile-you can use it as either a stage monitor or a main speaker.

And the Winner Is . . . My first experience with the SRM450 was on a prerecord session for the 72nd Academy Awards at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. I was one of two keyboard players in an orchestra with 35-plus members, including a full rhythm section, strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion. Although two DI boxes actually recorded my keyboard rig, I've always found it helpful to have a pair of speakers on recording sessions to make sound in the room between takes for those not wearing headphones. I had arranged to have a pair of SRM450s delivered for the week of recording dates and rehearsals leading up to the Academy Awards, feeling confident that they would serve well as my main keyboard monitors.

Setup for the first recording session was quick and simple, due to the SRM450's minimum of controls. Due to space restraints at the session, I used the pair on the floor as wedges on either side of my keyboard controllers. The SRM450 cabinet can stand upright on its end or lie on its side at one of two angles, like a floor wedge. Because all SRM450s have the same cabinet design (without any left or right cabinet distinctions), if you lay a pair on their sides at the same dispersion angle, you must align the high frequency in the same direction. This means you can't create a mirrored image (though this doesn't usually cause a problem, it is worth mentioning). You can also pole-mount the SRM450 upright, as well as hang it from integrated mounting points placed strategically around the cabinet.

Lows and Highs The SRM450s fulfilled their task as keyboard wedges more than adequately. Not only were they loud, but their frequency response-well-balanced from low to high-was more characteristic of large recording studio monitors than of P.A. speakers. At lower monitoring levels, the speakers sounded a bit boomy on the low end. A low frequency rolloff fixed at 75 Hz alleviated the potential tubbiness; however, the SRM450 sounded best cranked up past 90 dB or so. At this point, the tone balanced out and the speakers sounded great. For further adjustment, you can also access an additional EQ curve that boosts 100 Hz and 12 kHz by 3 dB.

Throughout the week leading up to the Academy Awards, the SRM450s became part of my keyboard rig for recording, rehearsals, and even sequencing additional material in my hotel room-never once letting me down. I even conducted a vocal rehearsal using the SRM450s (along with a mixer) as the main P.A. system. In every application, they had a consistently big, powerful, and clear sound.

Details, Details One minor drawback of the SRM450 is that it only accepts XLR connectors for input-a potential problem if you happen to overlook this limitation when you're packing for a gig. Fortunately, the sound company that provided the speakers for me had thought ahead and brought a pair of 11/44-inch-to-XLR adapters. Ideally, for convenience's sake, Mackie would have included both XLR and 11/44-inch inputs.

The SRM450 also sports a switch that engages an energy-saving automatic shutdown circuit; this turns the power amps off after several minutes have elapsed with no input signal. I avoided using the auto shutdown function, however, as it mutes the first part of a signal while the amps fire up.

Casting Dispersions One of the best features of the SRM450 is its wide frequency dispersion. Most monitors have a narrow area of full-frequency coverage, but the SRM450 speakers spread the highs over a very large area. This makes them great as medium-size P.A. mains, and better suited for onstage keyboard or electronic percussion rigs than most amplifiers or monitor wedges. Considering that the cabinet has the amps already built in, you'll have an easy setup and consistent sound quality wherever you go.

Last Word When I put them to the test, the SRM450s performed flawlessly. Whether the source material was a simple keyboard sound or a complex mix of music and voices, they always sounded great. These sturdy and powerful speakers would serve equally well for many purposes-for keyboardists who require a powerful onstage rig to compete with guitar amps and drum sets, DJs who need to fill a medium-size room with dance music, small combos who want a compact yet powerful P.A. system, or permanent installation in churches and meeting halls. No matter what the application, the SRM450 is a winner.

Rob Shirak has recorded and/or performed with Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Whitney Houston, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, 'N Sync, Sheryl Crow, Dionne Warwick, and a host of others.

Mackie Designs SRM450 Active Sound Reinforcement Monitor $899 each

Overall rating: (1 through 5): 4

PROS: Excellent sound quality. Loud. Great bass response. Easy to transport and set up.

CONS: Input connectors are XLR only, requiring adapters for use with 11/44-inch cables. Not possible to obtain mirror imaging of high-frequency drivers when you lay a pair on their sides. Can sound boomy without the LF rolloff engaged.

Contact: Mackie Designs; tel. (800) 898-3211 or (425) 487-4333; fax (425) 487-4337; e-mail sales@mackie.com; Web www.mackie.com

Inputs (1) XLR (female) Parallel Thru Output (1) XLR Maximum SPL 127 dB Nominal Impedance 8* Rated Power 300W (low-frequency power amp), 100W (high-frequency power amp) Total Harmonic Distortion <0.03% (low-frequency power amp), <0.03% (high-frequency power amp) Frequency Response 55 Hz-20,000 Hz Low-Frequency Transducer 12* (diameter) Dimensions 15.35* (W) 5 25.98* (H) 5 14.8* (D) Weight 51 lbs.