Ever wonder how a band can sound so good at a concert and then sound so bad in a smaller venue? Most likely, the small loudspeakers available to most houses of worship, clubs, and performers have a relatively narrow dispersion pattern and can't be flown like touring arrays. Most full-range loudspeakers can provide ample punch and frequency response when you are positioned directly in front of them—but sit off to the side, even just a little bit, and the sound quality quickly deteriorates.

We at Mackie turned to the gurus at Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) for a solution to this dilemma and they, in turn, developed Tetrad™ Technology. This remarkable technology makes its debut in the Mackie S408. The ideal choice for any establishment where high quality live sound is crucial, including houses of worship, DJs, club sound reinforcement, and keyboard/drum monitoring. And if that weren't enough, the Mackie S408's trapezoidal shape makes it perfect for vocal monitor wedge applications.

HOW TETRAD WORKS
In a typical 15", 2-way loudspeaker system, the 15" speaker offers relatively slow transient response, and the small high-frequency horn tends to beam a narrow, blaring sound at the listener—end result, muddy sound. By replacing the 15" speaker with four 8" drivers (that's what tetra means, four), we increased the driver surface area to 201 sq. inches from 177 sq. inches, creating more punch and a tight, more focused low-end. We know it's hard to believe, but four 8" transducers offer better transient response and move a bigger column of air than a single fifteen. Which brings us to the horn…

VOCAL CLARITY AND PATTERN CONTROL
By using four 8" low-frequency drivers, we are able to drop an extremely large horn into the S408 and still keep the cabinet size small. Besides presenting a more friendly load impedance, a bigger horn yields lower distortion, better pattern control and allows the horn to operate more efficiently at lower frequencies‹all the way down to the heart of the critical vocal and midrange zones. Since this larger horn is more stable through the crossover point, the transition to the LF drivers is virtually seamless, in terms of frequency response and directivity. All this adds up to greater consistency throughout the entire coverage pattern, resulting in vastly improved intelligibility across your entire audience.


Designed for maximum versatility, the S408 can be stacked, or pole-mounted, on the S410s Subwoofer. It can also be flown via 12 integrated rigging points, either vertically or horizontally. They function extremely well when arrayed in pairs, providing outstanding coverage to an incredible 150 degrees. And the S408's trapezoidal shape makes it perfect for use as a floor monitor.

The S400 Series, affordable, touring-quality sound for the masses!

Picking up where our SWA1501 leaves off, the Mackie SWA1801z ups the ante with even more wattage and a bigger 18" transducer. The SWA1801z features an internal 800-Watt FR (Fast Recovery) Series amplifier and a high-precision 18" transducer custom designed for optimal performance with the amp and enclosure. Onboard Mackie Active electronics ensure seamless integration of the amplifier and transducer at all times, creating a system that is highly efficient and versatile. Add it all up and this high-output system will peel the paint right off the walls!
 

TRUE MACKIE ACTIVE DESIGN
Active doesn't just mean the SWA1801z has an amplifier bolted on its back — it means optimized electronics that provide complete control and maximum performance over all components. The onboard Active system controls the crossover filters, equalization, protection for the transducer and electronics, and provides real time vigilance over the entire system. There is simply no way that you can get this kind of full system functionality by strapping an amp on the back of a passive speaker box.
 

NO NEED FOR AN EXTERNAL CROSSOVER
Connecting and setting up the SWA1801z is a breeze. It accepts a stereo or mono line-level signal via female XLR input jacks. Male XLR Thru jacks are provided for daisy-chaining the signal to additional SWA1801z cabinets. The built-in crossover routes the high frequency content to the high-pass output jacks, which can be used to feed the inputs of full-range Active speakers, such as those in the Mackie SAz Series, or an amplifier powering a pair of passive speakers. A Subwoofer Level control lets you adjust the balance between the subwoofer and the full-range speakers.
 

THE SECRET TO OUR POWER
The SWA1801z's built-in amplifier, which produces 800 watts continuous power, sits on a massive heatsink, eliminating the need for fans and dramatically extending life expectancy. A tremendous benefit of having the amplifier inside the subwoofer enclosure is that the SWA1801z functions as a complete system, optimizing acoustic, electronic, and mechanical designs to achieve the highest level of performance and value.
 

SOLID WOOD CONSTRUCTION
For high-output loudspeakers, real wood just sounds better—and it looks better, too! The SWA1801z enclosure is made of select 15mm Baltic birch plywood and finished in black splatter paint. Carrying handles are integrated into each side for easy loading, and casters are attached to the rear for transport. Since you will probably want the full-range enclosure nearby, a pole mount receptacle is strategically placed on top of the enclosure.