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.
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 gnerate 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.
