Mackie M1200/M1400 manual

M•1 200/M•1 400 O WN E R’ S MAN U AL ™ OL –3 –6 –9 –20 –3 –6 –9 –20 SIG OL SIG CH 1 30 28 26 20 22 18 24 16 14 8 0 0 1.23v (+4dBu) SENSITIVITY GAIN /dB CH 2 PROTECT COLD HOT SHORT TEMP STATUS INTERNAL STATUS CH 1 CH 2 CH 1& 2 ON OFF POWER 3v 2v 1v 30 28 26 20 22 18 24 16 14 8 0 0 1.23v (+4dBu) SENSITIVITY GAIN /dB 3v 2v [...]

CAUTION AVIS RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK) NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ATTENTION: POUR EVITER LES RISQUES DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE, NE PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE. AUCUN ENTRETIEN DE PIECES INTE[...]

3 Part No. 820-062-00 Rev. A 12/96 ©1996 Mackie Designs, All Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Lend Me Y our Ears Exposure to extremely high noise levels may cause per- manent hearing loss. Individuals vary considerably in susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss, but nearly everyone will lose some hearing if exposed to suffi- ciently int[...]

4 READ THIS P AGE! 6. Determine which AMP MODE is best for your application: • STEREO mode (separate left and right inputs, separate left and right outputs) is the typical setup for amplifying stereo signals. • MONO mode (sometimes called Dual- Mono mode – one mono input, two mono outputs) is for sending a mono signal to two different speaker[...]

5 • The 1/4" TRS inputs are wir ed tip = hot (+), ring = cold (–) and sleeve = shield (ground), and can accept either balanced (TRS) or unbalanced (TS) cables. 8. In MONO and BRIDGE modes, connect an input cable to CHANNEL 1 ’s INPUT only , and nothing into CHANNEL 2 ’s INPUT . (Y ou could plug into CHANNEL 2 ’ s input, it just won?[...]

6 HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL THE GLOSSAR Y : A HA VEN OF NON- TECHINESS FOR THE NEOPHYTE Just in case you’re new to the audio world, we’ve included a fairly comprehensive dictio- nary of pro audio terms. If terms like “clipping,” “noise floor ,” or “unbalanced” leave you blank, flip to the glossary at the back of this manual for a quick[...]

7 CONTENTS QUICK ST AR T .......................................................... 4 APPLICA TION DIAGRAMS ......................................... 8 FEA TURE DESCRIPTIONS .............................................. 11 GAIN ............................................................. 1 1 METERS ................................................[...]

8 APPLICA TION DIAGRAMS CHANNEL 2 1 CHANNEL CH 1 CH 2 SPEAKER OUTPUTS + – – + 63Hz 125Hz CONSTANT DIRECTIVITY HORN EQ /AIR EQ CONSTANT DIRECTIVITY HORN EQ /AIR EQ INPUT THRU THRU INPUT AMP MODE FREQUENCY 4.5 k Hz ON 5.6k Hz 2k Hz MONO BRIDGE LIMITER (CH1 & CH2) OFF FULL RANGE SUB WOOFER LOW CUT FILTER LOW CUT FILTER OUTPUT APPLICATION SERIA[...]

9 M•1400: MAIN SPEAKERS AND ST AGE MONITORS WITH ONE AMPLIFIER CHANNEL 2 1 CHANNEL CH 1 CH 2 SPEAKER OUTPUTS + – – + 63Hz 125Hz CONSTANT DIRECTIVITY HORN EQ /AIR EQ CONSTANT DIRECTIVITY HORN EQ /AIR EQ INPUT THRU THRU INPUT AMP MODE FREQUENCY 4.5 k Hz ON 5.6k Hz 2k Hz MONO BRIDGE LIMITER (CH1 & CH2) OFF FULL RANGE SUB WOOFER LOW CUT FILTE[...]

10 M•1200/M•1400: STEREO SYSTEM WITH CD HORNS CHANNEL 2 1 CHANNEL CH 1 CH 2 SPEAKER OUTPUTS + – – + 63Hz 125Hz CONSTANT DIRECTIVITY HORN EQ /AIR EQ CONSTANT DIRECTIVITY HORN EQ /AIR EQ INPUT THRU THRU INPUT AMP MODE FREQUENCY 4.5 k Hz ON 5.6k Hz 2k Hz MONO BRIDGE LIMITER (CH1 & CH2) OFF FULL RANGE SUB WOOFER LOW CUT FILTER LOW CUT FILTE[...]

11 FEA TURE DESCRIPTIONS GAIN These giant knobs control the levels to the output section of the M•1200/M•1400 amplifi- ers. Y ou’ll notice that their travel is detented, meaning there ar e 40 built-in “r esting points” so you can easily set both controls to the same level. Usually , these controls are set all the way up. The gain structur[...]

12 tion or sound check, then leave them alone, using your signal source (usually a mixer) to control listening levels as you work. Or play . Y ou may wonder why we didn’t use just one stereo control to control both sides. That’s in case your applica- tion requir es a left/right imbalance (due to an irregularly shaped room) or if you’r e using[...]

13 The M•1200/M•1400 amps draw their ventila- tion air in from the front and out through the side panels. The amp needs plenty of fresh air to stay cool. DO NOT BLOCK THE VENTILA TION PORTS. See “Thermal Con siderations” . SHOR T If this LED comes on, the M•1200 or M•1400 has detected a short circuit in either of the outputs, meaning th[...]

14 CH 1 CH 2 SPEAKER OUTPUTS + – – + SERIAL NUMBER MANUFA CTURING DA TE RISK OF ELECTRIC SH OCK DO NO T OPEN REPLACE WITH THE SAME TYPE FUSE AND RA TING. DISCONNECT SUPPL Y CORD BEFORE CHANGING FUSE UTILISE UN FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE DE MÊME TYPE. DEBRANCHER AV ANT DE REMPLACER LE FUSIBLE W A RNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO[...]

15 soothing green light adjacent to it glows. T o turn the amp off, push the lower half. It’ll click again and the green light will extinguish. When you power up the M•1200/M•1400, a built-in delay circuit prevents any pops or thumps from being transmitted to the speakers due to turn-on instability in the system. Be sure the signal driving th[...]

16 In fact, you can use both the 1/4" jacks and the binding posts simultaneously . Just r emem- ber that doing so creates two parallel loads. Please see “Do The Math: Ohms, Loads and Such” in Appendix E to learn about speaker loads. Be A ware: Should you choose to terminate your speaker cables with the 1/4" TS plugs, make sure nobody [...]

17 When connecting a balanced signal using the XLR or 1/4" jacks, they’re wir ed thusly , per AES (Audio Engineering Society) standards: XLR TRS Hot (+) Pin 2 Tip Cold (–) Pin 3 Ring Shield (Ground) Pin 1 Shield Unbalanced TS (tip-sleeve) lines can be ac- commodated via the TRS jack. Make sure the cord terminates with a TS plug (like a gui[...]

18 THRU Someday you’ll do a show at Carnegie Hall and realize that one M•1200 or M•1400 ampli- fier is just not going to do the job — you’ll need a six-foot-high rack full of ’em. That’s what the THRU jack is for . Simply plug the signal source outputs into the first amp’s INPUT s , patch from that amp’s THRU jacks to the next amp[...]

19 CD Frequency Y our compr ession drivers’ spec sheet should have a suggested frequency for compensation boost. If so, just turn the CONST ANT DIREC- TIVITY switch ON and set its knob to match that frequency . If your spec sheet doesn’t have that information, you can simply adjust the Frequency knob by ear , preferably using the same music as [...]

20 The AMP MODE switch determines the in- put signal routing within the M•1200/M•1400 amplifier . Shipped from the factory , the switch is set to STEREO . This is correct for about 90% of the applications using an amp like this (hence the TYPICAL indicator near it). But you may be in the 10% bracket, requiring spe- cial input routing within the[...]

21 “square off,” and the average power going into the speaker is roughly double that of a sine wave. Square waves sound awful, and could possibly damage your speakers and/or your reputation. The LIMITER is especially handy when you’re working with loud output levels. Having the signal spikes (kick drum, for instance) at- tenuated a bit can ac[...]

22 3. Set the LOW CUT FIL TER frequency control to either 63Hz or 125Hz, depending on the cutoff fr equency selected in the subwoofer amplifier . Since these exact frequencies ar e not la- beled on the amplifier , you can guesstimate the position of the knob. 63Hz is located at about 1 o’clock and 125Hz is about 4 o’clock. If you want to be rea[...]

23 GENERAL PRECAUTIONS AND CONSIDERA TIONS AC POWER CONSIDERA TIONS Be sure the M•1200/M•1400 is plugged into an outlet that is able to supply 120V AC at high current. If the voltage should drop below 116V AC, the M•1200/M•1400 will no longer be able to supply rated power . (It will continue to operate down to 50% of the rated voltage, but [...]

24 The extension cord used to supply power to the “amp rack” should have a third wire safety ground to avoid presenting a safety hazard. W e also recommend using a cord that has conduc- tors large enough to avoid severely limiting the amplifier’s ability to supply high curr ents on transients. With this in mind, we r ecommend using the follow[...]

25 The thickness of wir e is rated in gauges. Use the chart below to determine the correct gauge of wire to use according to the distance between the speakers and the amplifier , and the impedance of the load the amplifier is driv- ing. This ensures that the power lost across the speaker wire is less than 0.5 dB. tions when setting up a multi-speak[...]

26 APPENDIX A: Ser vice Info • If the OUTPUT APPLICA TION switch is set to SUBWOOFER , make sure the LOW CUT FIL TER frequency control is set to OFF or nearly OFF . If it is turned up above the subwoofer cutoff frequency , then there will be no output from the amplifier . • Is the SHORT LED lit? T urn the POWER off, check the speaker connection[...]

27 As soon as the music gets loud, the amp shuts down! • Check the M•1200/M•1400’s meters . Be sure that OL is not lighting up frequently or continuously . • Can the amp breathe? The M•1200/M•1400 amps draw their ventilation air in from the front and out through the side panels. They need plenty of fresh air to stay cool. Do not block[...]

28 APPENDIX B: Glossar y clipping A cause of severe audio distortion that is the result of excessive gain r equiring the peaks of the audio signal to rise above the capabilities of the amplifier circuit. Seen on an oscillo- scope, the audio peaks appear clipped off. T o avoid distortion, reduce the system gain in or before the gain stage in which t[...]

29 refer enced to 1 VRMS across any impedance. Commonly used to describe signal levels in consumer equipment. T o convert dBV to dBu, add 2.2 dB. decibel (dB) The dB is a ratio of quantities measured in similar terms using a logarithmic scale. Many audio system parameters measure over such a large range of values that the dB is used to sim- plify t[...]

30 (also called a high-pass filter) reduces or eliminates frequencies below its cutoff fr e- quency . There are also high-cut (low-pass) filters, bandpass filters (which cut both high and low frequencies but leave a band of fr e- quencies in the middle untouched), and notch filters (which remove a narrow band but leave the high and low frequencies [...]

31 Maintaining proper circuit impedance rela- tionships is important to avoid distortion and minimize added noise. Mackie input and out- put impedances are designed to work well with the vast majority of audio equipment. knee A knee is a sharp bend in an EQ response curve not unlike the sharp bend in your leg. Also used in describing dynamics proce[...]

32 Q A way of stating the bandwidth of a filter or equalizer section. An EQ with a Q of .75 is broad and smooth, while a Q of 10 gives a nar- row , pointed r esponse curve. T o calculate the value of Q, you must know the center frequency of the EQ section and the frequencies at which the upper and lower skirts fall 3 dB below the level of the cente[...]

33 APPENDIX C: Connectors • Balanced mono circuits. When wired as a balanced connector , a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug is connected tip to signal high (hot), ring to sig- nal low (cold), and sleeve to ground (earth). This is the application used for the inputs to Mackie amplifiers. 1⁄4" TS PHONE PLUGS AND JACKS “TS” stands for Tip-Sle[...]

34 other . The unbalanced ground (earth) connec- tion should be wired to the low and the ground connections of the balanced input. If there ar e ground-loop problems, try connecting the un- balanced ground connection only to the input low connection, and leaving the input ground connection disconnected. • In some cases, you will have to make up s[...]

35 APPENDIX D: Arcane Mysteries Illuminated sleeving on the drain wire (the one that connects to pin 1) to pr event it from contacting the connector shell. 2. Don’t connect the XLR connector shell to pin 1 of the XLR connector . Doing so is an invitation for a ground loop to come visiting. 3. Do ensure that your speaker lines and AC power lines a[...]

36 of RF interference and plan for them before you begin construction. Know the frequency , transmitter power , etc. Y ou can get this information by calling the station. Remember that many broadcast stations change the antenna coverage pattern and transmitter power at night. 11. Don’t use hardware-stor e light dimmers. 12. Don’t allow for anyt[...]

37 The best way to accomplish this goal is to optimize the input and output levels for each component in the system. It is best to start at the beginning of the chain (the microphone) and work your way to the end (the speakers). The following procedure details how to opti- mize a sound system with 10 dB of headroom. A microphone is connected to the[...]

38 Biamplified and triamplified systems use separate power amplifiers to power each indi- vidual low-frequency and high-fr equency driver . An electronic crossover (a.k.a. active crossover) is located between the signal source and the power amplifier . The advantages of this method include 1) increased headroom available from each amplifier , since[...]

39 APPENDIX E: T echnical Info “Parallel” means that the positive amp out- put connects to the positive terminals of all the speakers, and the negative amp output con- nects to the negative terminals of all the speakers. If one speaker fails in a parallel con- figuration, the others will still work, but the load will change. That lets you breat[...]

40 SPECIFICA TIONS Continuous A verage Output Power , both channels driven: M•1200 225 watts per channel into 8 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz, with no more than 0.025% THD 400 watts per channel into 4 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz, with no more than 0.050% THD 600 watts per channel into 2 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz, with no more than 0.095% THD Bridged mono ope[...]

41 OL –3 –6 –9 –20 –3 –6 –9 –20 SIG OL SIG CH 1 30 28 26 20 22 18 24 16 14 8 0 0 1.23v (+4dBu) SENSITIVITY GAIN/dB CH 2 PROTECT COLD HOT SHORT TEMP STATUS INTERNAL STATUS CH 1 CH 2 CH 1& 2 ON OFF POWER 3v 2v 1v 30 28 26 20 22 18 24 16 14 8 0 0 1.23v (+4dBu) SENSITIVITY GAIN/dB 3v 2v 1v PROFESSIONAL POWER AMPLIFIER FULL SYMME TRY[...]

42 CH 1 BALANCED LINE INPUT (TRS) CH 1 BALANCED LINE INPUT (XLR-F) LIMITER LIMITER ON OFF LOW CUT FIL TER LOW P ASS FIL TER (SUBWOOFER) + – 80 VDC + – 90 VDC T OR OID AL P OWER TRANSFORMER LAMP FUSE MACKIE DESIGNS M•1200/M•1400 BLOCK DIAGRAM (#110896DF) FREQ CD EQ FREQ OUTPUT APPLICA TION SWIT CH AMP MODE SWIT CH 63 Hz 125 Hz FREQ TO LIMITE[...]

43 COLOPHON Manual written by Jeff Gilbert and Dave Franzwa, with tidbits borrowed from almost everywhere, including huge chunks of techni- cally baffling text contributed by Rick Chinn. Manual then defaced with proofreading pens in the hands of Mackie’s legendary T ech Support staff (Paul Larson), New Products Engineering staff (Cal Perkins and [...]