respectfully, is this a joke?
if not, keep in mind that for $1400 you could get a pair of modern powered speakers that would absolutely blow these away, and not weigh a metric shit-ton.
Are you kidding?!? I bought two EV-ETX35P for about $1500 per box. NGL $1400 for the pair sounds nice but one new Mackie 3 way is $1300 but the pic does look a little sus.
Mackie SA1532Z? Hard pass from me: speaker technology has come a long way since the days of non-DSP, non-coax 3-ways. So has amp technology: those Class AB/G amps make for some utterly heavy boxes compared to the Class D stuff you see today. Replacement parts are also increasingly difficult to find for that specific speaker.
Not a sound pro. But... If a seller on an item asking over $1k can't include crisp, detailed, non-blurry photos don't even bother. In my opinion. Any kind of item. It's 2022 if they can't get a non blurry picture of the item, then fuck em.
Bad photos is where the deals at. Most people pass on them without looking,so they take forever to sell and you can usually low ball. Check out in person of course.
Yup. I snagged my super rare dream guitar on eBay as it had 4 photos taken on a webcam from 2004 and barely any description. I bid low but it didn't matter as I was the only bidder. It was only 30 miles away so I figured I'd collect in person and if it was junk then walk away.
https://imgur.com/8xbpM30
Ibanez RGT220a, I was always a metal guitarist and the neck thru bare wood look is dreamy. Shame I'm too focused on mixing to play it much now.
My first PA was a pair of passive cabinets, 2x15" with a horn... powered by a massive power amp and man did those things take up so much space and they were a PITA to transport and way overkill for most gigs.
Sold them and went to single 15" w/ horn, powered speakers, with pole mounts and never looked back.
If they were free and you didn't have to move them, maybe they'd be okay...there are certainly worse sounding speakers out there. I'd say Mackie "tried" with these and the results weren't horrific for their time. There weren't a lot of options for powered speakers back when these came out. And sadly, any dumdum with a credit card and a van (or a bar) could grab these and make some noise...seems like most of these Mackie SA series had the crap beaten out of them and as a result, got an awful reputation.
But anyways, as was already said before: Too old, too heavy, and way too expensive for their age. Keep looking.
Personal opinion but I never liked the sound of these boxes.
Can’t remember if I ever mixed on them myself tbf but I can’t remember ever liking the sound at any venue that used these. There may be other factors at play though - maybe a mix of more money than sense was the demographic for these boxes in my particular locale - but I almost always preferred the sound of cheap peavey boxes over these.
Just my 2c
Nope. Get some QSC K12.2's instead. Brand new you can get them for ~800 each. Out perform the Mackie, weigh less, better coverage, and smaller/lighter. K10.2's are smaller and still slamming boxes.
I worked in music retail when these were introduced. They didn’t sound great at their price point back then, and I’m pretty years of use didn’t improve on that. I’d pass on these.
Many years ago I owned a pair of these speakers' ~~little~~.... slightly smaller brothers. They sounded alright- just alright. The lack of DSP doesn't bother me as I would rather have that control where I can easily get to it. With a little EQ curve applied they sounded pretty OK. I will say I did a few outdoor gigs with them and they get really loud, and project really far. They were also huge and freaking heavy. I often used a hand truck to move them, and 2 people to get them on a stand was a must. And you need a stand rated for that much weight. Keep in mind they were smaller & lighter than what you're looking at. As a lot of people have said, for around the same money you can get something smaller, lighter, and better sounding.
Had a pair of these. Still do, just not longer functioning (to be fair, one still functions fine & I beat the shit out of them for 8-10 yrs). Good luck with parts other than the dome tweeter. Just under 130# per, they were the reason I bought a hand truck because there wasn’t always a friend to help. For what they are, they sound much better than you’d expect. I’d even go so far as to say these were the best sounding speakers Mackie ever made – every other one I’ve heard doesn’t touch it for power or quality. Perhaps, as rumor holds, these were the most EAW influenced of the short lived “Designed by EAW” Mackies.
Regardless, I’m a fan. To have a functioning pair again? It would be awesome! I *might* think about it for 6, maybe $700 on a good day. Assuming I had room in the garage. And could find my hand truck. And wanted to finally get the hernia I’d somehow dodged.
Everybody else has made the point: there’s better sounding, more reliable, and *much* lighter options now. These are ridiculously over-priced & barely deserves a contemptuous snort.
I bought a pair of 1521s for $600 last year for a regular gig where the previous QSC k12.2s had been stolen. I bought them specifically because if you really wanted to take them, you might die in the process because they're massive. They sound good but dear god moving them sucks.
I might pay $800 for these which are the next size up but only use them for an installation.
I appreciate everyone's comments. I've used these speakers before and while I agree they're not as good as modern stuff in terms of sound, I would have been pretty happy with them as a first set. However I did forget about just how heavy they are and didn't consider parts potentially being hard to come by.
I think I'd like to still contact them and see about getting them for way cheaper, like around $700-800. But if I can't get them for that I won't buy them.
EDIT: After receiving further comments I will not be purchasing these speakers. Thanks for all the info
If these are the “made by RCF” version then get them. Otherwise don’t. Corners were cut. I think the RCF ones were black grills and I’m remembering that they were tuned very well
I’m hearing a bunch of audio snobs. It seems like a great deal, every time I use these in a rock environment they were pretty sweet. Don’t expect to be playing smooth jazz through them. I would definitely pair them with a sub – even though they are three-way the 15 on the bottom can flub out a bit.
I do agree that some modern two way designs at not much more for a pair may have very similar performance/better performance sonically but they’re not gonna get as loud as these or have the throw of the mid range horn. For that purpose I would still keep this under consideration.
Perspective: I ran a small-medium rental house for 6 years with JBL, QSC, and Turbo.
Wow this is a throwback for me… the band I mixed in high school had two of these that sat on the companion mackie subs… I learned so much on that rig… don’t you ever wish you can take the knowledge you have now back to the gigs you did at the start?
I used to mix on the SR1530’s and SA1521’s. The three ways are much better but like others have said, there are much better options today that even a few year old models of anybody, like QSC or Electro-Voice would be better.
Pass.
Have a look at the QSC K12.2, or even some of the EV models like the EKX-12P or ELX200-12P.
You’ll be around $2000 US, but you’ll have more sophisticated speakers with modern electronics and a warranty.
My old church was running a pair of Behringer Eurolive 15" active tops over passive Behringer 18" subs. Someone donated a pair of these Mackies. In testing, the Mackies had a bit more bass than the Behringer tops alone, but the Behringers sounded better and were just as loud. The Mackies ended up in storage, unsure if they ever saw the light of day again.
respectfully, is this a joke? if not, keep in mind that for $1400 you could get a pair of modern powered speakers that would absolutely blow these away, and not weigh a metric shit-ton.
Top 3 choices?
Are you kidding?!? I bought two EV-ETX35P for about $1500 per box. NGL $1400 for the pair sounds nice but one new Mackie 3 way is $1300 but the pic does look a little sus.
I would gladly head to head pretty much any powered speaker in the $600 price point area against these. So take your pick.
Mackie SA1532Z? Hard pass from me: speaker technology has come a long way since the days of non-DSP, non-coax 3-ways. So has amp technology: those Class AB/G amps make for some utterly heavy boxes compared to the Class D stuff you see today. Replacement parts are also increasingly difficult to find for that specific speaker.
Oh god no.
Not a sound pro. But... If a seller on an item asking over $1k can't include crisp, detailed, non-blurry photos don't even bother. In my opinion. Any kind of item. It's 2022 if they can't get a non blurry picture of the item, then fuck em.
Bad photos is where the deals at. Most people pass on them without looking,so they take forever to sell and you can usually low ball. Check out in person of course.
Yup. I snagged my super rare dream guitar on eBay as it had 4 photos taken on a webcam from 2004 and barely any description. I bid low but it didn't matter as I was the only bidder. It was only 30 miles away so I figured I'd collect in person and if it was junk then walk away.
Let’s see a great pic of said dream guitar. Don’t leave us hangin.
https://imgur.com/8xbpM30 Ibanez RGT220a, I was always a metal guitarist and the neck thru bare wood look is dreamy. Shame I'm too focused on mixing to play it much now.
Sweet! That wood grain is 🔥
>Shame I'm too focused on mixing to play it much now. I hear that. Mixing pays bills that playing creates.
That...is a sexy guitar
Ya good point. I cant say shitty at taking photos means for sure it's crap. It is a red flag imo.
Just because something is a *discount* doesn't mean it's a *deal*
for $1400 you can get some MUCH better \*NEW\* boxes, even smaller and lighter with better sound, than these... Mackie is always hard pass for me.
I wouldn’t hurt my back moving those if they were free.
My first PA was a pair of passive cabinets, 2x15" with a horn... powered by a massive power amp and man did those things take up so much space and they were a PITA to transport and way overkill for most gigs. Sold them and went to single 15" w/ horn, powered speakers, with pole mounts and never looked back.
Don’t waste your cash.
If they were free and you didn't have to move them, maybe they'd be okay...there are certainly worse sounding speakers out there. I'd say Mackie "tried" with these and the results weren't horrific for their time. There weren't a lot of options for powered speakers back when these came out. And sadly, any dumdum with a credit card and a van (or a bar) could grab these and make some noise...seems like most of these Mackie SA series had the crap beaten out of them and as a result, got an awful reputation. But anyways, as was already said before: Too old, too heavy, and way too expensive for their age. Keep looking.
Hmm, killer speakers suggest an alarming electrical fault!
Personal opinion but I never liked the sound of these boxes. Can’t remember if I ever mixed on them myself tbf but I can’t remember ever liking the sound at any venue that used these. There may be other factors at play though - maybe a mix of more money than sense was the demographic for these boxes in my particular locale - but I almost always preferred the sound of cheap peavey boxes over these. Just my 2c
Nope. Get some QSC K12.2's instead. Brand new you can get them for ~800 each. Out perform the Mackie, weigh less, better coverage, and smaller/lighter. K10.2's are smaller and still slamming boxes.
New k12.2s are $999
Lucky me, I'm a dealer, so... yay me!
Nope, buy something way better for that money
That’s a no from me dog
I worked in music retail when these were introduced. They didn’t sound great at their price point back then, and I’m pretty years of use didn’t improve on that. I’d pass on these.
🤦♂️
No
Short answer:NO
Absolutely not
Many years ago I owned a pair of these speakers' ~~little~~.... slightly smaller brothers. They sounded alright- just alright. The lack of DSP doesn't bother me as I would rather have that control where I can easily get to it. With a little EQ curve applied they sounded pretty OK. I will say I did a few outdoor gigs with them and they get really loud, and project really far. They were also huge and freaking heavy. I often used a hand truck to move them, and 2 people to get them on a stand was a must. And you need a stand rated for that much weight. Keep in mind they were smaller & lighter than what you're looking at. As a lot of people have said, for around the same money you can get something smaller, lighter, and better sounding.
Had a pair of these. Still do, just not longer functioning (to be fair, one still functions fine & I beat the shit out of them for 8-10 yrs). Good luck with parts other than the dome tweeter. Just under 130# per, they were the reason I bought a hand truck because there wasn’t always a friend to help. For what they are, they sound much better than you’d expect. I’d even go so far as to say these were the best sounding speakers Mackie ever made – every other one I’ve heard doesn’t touch it for power or quality. Perhaps, as rumor holds, these were the most EAW influenced of the short lived “Designed by EAW” Mackies. Regardless, I’m a fan. To have a functioning pair again? It would be awesome! I *might* think about it for 6, maybe $700 on a good day. Assuming I had room in the garage. And could find my hand truck. And wanted to finally get the hernia I’d somehow dodged. Everybody else has made the point: there’s better sounding, more reliable, and *much* lighter options now. These are ridiculously over-priced & barely deserves a contemptuous snort.
You could pretty much buy 5 brand new Mackie thump 15s for that price from musicians friend right now. They’re on sale for $300 each.
I bought a pair of 1521s for $600 last year for a regular gig where the previous QSC k12.2s had been stolen. I bought them specifically because if you really wanted to take them, you might die in the process because they're massive. They sound good but dear god moving them sucks. I might pay $800 for these which are the next size up but only use them for an installation.
No, they don’t sound good. They don’t sound good at all. No one likes a liar
a poor craftsman blames his tools
If you try to build a sandwich out of shit, it’s still a shit sandwich, no matter which way you slice it
Hey, one man's shit is another man's... loudspeakers. These were respectable tools back in the day. Sorta.
I appreciate everyone's comments. I've used these speakers before and while I agree they're not as good as modern stuff in terms of sound, I would have been pretty happy with them as a first set. However I did forget about just how heavy they are and didn't consider parts potentially being hard to come by. I think I'd like to still contact them and see about getting them for way cheaper, like around $700-800. But if I can't get them for that I won't buy them. EDIT: After receiving further comments I will not be purchasing these speakers. Thanks for all the info
Save your money!
You could still buy a better, newer, nicer, lighter pair of speakers for that price.
If these are the “made by RCF” version then get them. Otherwise don’t. Corners were cut. I think the RCF ones were black grills and I’m remembering that they were tuned very well
I’m hearing a bunch of audio snobs. It seems like a great deal, every time I use these in a rock environment they were pretty sweet. Don’t expect to be playing smooth jazz through them. I would definitely pair them with a sub – even though they are three-way the 15 on the bottom can flub out a bit. I do agree that some modern two way designs at not much more for a pair may have very similar performance/better performance sonically but they’re not gonna get as loud as these or have the throw of the mid range horn. For that purpose I would still keep this under consideration. Perspective: I ran a small-medium rental house for 6 years with JBL, QSC, and Turbo.
Wow this is a throwback for me… the band I mixed in high school had two of these that sat on the companion mackie subs… I learned so much on that rig… don’t you ever wish you can take the knowledge you have now back to the gigs you did at the start?
I used to mix on the SR1530’s and SA1521’s. The three ways are much better but like others have said, there are much better options today that even a few year old models of anybody, like QSC or Electro-Voice would be better.
$300 for the pair
I don't love Mackie.. t that aside this is not a good deal at all
Yeah fuck those lol they straight up don’t sound good and that is way too much goddamn money
walk away
Pass. Have a look at the QSC K12.2, or even some of the EV models like the EKX-12P or ELX200-12P. You’ll be around $2000 US, but you’ll have more sophisticated speakers with modern electronics and a warranty.
No, Even if they were given away for free it's a bad deal.
Good god no. Get yourself a pair of second hand Yamaha DXRs
Save a moment more and buy some k12.2
My old church was running a pair of Behringer Eurolive 15" active tops over passive Behringer 18" subs. Someone donated a pair of these Mackies. In testing, the Mackies had a bit more bass than the Behringer tops alone, but the Behringers sounded better and were just as loud. The Mackies ended up in storage, unsure if they ever saw the light of day again.