MACKIE M4000 Details
Power amps aren't at the top of most people's "exciting" lists. After
all, what's exciting about big, heavy pieces of rackmount gear tucked into a corner
or under a stage? Well, what if an amp made your loudspeakers sound 10 times better
the moment you plugged in? And what if this amp was designed to squeeze every
drop of power from conventional wall outlets? And what if there was a group of
quirky, eccentric and mostly bearded analog engineers in Woodinville, WA whose
eyes glow wildly at the mere mention of these new amps? Introducing the new M-Series
High-Efficiency Stereo Power Amplifiers: the next generation of Mackie muscle.
The M2000 (2000W), M3000 (3000W), and M4000 (4000W) represent the pinnacle
of Class-H power amp engineering, from a design team with a collective 38 years
of amplifier experience. We named the M-Series "High-Efficiency Amplifiers”
for their ability to squeeze every drop of power out of standard 120/240v power
outlets, delivering more watts to your loudspeakers than anything even close
to their price. And not only do the M-Series deliver major watts, but they sound
incredible, thanks to Class-H power stages, new built-in limiters, a sparing
use of negative feedback, and perfect crossover integration with Mackie's Precision
Passive loudspeakers.
The final major M-Series advantage is their next-generation Fast Recovery and
Adaptive Slew circuitry, a Mackie hallmark which lets them run "in the
red” for hours on end without compromising sound integrity.
High-Efficiency Design
What makes the M-Series so efficient? Glad you asked. The M2000 utilizes 2-rail
Class-H circuitry, while the M3000 & M4000 utilize the higher power capacity
3-rail Class-H circuitry. (If you understand this, skip this paragraph and give
us a call. We’re always hiring at Mackie.) For the non-engineers among
us, 2- and 3-rail Class-H circuitry taps into additional power rails only when
needed. This results in much greater efficiency and less destructive heat. So
it runs very cool versus other types of power amp designs, especially in real-world
applications playing real music. This design not only maximizes power, but also
improves long-term reliability. *
Fast Recovery Circuitry
Borrowing from technology found only in high-speed test equipment, the M-Series
amplifiers employ Fast Recovery circuitry with Baker Clamps. The Baker Clamps
prevent both the output stage and final Class-A voltage amp stage from saturating—a
phenomenon known as “sticktion,” where the amplifier delays its
recovery past the original input clipping point. When recovery finally does
take place, it can be abrupt, and generate a massive amount of higher-order
harmonic distortion.... which sounds like, well, crap. Other amp manufacturers
forgo the Baker Clamp since its effects are only noticeable when you are clipping
your amp. But at Mackie, we know that most folks run their amps at unseemly
clipping levels, so we figured it was worth it.
Fast But Remarkably Un-Furious Transients
Before we tell you about the M-Series exclusive Adaptive Slewing technology,
here’s what you need to know about slewing: the faster an amplifier’s
rate of slew, the better its transient response, the faster its recovery from
clipping, and the less risk of slew-induced harmonic distortion through the
entire audio band. A Mackie exclusive, new Adaptive Slewing circuitry allows
M-Series amplifiers to pass the fastest transient attacks—like kick and
snare drum, or any bass player trying to imitate Marcus Miller—while minimizing
Class-H switching distortion. As a result, the M-Series have the lowest distortion
of any Class-H amplifier on the market. And no matter how hard and fast you
thrash, the M-Series amps are gonna be a couple of steps ahead, making sure
the output is clean.
50% More Output Components than Our Competitors
Check out the competition, and you’ll find the M-Series amps typically
use 50% more output parts for the same power output levels. The M2000 uses 10
output transistors per channel, the M3000 has 12, and the M4000 sports 16. Sure,
this costs us a lot more money to design and manufacture. But in extremely hot
environments—like a punk show where one amp is driving a real-world 2?
load like eight speaker cabinets—having more output transistors is the
only way to go. So that’s just how we roll.
Low Feedback / Low Distortion
In addition to the aforementioned High-Efficiency design, advanced Filters and
Adapting Slewing, M-Series amplifiers employ some good solid amp design principals.
Namely, triple Darlington output stages, purely resistive loading of all voltage
amplifier stages, and fully complementary / differential design from amplifier
input to output—all working together to give the M-Series some of the
lowest distortion numbers of any manufacturer, without having to resort to substantial
amounts of negative feedback. (Because, lets face it, you probably get enough
negative feedback about your music as it is.)
Internal and External Protection
Amplifier reliability comes from both robust design and internal and external
protection. Internally, M-Series amplifiers feature power supply over-temperature
protection, low voltage / brownout protection, extensive fusing, and fusible
resistors throughout. Each amplifier channel features Output DC offset protection,
overtemperature protection, Input Slew clamping, and extensive Output stage
protection. On the external side of things, the M-Series are over-designed to
withstand bumps, drops and twists of fortune. Taken together, the chance of
one of our M-Series amps failing at some critical moment is right up there with
destruction of our planet by rogue asteroid collision.
MACKIE M4000
MACKIE M4000 POWER AMPLIFIER
WHIRLWIND DI BOX
