Try a sonic maximizer with modest adjustments for a quick but great sounding fix. Your powered speakers should already have a crossover in them (your Mackies definitely do)...

No you don't need one.

Honestly though, how hard do you expect a 300w sub to hit? I have more power in my car audio than that sub has lol.

+2 JL Audio 10W0's

That JBL should be hitting hard. Make sure your phase is correct (the polarity swtich in/out). Sometimes if your phase is off, it'll negate the any other bass being produced in the system especially if the outputs from the sub are THRU and not High Pass.

Try flipping that polarity switch first and see if the bass changes.

Your best bet is to run your mixer outputs to your sub first them high pass them to your mid/highs.

we just got a Driverack PX for our Mackie System (2 SR 1530s, 3SA1801s) and it has made quite a difference.

The only adjustments we have made so far are in the crossover points and the volume of the sends. The driverack adds volume adjustment to the 1530s which have no gain knob on the back.

So far we have found that taking a little bit off of the bottom of the sub gives us more punch, likewise with the tops. The crossover built into the Mackies is very limited. Plus now we have stereo tops and mono subs.

the price just went up, but its worth every penny.

+1 on what diablo said too, that switch can fuck you up

The JBL will in no means be enough hard "punch" for the 2 SRMs. If you're looking for a definite "thump", you need at LEAST as much bottom power (sub watts) as you do top power (main speaker watts).

Each SRM is 400watts, so you're pushing 800w top vs 300w bottom. There will be noticeable bass, but in no means will you have the "i feel the vibration from the bass in my lungs/the bass makes my leg hairs shake" effect, unless you max out your sub and basically overpower it and blow it eventually.

Most def...Invest in a DBX Driverack. It makes a big difference

I also own a mackie system (2 450's and 2 1501 subs). I have found that a crossover helps them sound better. I know most people like the punch of a subwoofer, but for some of the stuff I do I need that "woooomph" sound and I cant get that with the crossover already in the mackie subs so I cross the subs over just a lil lower between 55-80 hertz. By the way, the driverack is pretty cool. I use one from time to time but I still love the feel of analog eq's, crossovers and compressors.

Oh on another not, I didn't like the driverack at first because it made the subs sound too "mid-rangish," but when I finally got the chance to study it, I found out that I had the bandwiths wrong for the subs. THAT MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

I don't understand this. Why would you need the crossover on the DriveRack when your subs already have one built in. Your Mackie tops has it already as well.

I now have QSC powered speakers. That DriveRack sounds cool though.

Oh, I used the driverack for my non powered system but I have used a crossover for my mackie system. Call me crazy but the 450's still put out a lil bass so I used the crossover for that and the bass to make them lower.

How do you have it all wired?

You should be going to the sub first, then running high pass out to the tops.

You don't need anything else.

If you have a problem with that then switch the output on the to thru. That will give you double coverage in the 55Hz-300Hz range. The only issue with that is wave propogation you'll have to deal with that will cause dead spots of bass on the dance floor.


If you do decide to get a cross over like the driverack or Behringer DCX2496 then I'd cross over somewhere in the 150 hz range to really push the lows to the sub and allow the mid-bass to hit on the mackies. You should be able to run all the gains a little hotter this way as well.

I use the old version of the driverack (seperate dbx eq, crossover and compressor because I rent out this system). But yes, before all of that I was going into the sub first then in to the top but the horns sound a lil too harsh so I had to get an eq to turn the highs in the horn down. It's all about preference, I like the way the system sounds with a seperate crossover.