NS-10 with Mackie Powered Mixer

[nosleepPDX]

I guess what I mean is, I know it's a powered mixer intended for live usage, I've seen recommendations for ns-10 power amps to be 500w per channel, so if I run this low it's not going to blow the speakers correct?

[Purple]

Impedance is just as important as wattage! The 300w vs 600w is likely to be between different impedances (4ohm and 8ohm). Check the manual/back of the mixer.

And don't under-power them. If you do this and then start to push the amp you'll fry your tweeters in no time. Better to overpower them if anything to ensure they get a nice clean signal at all times.

[Rappy]

I think it would work just fine. I'm pretty sure when you go "preamp in" on the Mackie it bypasses the graphic EQs, which is good. Hopefully the master volume still works so start with that turned ALL the way down. Play some music through it and SLOWLY turn it up. Remember, NS-10s aren't supposed to be screaming loud. NS-10s can handle 60W (program) and I think 100W (peak) at 8 ohms. Rule of thumb is you should use a power amp that is 150% to 200% HIGHER than what the speaker is designed to handle before distorting. That way you never push the amp into clipping territory and send square waves to the speakers, which can be very damaging. Mackie claims that 808S puts out 300W per channel at 8 ohms. It might be less than that because they tend to exaggerate. That's more than you need for the NS-10s but if you keep the master down low it should be fine.

Good luck,
Rappy

[nosleepPDX]

Originally Posted by Purple

Impedance is just as important as wattage! The 300w vs 600w is likely to be between different impedances (4ohm and 8ohm). Check the manual/back of the mixer.

And don't under-power them. If you do this and then start to push the amp you'll fry your tweeters in no time. Better to overpower them if anything to ensure they get a nice clean signal at all times.

The 3 / 600 watt thing is because there are two 600 watt power amps (so you can run one for mains and one for monitors in a live situation). So you can run one at 3 per channel. There won't be a 300 watt difference between 4 and 8 ohms.. The power amp isn't going to output 300 more watts, that's a lot. But thanks!

[nosleepPDX]

Originally Posted by Rappy

I think it would work just fine. I'm pretty sure when you go "preamp in" on the Mackie it bypasses the graphic EQs, which is good. Hopefully the master volume still works so start with that turned ALL the way down. Play some music through it and SLOWLY turn it up. Remember, NS-10s aren't supposed to be screaming loud. NS-10s can handle 60W (program) and I think 100W (peak) at 8 ohms. Rule of thumb is you should use a power amp that is 150% to 200% HIGHER than what the speaker is designed to handle before distorting. That way you never push the amp into clipping territory and send square waves to the speakers, which can be very damaging. Mackie claims that 808S puts out 300W per channel at 8 ohms. It might be less than that because they tend to exaggerate. That's more than you need for the NS-10s but if you keep the master down low it should be fine.

Good luck,
Rappy

sweet! This was my instinct but I wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy. Cheers!