Passive speakers for an aggressive sound.
The Mackie S515 is a passive loudspeaker with a 15" LF driver and a wide-dispersion 90° x 50° high-frequency horn. It has a peak handling capacity of 1200 watts. It is an 8 ohm cabinet.
It is made of wood which, aside from being sturdy and all-natural, provides the best-possible response, extended low-frequency output without annoying rattles or vibrations. Plus, substantial internal bracing provides a more rigid enclosure, reducing nasty vibrations that could negatively affect sound quality.
Lastly, the entire acoustic chamber is air-displaced with adiabatic acoustic batting. This dampens internal midrange reflections so they can’t bleed back through the LF transducer cone and reach your ears, which causes inferior enclosures to sound “boxy.” This, along with LF porting, also allows Mackie S500 enclosures to deliver huge sound in a more compact design than otherwise possible.
The full-range S515 also features a highly-durable PVC vinyl covering that protects against the occasional ding or spilled drink. They also have protective edge bumpers. If you had roadies, these bumpers would keep them from messing your speakers up when they knock against a door jam or the floor of a beat-up van. As it is, they will prevent you from doing the same thing.
The bumpers also have built-in cups for stacking multiple full-range loudspeakers along with sturdy integrated side handles with an ergonomic design that’s great for transportation.
