Maintaining speakers
Is playing speakers at the point just below where they are hitting the red overload light going to ruin them/blow them over time? Or is it only wrecking them if the overload light is flashing?
Just wondering as I’m about to buy some referring to Mackie Thumps.
Cheers
You should be fine.Running speakers hard is not damaging, overloading is.
Having said that, If you are constantly running you rig to its limits it may be time to consider adding some more boxes.
Its always good to have headroom. I usually have a slightly bigger system than is really required, just in case I need a little extra oomph.
Mackies are a pretty good choice by they way
Red lights are generally bad…but they also lie.
Get a hard limiter. Set the limiter using a test tone, and measure the voltage coming from the amp. Run with confidence.
I’m sure most decent speakers could handle running near their limits, but I just feel that pushing anything to their limits, frequently will cause a lowered life span. Considering the costs involved, getting large enough units that would leave you with plenty of headroom wouldn’t be putting any undue stress on them, therefore extending their lives…
Compare it to cars.. running it close to the red-line all the time WILL put extra wear and tear on the engine, while it likely won’t destroy it… The chances are most certainly higher.
Cheers, thanks guys. Am now the proud owner of a pair of Thumps 
I’ve seen Mackie SRM 450’s overheat and turn off a ton of times. Thumps I’m not sure of but I know the SRM’s are way more expensive and still overheat. They also get blown a lot. So with something half the price by the same company, I’d be a little worried. If you don’t take them out of your bedroom than your fine. A well made speaker will have limiters that prevent damage to the speaker(what a concept). I have QSC K12 which I like way better than my Mackie SRM 450. If your staying cheap, I recommend a B-52 Matrix system. For 700 bucks you can get 2 tops and a sub, and it totally bumps(crushes the thumps). Heavy as hell though.
Too late…
I’m mainly going to be using them for mobile DJ stuff so their lightness and mobility is going to be super handy. Plus I’m only going to be using them at house parties of 60-100 people (ie a dancefloor of 20-30) so I doubt I’ll be thumping them at full pelt all the time.
I’ve never heard of 450’s overheating but I have heard of the processors blowing which sucks. Luckily I’ve got a year of warranty - won’t save me at a gig though…