Mackie C300z 12 inch Compact Passive PA Loudspeaker
The C300z is the passive answer to Mackie's powered SRM speakers. Same family of sound, no amplifier inside, which is exactly what you want when the power is already sitting in a rack or in a powered mixer and you would rather not carry it up a pole.
- 12 inch compact passive SR monitor in Mackie's C-Series, built around the sound quality the SRM Series powered speakers are known for.
- Road-worthy molded cabinet: rugged construction meant for loading in and out rather than sitting in one room forever.
- Custom designed high-output drivers matched to a precision tuned asymmetrical crossover for natural, high-fidelity sound.
- Fully flyable: suited to permanent install work in a small sanctuary, a youth room, a bar or a small club.
- Pairs with a powered mixer: a pair of C-Series cabinets and a Mackie PPM Series Powered Mixer makes a complete band PA with no separate amp rack.
- Or with a dedicated amplifier: add more cabinets and an FRS Series amplifier for a larger floor monitor rig.
- Accessory support: the PA-A1 Eyebolt Kit covers flying, the SPM200 pole handles stand mounting, and a fitted SRM450 and C300z bag is available for transport.
Passive loudspeakers never went away for a simple reason. Once you own amplification, adding cabinets is cheaper and lighter than buying another powered box, and every speaker in the system stays consistent because they all run off the same amp. The Mackie C300z is a 12 inch compact passive SR monitor built on that logic, carrying the sound quality of the SRM Series powered speakers into a design with nothing electronic inside.
What is in the cabinet
C-Series loudspeakers use rugged, road-worthy molded cabinets with custom designed high-output drivers. The crossover is precision tuned and asymmetrical, which is the part that does the real work: it hands off between woofer and horn in a way that keeps the response natural rather than leaving the familiar hard edge where two drivers meet. The result Mackie is aiming for is high-fidelity sound that holds together at working volume.
Building a system around it
Two obvious routes. A pair of C300z cabinets and a Mackie PPM Series Powered Mixer gives a band a complete PA with mixing and amplification in one box, which keeps the load-in short. If you already run a console, an FRS Series amplifier drives the cabinets and lets you add more of them later, including a floor monitor setup for the stage. Either way the C300z drops into an existing system without asking you to rethink it.
Install work
The C300z is fully flyable, so it suits fixed installations as much as portable use. Mackie point at small sanctuaries, youth rooms, bars and small clubs, which are the rooms where a 12 inch two-way is usually the right size: enough output for a full room, small enough to sit on a wall bracket without dominating the space. The PA-A1 Eyebolt Kit covers rigging hardware for C300 cabinets, and an SPM200 pole is available where you want it on a stand instead. For transport there is a fitted bag shared with the SRM450.