MSR800W

The MSR800W was developed with the same basic concepts as the MSR400 powered speaker: sophisticated design and powerful sound. With brawn and beauty that are a perfect match for the MSR400, the MSR800W is the ideal way to extend the low end and sonic impact of an MSR400 system … or any other system for that matter. It will integrate smoothly into existing speakers systems to deliver enhanced low-end in any live-sound application.

Much of the work in putting together a high-performance sound system involves amplifier and speaker selection and setup. Here are a pair of solutions that can take you directly to great sound without the usual complications. The MSR400 powered speaker can be used alone or in combination with the MSR800W powered subwoofer to assemble sound reinforcement systems from modest to massive. They look great, too. So good, in fact, that they can be used as-is in many permanent installations without requiring any cosmetic cover-up. And, of course, they're more than rugged enough for demanding tour applications as well.

With its bass reflex enclosure housing a 15-inch woofer and powerful built-in amplifier the MSR800W delivers solid lows with up to 800 watts of power (burst; 500 watts continuous). These are thunderous lows that you can feel, delivering the bass impact you need for dance music or live concerts.

Whether for use on the road or in permanent installations, powered speakers offer numerous advantages over their separate counterparts. The most obvious is that you don't need separate external amplifiers or the extra connections required – you can plug your mixer's outputs directly into the speaker inputs. In a modest-size system this alone can eliminate an entire rack of amplifiers. But there are sonic advantages as well. Optimum matching of amplifiers and speakers involves much more than simple impedance figures, and can be a formidable engineering task given the vast number of choices available. In the Yamaha MSR400 and MSR800W the internal amplifiers have been ideally mated to their respective speakers in every way possible, delivering reproduction quality that only such stringent matching can achieve.

The rear panel provides Thru and Bypass outputs that can be used to connect the MSR800W to other speakers in a variety of setups. Even if your mixer does not have a dedicated subwoofer output, the Bypass output makes it easy to construct a high-performance subwoofer system.

In this system, the main house speakers are a pair of MSR400s with speaker stands and MSR800W subwoofer, driven directly from the mixer's main stereo and mono outputs. The MSR400s feature punchy bass and exceptionally clear midrange that delivers vocals with outstanding quality. The MSR800W subwoofer takes care of the ultra-lows so the audience hears – and feels – the full impact of the music. A second pair of MSR400s is used for stage monitoring, connected via a graphic equalizer for feedback control.

The MSR800W has a frequency range of 40 to 120 Hz. It provides excellent coverage of the ultra-low range that's vital for commanding kick drum and bass sounds. A steep 18 dB/octave high-cut filter lets you adjust the upper roll-off of the frequency range reproduced by the sub-woofer from 80 to 100 Hz, for ideal matching with your source and the style of music you're reproducing.

The MSR800W powered subwoofer is the perfect companion for the MSR400, extending the low end and completing the musical spectrum for maximum punch and impact. The high-quality birch plywood bass-reflex cabinet houses a 15” cone woofer powered by an ultra-efficient burst 800 watts amplifier, a configuration that can deliver the elusive 40 Hz through 120 Hz frequency range with precision and authority. Two balanced XLR connectors are provided for connection to the source, and that same signal can be directly passed on to the main speakers via a pair of XLR “THRU” outputs. Alternatively, the main speakers can be fed by the MSR800W's dual “HIGH PASS” outputs, high-pass filtered at 80 Hz through100 Hz, depending on the setting of the cutoff frequency control, with a steep 18 dB/octave cutoff slope.

Both the MSR400 and MSR800W feature LED power indicators as well as clip indicators that warn of impending clipping. This allows the engineer to make appropriate adjustments to the source level.