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Mackie Thump Go Bluetooth Enabled Battery Powered Speakers.

Mackie has been smart in bringing to life the Thump Go speakers as they are fundamentally loaded to deliver killer punches, time & again. Sonotone Audio LLP, the distribution company for Mackie, kindly sent a pair for us to review. The retail price of each Thump Go is Rs.60000/- (Email us at hifihunt1@gmail.com for further information)

Armed with :

Bluetooth gives the convenience to let the users take the thump go’s pretty much anywhere and stream their choice of music/content via their phones, tablets & what have you. The Thump Connect 2 streaming & controls app is easy to use, has all the features available on the back panel of the speakers, does the job seamlessly & is available for android & iOS users. The pairing was seamless as was the stereo pairing by means of pressing the link button, that is next to the Bluetooth pairing button.

2 Channel digital mixer & XLR Mic output controls are placed on the rear right side of the enclosure, All the buttons are neatly labelled & their functions being self explanatory. The end user can pretty much set up the speakers to their desired preferences within a few seconds, based on the application. EQ Curves are also printed below the controls for ones reference. The power ON/OFF rocker switch is placed at the bottom end of the rear center of the enclosure. A green light strip below the speaker grille bottom lights up when the speaker is powered ON. It can be switched off if so desired, via a button at the rear. Personally speaking, we would have liked the green ring around the Mackie logo to be lit, but then that is just nit picking.

The battery power gives them enough juice to drive these efficient Class D amped speakers for a pretty long duration of upto 12 hours (as claimed by Mackie) mainly depending on the volume levels certainly but as per our hands on experience, 8 hours at full tilt, quite consistently. The battery pack is removeable and one doesn’t require any tools, the screws can be undone using coins or a pick, can be swapped with another in a matter of seconds, so that one can continue to remain wireless & charge the drained battery separately. Mackie has spare batteries, speaker carrying bags & mounting poles sold separately as accessories.

The light weight moulded cabinet enclosures come with powder coated steel grilles. The Thump Go’s have a relatively slim form factor & are quite portable to carry around(the handle on top is brilliantly integrated into the enclosure), making the thump go’s a pleasure to carry from gig to gig, or party to party, effortlessly. They can also be placed at the desired 45 degree monitor angle, if so desired or pole mounted. Flexibility built in is definitely a bonus. ‘Built like a tank’ text with a tank illustration is what Mackie have proudly printed on top of the packing cartons!

The 2 way speaker design has a 1” compression drive tweeter with an 8” woofer powered by a 200W Class D amplifier, seamlessly and efficiently enough to make these play on the battery power for long enough that the end user would most certainly appreciate.

4 Way voicing modes give the options of playing for Music/Speech/Monitor/Sub

Again making these versatile for any situation, including dedicated indoor & outdoor modes.

Necessary features of music ducking mode, which automatically lowers Ch2 levels, when Ch1 receives a signal. Ideal for DJ’s & Compere’s. Feedback eliminator mode prevents nasty unwanted squeals and undesired rumbling.

Box Packing – 5/5

Well packed in cardboard boxes, having pretty much all the relevant info printed on the boxes makes it educational & convenient to one & all. The ‘Dog Not Included’ message gave us a good laugh. Thermocole inserts at the top & bottom ensure that the speakers remain in place & safe from getting damaged in transit, are easy to unpack & reuse for future shifting. Good job Mackie.

Contents – 1 Speaker with battery pack, 1 Power Cord(Schuko Plug), 1 Instructions Leaflet

Design – 4/5

The Cabinet of the Thump Go is moulded black plastic that is quite nicely finished and looks the part with regards to texture & feel as well. Mackie could probably give some color options to really make the thump go’s stand out against it’s competition. The grab handle is very conveniently integrated into the top part of the enclosure, with a green strip to break the otherwise black monotony of the enclosure, making it stand out. Overall, the appearance not only looks quite good, it also seems to be durable for the multiple journeys that one will most certainly be making with the speakers. Mackie sells carrying bags separately as an accessory, which one should most certainly purchase to ensure the Thump Go’s look the part as far as appearance maintenance is concerned.

Sound – 4/5

Play any type of music, the Thump Go’s just perform, no questions asked. We played pretty much everything under the sun to see what would be the Thump Go’s reactions, but they never flinched even once. Western classical, sure. Indian classicial, why not? Hard rock & Heavy Metal, yes please. Electronics & Dance Music, hell yea! The Thump Go’s just go about their merry way at playing what you want, when you want & where you want, no questions asked! Audiophile tracks ? Yea, they shine as well – duh!

You want volume to be dialed up, certainly you do as the Thump Go’s just demand that you do exactly that. Deep dive bombing is the cliché that works very well with the Thump Go’s. At full tilt, the cabinets do resonate which Mackie could probably have taken care of with better cabinet bracing & insulation.

Verdict – 4/5

Never has been the Mackie ‘Running Man’ figure so relevant than for the Thump Go’s! A winner as far as we are concerned as the Thump Go’s open up a new market segment that converges pro & home audio requirements with the desired results. Bluetooth & Stereo pairing are definitely the USP’s that make the Thump Go a pleasure to start any party / get together truly wirelessly! We foresee a huge opportunity for Mackie to make decent in roads into both segments as the Thump Go’s are really good. We hope that the marketing team at Sonotone Audio LLP, go all out to promote the Thump Go’s as they surely deserve to be heard by a larger audience.

Specifications :

· Model: Mackie THUMP GO

· Frequency Response: 57Hz – 20kHz

· Radiation behavior: 90 x 60 degrees

· Maximum sound pressure: 115 dB

· Total power: 200 watts peak

· Driver assembly: 8/1 inch

· Separation frequency: 2000 Hz

· Inputs: 2 x mic/line combo jacks, 1 x mini jack, 1 x Bluetooth

· Output: XLR Through

· Power supply: cold device socket (100 – 240 VAC), lithium-ion battery

· Protection circuits: Peak & RMS limiter, temperature protection for power supply and amplifier

· Remote control: yes, via an app

· Dimensions (H x W x D): 457 x 230 x 285 mm

· Weight: 8kg

The New RS150 and RS250 Feature Easy Streaming Options for Modern Listening

Binghamton, NY – December 10, 2021 – McIntosh is proud to introduce its iconic sonic quality in the new RS150 Wireless Loudspeaker and RS250 Wireless Loudspeaker System. The RS150 is a user-friendly and compact wireless speaker delivering a larger-than-life home audio sound performance. The RS250 is McIntosh’s most advanced and powerful home audio wireless speaker system to date.

Both the mono RS150 and stereo RS250 are stand-alone, complete wireless speaker solutions. The new models do not require a dedicated control app. Rather, each feature a variety of built-in streaming “cast-to” technologies including Spotify® Connect, TIDAL® Connect, Apple® AirPlay® 2, Bluetooth®, Chromecast, and Roon Ready – allowing users to easily stream from their smart devices.

The RS150 Wireless Loudspeaker

 Serves as an entry-level experience of McIntosh’s legendary sound and performance standards

 Built in a moderate size that can fit in almost any home listening setting

 Updated version of the successful RS100, replacing the predeceasing unit with double the power output (from 60 Watts total power to 120 Watts total power)

 Directly connects to popular streaming apps that use compatible casting technologies

 Woofer enlarged from a 4″ to 5-1/4″ diameter driver, 90 Watts of power and a larger, reengineered encloser resulting in higher output with lower distortion and deeper bass extension

 Easily removable speaker grille if user prefers to expose the woofer and tweeter

 Bass control has also been added to fine-tune the low-end performance based on unique room characteristics and listening preferences

 The design resembles the traditional McIntosh aesthetic, with a glass front panel on the lower section of the speaker

The RS250 Wireless Loudspeaker System

 Includes virtually everything needed to enjoy music streaming from any device

 Features turntable connectivity via the dedicated phono input

 Ability to connect to television via an audio-only HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) input for better audio performance when watching favorite shows, movies, or sports, the system further includes that connects to ARC compatible TV’s

 Offers a sizeable 650 Watts of total power that is delivered to two 4″ x 6″ woofers, four 2″ midranges, and two ¾” tweeters

 The midranges and tweeters are front firing, while the woofers are down firing with the sound emanating from under the main chassis just above the base plate

 The woofer enclosure has been reengineered to reduce distortion with improved bass control to fine tune the low-end performance

 To enhance low frequencies even more, it can be connected to an external powered subwoofer

 To enjoy non-streaming music, the RS250 has an optical input to connect digital sources and a 3.5mm AUX input for connecting other music sources, also featuring a ¼” headphone jack on the front panel permits personal listening

 The RS250 is versatile enough to serve as the hub of a modern home audio and entertainment system

Shared Features of the RS150 and RS250

 Both can conveniently be controlled directly from favorite streaming apps that use compatible casting technologies.

 Compatible with TIDAL HiFi’s Hi-Res playback of 24-bit/192kHz high-resolution digital music files

 With their built-in high-resolution streaming capabilities, both are Roon Ready endpoint devices

*Roon Ready network devices have Roon’s streaming technology built in, and are certified by Roon Labs to provide the highest level of quality and performance in network streaming.

 Use Bluetooth 5.0 with support for both the high bitrate Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) standard as well as Qualcomm® aptX™ HD for hi res audio playback, and Qualcomm aptX Low Latency for improved synching between audio and video

 A new illuminated digital output meter uses the same trusted circuits found in McIntosh’s analog meters to collect and process the audio signals; it then digitizes the results and outputs them into a pulsating, gradated bar that shares the curved shape of their familiar analog meters

 Include a wired ethernet port while also supporting Wi-Fi protocols a, b, g, n, and ac.

 Units are Google Assistant compatible for voice control

*Google Assistant voice control requires use of a third-party Google Assistant device with voice recognition (sold separately). The RS150 and RS250 do not have voice recognition capabilities. The RS150, RS250, and Google Assistant device must be on the same network.

Pricing and Availability
Orders for the RS150 and RS250 can now be placed with Authorized McIntosh dealers. Shipping to the United States and Canada is expected to begin in December 2021 for RS150, and January 2022 for RS250. Shipping to the rest of the world will follow shortly thereafter for each product.

Suggested retail price (VAT, shipping and any customs duties related to current standards of individual countries are excluded):

RS150: $1,200 USD
RS250: $3,000 USD