Mackie DLM12S
A 48-pound cube that puts 2,000 watts of Class D behind a single 12-inch woofer, and leaves it to the DSP to keep things sane.
Overview
The DLM12S is the subwoofer in Mackie's DLM Series powered loudspeaker line. It was announced in 2012 and shipping that October, according to the launch materials. The DLM8 and DLM12 full-range boxes carry the DL2 digital mixer and the sixteen effects. The sub is the simpler companion, but it is not a passive box. Mackie built it as an active subwoofer with its own Class D amplification and its own processing. It is rated at 2,000 watts peak and 1,000 watts continuous, the same power figure the company quotes across the whole DLM family.
The single 12-inch transducer sits in a cabinet measuring 17.9 x 16.4 x 17.9 inches and weighing 48 pounds. That is heavier than the 31-pound DLM12 top box it's meant to sit under. The proportions are nearly cube-like, which is the DLM line's signature. The cabinet is 15 mm poplar. It has an integrated pole cup so a full-range DLM can mount directly on top, plus fly points and other wall-mounting provisions for installs. Mix (March 2013, p.61) described the DLM12S as the companion 2,000W subwoofer to the DLM8 and DLM12, and noted it offers ample system protection and processing.
The I/O is where the DLM12S earns its keep in a small rig. It has stereo XLR inputs and stereo full-range and high-pass XLR outputs. The sub can take the mix, hand a high-passed signal back out to the tops, and act as the system's crossover point. A pair of DLM12S subs under DLM12 mains is a complete small PA with no external crossover or amp rack required.
The processing is built around Mackie's DLP digital processor, which provides a variable crossover, speaker modes for voicing, and system protection features. In the full-range DLM boxes the DLP pairs with the DL2 mixer and its 16 effects and multiband feedback destroyer. On the sub, the processing is oriented toward crossover and protection rather than mixing. The DLM12S does not carry the DL2's channel EQ or effects. Those live in the tops.
Period reception of the DLM line as a whole was warm. A Pro Audio Review writeup from June 2013, reviewing the full DLM system, called the series "among the most innovative lines introduced to the market in some time". It singled out the DL2 mixer and DLP processing as reasons to recommend the line even setting sound quality aside. That reviewer ran a full system - DLM12 mains, DLM8 monitors, and dual DLM12S subs - for a wedding reception with a live R&B band and pre-recorded dance music between sets. The entire PA plus a road-cased four-piece drum kit fit in the back of a Nissan Xterra.
The same review flagged one limitation: the DLM's 90-degree cylindrical coverage pattern is tight. A reviewer who swapped a band's usual center-stage wedge for a DLM8 found the players stage left and right couldn't hear the monitor mix the way they were used to, even though the center-stage vocalist and drummer had no trouble. That's a top-box observation. Still, it follows from the DLM family's design: controlled dispersion, compact boxes, DSP doing the heavy lifting. A buyer should know that before assuming the DLM12S will behave like a conventional wide-dispersion sub in every room.
Mackie's launch pricing put the DLM12S at $1,249.99 list, with the DLM8 at $879.99 and the DLM12 at $1,179.99. Those figures were quoted in the 2012 announcement and repeated in the 2013 review. The sub was the most expensive single box in the line, which makes sense given the amplifier and processing inside.
The DLM12S is a powered subwoofer from the early 2010s, not a vintage piece, and its value is functional rather than nostalgic. It gets bought to solve a specific problem - small rig, no outboard crossover, need a sub that matches the tops. The 48-pound weight is manageable for one person, the pole cup makes it a stand for a DLM12, and the high-pass outputs mean it can anchor a system without extra boxes. It is not a hi-fi subwoofer. It's a PA sub, tuned and processed for live sound.
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