Yamaha MSR250 Powered PA Cabinet (250 Watts, 1x10")

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zZounds Gear Experts Say...
Blow your audience away with this powered cabinet from Yamaha. It uses acoustic insulation to minimize interference and dish out voluminous sound.

Sound bouncing around inside a speaker cabinet can have a significant effect on the sound that comes out. The biggest problem is standing waves that commonly occur between parallel surfaces. Standing waves can interfere with and color the speaker's output, thus degrading sound quality. The standard solution is acoustic insulation material inside the cabinet, which does help, but it doesn't address the underlying problem of cabinet geometry. Yamaha has gone the extra mile in designing the MSR250 and MSR450 cabinets, employing a unique configuration that eliminates parallel interior surfaces and therefore the root cause of standing waves. Acoustic insulation is also applied to effectively deaden the space inside the enclosure. Elimination of unwanted sound inside the cabinet means that optimum sound can be delivered to where it counts the most: your audience.

Ferrofluid Cooling

Any technology that involves power also involves heat, and this can result in compromised performance if heat generation is not effectively controlled. The current driving a speaker generates heat in the voice coil that, in extreme cases, can cause the speaker to burn out. But even if the speaker doesn't actually burn out, that heat still results in inefficiency and non-linearity that degrade overall performance. As the power and heat increase, the resistance of the voice coil increases as well, causing power compression, a loss in acoustic output that reduces the system's dynamic range. This problem read more is overcome in the MSR100 and MSR250 by placing an advanced ferrofluid in the voice coil gap, where it serves to conduct heat away from the voice coil with much greater efficiency than air. The results are smooth, natural frequency response and dynamics as well as stable performance even under heavy use.

Portable, Compact Solutions

Powered speakers offer many advantages over their passive counterparts, whether used on the road or in permanent installations. You don't need separate amplifiers or the extra cables and connections required, so setup is fast and easy while reliability is significantly improved. The ability to plug directly into the speaker inputs can eliminate an entire rack of amplifiers in a modest-size system. But the benefits go beyond mere convenience. 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.

The Yamaha MSR-series power amplifiers have been ideally mated to their respective speakers in every way possible, delivering reproduction quality that only the most stringent matching can achieve. There are also a significant number of Yamaha refinements that put these extraordinary powered speakers in a class of their own, including an original cabinet design that eliminates internal standing waves and ferrofluid cooled voice coils for superior stability and linearity.

The MSR250, MSR400 or MSR100 powered speakers can be used alone or in combination with the MSR800W powered subwoofer to create sound reinforcement systems from modest to massive that will sound superb while delivering the power and coverage you need for success in just about any venue or at any event. They look great too, and can be used as-is in many permanent installations without requiring any cosmetic cover-up. They're more than rugged enough for demanding tour applications as well.

High-quality Portable Power

The MSR250 delivers the ideal blend of power, performance, features, and portability for an exceptionally wide range of applications. A recently designed class D amplifier delivers 250 watts of clean, dynamic power via a high-performance 10-inch cone woofer and 1-inch titanium-dome compression driver that match up perfectly for smooth, uncolored response from 55 Hz to 20 kHz. The woofer has an oversized 2.5-inch aluminum voice coila size you'd normally see on a 15-inch wooferthat contributes to outstanding sound and durability. With all this power and performance the big surprise is how light and manageable this advanced powered speaker is.

Versatile Dual-channel Input Configuration

For extra input flexibility the MSR250 features dual input channels, each with it's own low and high equalizer controls and level control. The signals from the two inputs are mixed and delivered via the MSR250 speakers as well as the rear-panel line out connector, allowing convenient linking to other speakers or audio devices for easy system expansion (the MSR250 is a perfect expansion speaker for Yamaha's Stagepas 250M compact sound system). Input 1 has balanced XLR and phone jack connectors that accept microphone or line input, and input 2/3 is actually a mixing input in its own right with phone jack and two pin jack connectors.

Built for Heavy Duty Use

Although it's lightweight and easy to handle, the MSR250 is exceptionally durable and will take the most demanding tours in stride. It's also designed to be used in a variety of situations, including normal upright and wedge-style floor monitor operation. There's also a built-in pole-mount receptacle for convenient stand mounting.
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- Type: 2-way Powered Speaker
- Crossover Frequency: 4 kHz (LF, HF: 12 dB/oct.)
- Overall Frequency Response: 55Hz - 20kHz (-10dB)
- Maximum SPL: 116dB (1m on Axis)
- Dispersion: 90*(H) / 40* (V)
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 13 1/2 x 21 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.
- Weight: 14.1 kg (31.1 lbs.)

Speaker Section
Components:
- LF: 10* Cone
- HF: 1* V.C. Compression Driver

Enclosure:
- Type: Bass-reflex Type
- Material: Polypropylene Finish

- Suspension/Mounting: 35-36 mm pole socket
- Mounting Screws *2: M8 x 2

Amplifier Section
- Class: Class D
- Output Power: 200 W at 1 kHz. THD=1 %, RL=4 ohm
- Maximum Power: 250 W
- Input Sensitivity/Impedance: INPUT 1 (XLR): -60 dBu (Mic)/-30 dBu (Line),(PHONE): -50 dBu (Mic)/-20 dBu (Line), INPUT 2/3: -20 dBu

Input/Output Connectors:
- INPUT 1: XLR-3-31/PHONE (balanced)
- INPUT 2/3: PHONE/RCA-PIN (unbalanced)
- LINK OUT: PHONE (unbalanced)

Controls:
- LEVEL CONTROL: INPUT 1, 2/3,
- EQ. LOW: +/- 3 dB at 60 Hz,
- HIGH: +/- 6 dB at 10 kHz,
- POWER Switch (ON/OFF)

Indicators:
- Power ON: Green LED
- Clipping: Red LED

Power Consumption: 40 Watts

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 714-522-9011
Web: https://usa.yamaha.com/support

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (5 ratings)
Submitted April 24, 2010 by a customer from msn.com

"This powered speaker will set you free."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This product will be in use by me for a long time coming. If it gets stolen, I would pay to have it recovered, and/or I would buy another without hesitation.
Sound
I play a Yamaha Motif and a Nord Electro through the MSR 250 as a keyboard monitor, and the sound is real, real good. Solid lows, pretty highs, and plenty of head room. Combined with a feed to the House, everything is perfect.
Features
The compression horn and the 10" speaker is a perfect combination of power, tone and portability (under 30lbs.!)
Ease of Use
The tone settings I use is set at 'flat'. Learning curve is set at just plugging into the MSR 250. The manual is dead on target. The sound is accurate in comparison with earphones (a very tough match).
Quality
The MSR 250 reached me in perfect shape, and, as almost all Yamaha products are shipped, with no problems at all. Road worthy is automatically expected, with the use of a good bag. I'll be using this powered speaker for a long time.
Value
The value for the MSR 250 is great; You get good gear for what you pay.
Manufacturer Support
I've never ever had the need to seek service for my Yamaha gear,, so I don't know how it works out. However, I think Yamaha is dependable and trustworthy.
The Wow Factor
It looks plain enough to warrant the suspicion that it's a wolf in sheep's clothing. No "leopard skin" foolish looks. It just comes at you full of tone and volume.

Musical Background:

Active Musician

Musical Style:

Oldies Rock, R&B
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