Though I concur that the Mackie 450's sound first rate, after purchasing a pair myself (several years ago), I had to RETURN them, not only for their hefty weight, but for their unbalanced weight distrbution and their extremely slippery surface, making them even more difficult to ergonomically transport & manuever up onto pedestal stands. It took me a week to recover from the back pain.

For a larger venues, I've auditioned and highly recommend the 36 lb each ElectroVoice SxA360's instead. In fact, I plan to eventually (when funds allow) upgrade from my current EV Sx100 speakers to these even more aweseome & powerful sounidng (smooth response throughout with even richer bass) speakers. Believe it or not the SxA360's (at 36 lbs) weigh less than the SxA100's (42 lbs), and ergonomically balanced for transport & manuevering ease as well. - Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 05-21-2006).]