Anyone familiar with the MAC 250 - MAC 600?

[cfmiami]

Hey guys let me hear what anyone has to say in regards to the Martin MAC 250s through the MAC 600s moving heads.

[CavezziMagnum]

I can tell you right now, in our inventory, we have over a dozen of the MAC 250s. They are great. It has great attributes, and has a lot of punch for a relatively smaller instrument. They are a lot quieter than most and are very easy to learn and manipulate. Two Thumbs Up!

[soundlight]

1st gen or 2nd gen series?

1st gen: original 250 and 250+, 300, 500, 600
2nd gen: 250 Entour, Krypton, and wash, 550, 575 Krypton

I have to say that I tested 250s, 250 Entours, and 500s in the shop this summer. The 250 has decent output for a fixture of its size. The 500s are just old, the place that I worked has some of the really early production ones. The 250 Entours, however, appeared to easily outshine our 500s (250W vs. 575W lamp). Of course, this is definitely due to the fact that the optical train of the MAC500s is 10 years old and that of the Entours less than 10 months, but still. Optics have come a long way. I'd take a new 250 Entour over a 10-year-old MAC500 any day.

[sk8rsdad]

I used the 250 Entours in a recent show and was pretty impressed with what they were able to do. I don't have any experience with the 600.

I wish some manufacturer made a quiet 250 profile with a 15-30 degree zoom feature, maybe a junior Martin MAC 550 or HES Studio Spot 575Z. A 250 is plenty bright enough for smaller venues like ours, but the fixed beam angle limits its versatility.

[Footer]

I have 4 mac250 kryptons in my inventory. They are well made and pretty fast fixtures. The gobo package it ships with is junk, as well as the colors it ships with (for theatre at least). No iris is a bummer, but they are cheap fixtures.

As weird as I sound saying this, you might want to look into the Elation moving head line if you are on a budget and won't be seeing the road. I have used the elation 250 fixture and as far as output and image quality they are identical. The elation fixture is a bit louder and a bit slower.

[soundlight]

Originally Posted by sk8rsdad

I used the 250 Entours in a recent show and was pretty impressed with what they were able to do. I don't have any experience with the 600.

I wish some manufacturer made a quiet 250 profile with a 15-30 degree zoom feature, maybe a junior Martin MAC 550 or HES Studio Spot 575Z. A 250 is plenty bright enough for smaller venues like ours, but the fixed beam angle limits its versatility.

Clay Paky's got you covered. Alpha Spot HPE 300. It's 300W, not 250W, but still. Nice fixture for smaller theaters. US distribution is through PRG if I remember correctly. I haven't actually used one, but I've heard good reports on clay paky fixtures from alot of people.

From what I've seen, Coemar's about to come out with a very similar product at LDI.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by cfmiami

Hey guys let me hear what anyone has to say in regards to the Martin MAC 250s through the MAC 600s moving heads.

One place I work used to have 40x MAC500s and 40x MAC600s. Real workhorses, but they have since been replaced with VL2500Spots and VL2000Washes, which I feel are the best fixtures in the class.

[icewolf08]

The other thing that I think that some of our regulars have failed to mention is that you are asking about a very wide range of fixtures. Some are profiles some are washes. I think you need to tell us a little more about the application for these fixtures that you are interested in. What is your space like? What is your budget like?

Martin fixtures are good, solid fixtures from the bottom of the line up to the top, however, I assume that your are looking for info before you purchase, so if you give us some more focused details and questions, we can better help you make a choice or give opinions/advice.

[cfmiami]

Its about $8,000. Space wise picture a big movie theatre.

What I have listen is:
2 - Elation Design Spot 250 Wash
2 - Elation Design Spot 250 Pro
Hog 3PC Software

What do you all think? Anything better for that budget?

[icewolf08]

Originally Posted by cfmiami

Its about $8,000. Space wise picture a big movie theatre.

What I have listen is:
2 - Elation Design Spot 250 Wash
2 - Elation Design Spot 250 Pro
Hog 3PC Software

What do you all think? Anything better for that budget?

First off, what are you planning to do with the gear in a movie theatre? Second, how did we get from Martin fixtures to Elation (not that I have anything against Elation as I own some)? My point is, if you are specific about what you want to be able to accomplish it is easier to make suggestions. Are the Elation fixtures you mentioned good fixtures? Yes, but even so, it depends on what you want to do with them. The same goes for the Martin fixtures that you asked about earlier.