Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The review's ground rules (i.e. my personal bias):
There are many speakers and amplifiers available for purchase by audiophiles, and many have substantial prices, i.e. above $2000 for each piece so that two speakers plus one amp would cost $6000. Some people simply perceive higher priced product offerings as being more desirable, while other people want to buy what they consider to be "high actual value received for money well spent" products that they find perform just as well as those higher priced products while costing less money. People in this latter group do not want a "high perceived value", but rather a "high actual value". I am in the latter category. I consider the Mackie HR824 to be intended for those who want a "high actual value".
The background:
The Mackie HR824 is a powered and servo-feedback controlled studio monitor. Most engineers will likely understand servo-feedback control. If you do not, you can Google or Bing "servo-feedback control". I have found that cone bass loudspeakers or subwoofers which lack servo-feedback control will not blend with membrane speakers such as the Magnepan Tympani. Likewise one could use a Velodyne 15" servo-sub with non-servo "full-range" cone loudspeakers and discover a similar blending problem. Servo-feedback control simply provides a more detailed as well as a more accurate output from a cone loudspeaker. Of course that servo-feedback controlled cone loudspeaker will by necessity have its own amplifier.
Prices:
The HR824mk2 had crept up from $600 each to $650 each, and now they seem to have crept up to $680 each. I found no reasons for this price creep except that the mk2 "may be" (temporarily?) out of production. Perhaps a "mk3" version is in the wings? I have no idea.
The preliminary details:
Each Mackie HR824/HR824mk2 comes with its own anechoic frequency response calibration graph. I now have SIX individual Mackie HR824/HR824mk2 anechoic frequency response calibration graphs, and all are very smooth with slightly different but gentle output-versus-frequency variations of plus or minus 1 dB. If a speaker has a ragged anechoic frequency response, its response will not be any smoother in your listening room. There are switches on the rear to adjust the speaker's output, for example to compensate for placement in a corner, near a wall, or away from all room surfaces.
The HR824mk2 features a beautiful gloss piano black finish on its very solid wood enclosure. The piano black finish of a new mk2 speaker is covered with a removable clear plastic film. My concern is that dings to the piano black finish would be very visible, and more visible than dings would be on a wood-veneered cabinet, so I left that plastic film on and I simply cleaned it with Black Magic liquid car wax for a pleasing result. I placed the speakers on slightly oversized pieces of black boat trailer bunk fabric. The HR824mk2 is simply a lot sharper looking than the original HR824, and it looks sharp even though it does not have a grill cloth.
The performance details:
"The cast aluminum Zero Edge Baffle(tm) is black anodized AL and is curved and shaped to minimize diffraction resulting in clear imaging." I had really doubted this. Then I found that a centered announcer's or singer's voice reproduced by a pair of HR824mk2's and heard from 20 feet away seemed to come from a 1" diameter circle, while a centered announcer's or singer's voice reproduced by a pair of the original HR824's and heard from 20 feet away seemed to come from a 5" diameter circle. Also the HR824mk2 tweeter seems to be a little finer sounding than the original HR824 tweeter, but both remain smooth and pleasant.
The conclusion:
The HR824 and the HR824mk2 are both neutral and uncolored. I bought our original HR824 speakers as new closeouts for $400 each after the HR824mk2 was announced, and the original HR824 work very well. But in a direct comparison the HR824mk2 offers better aesthetics and does the better job. I am sure that the HR824mk2 and the original HR824 provide very accurate performance that is well beyond the money spent.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Mackie HR824mkii 8-inch2-Way Studio Monitor (Single Speaker)
Our HR824mk2 and HR624mk2 high-resolution Active studio reference monitors represent the evolution of revolutionary thinking. Our engineers, joined by audio gurus from EAW, worked hard to conceive of a way to preserve the all-important character of the original HR, while delivering performance-as well as appearance-that's better than ever. And even moreso than the original HR824 and HR624, which were designed apart from each other, the HR824mk2 and HR624mk2 are part of the same family, true siblings in design and sound. Sharing the same engineering, they are created to work together, whether in surround systems, or as part of complementary monitoring setups in different sized rooms
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