Going to buy some Mackie gear

[Chas]

Hey guys,

I am contemplating buying Mackie HR824 studio monitors, they will cost me about $850 for a pair. OR I can go out and buy a new pair of KRK RP8G2 for about $900. My question, is it worth buying the old gear which was top of the range back in 1998 or are these KRK's even better?

Similar story with the Mackie 1604-VLZ Pro 16 Channel Mixer. I can go out and buy one for about $500 OR I can spend the same amount of money on a new Mackie 1402 VLZ3 14 Channel Mixer - less channels, but newer and better features I think?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Chas

[OriginalJambo]

I'm hardly the authority on studio monitor speakers, but I've had some experience with HR824s (the original mk Is) and I think they sound fantastic!

I'd definitely spring for them if you can - I think it's also safe to assume they'll hold their value better than the KRKs.

[Chas]

Thanks OJ,

Yes I have heard they are really great monitors.

But so many pros (Ed Cherney!) use KRK's now!



... =P~

[Chas]

That said, their flagship monitors in the background there appear to be KRK E8B Expose, which cost thousands.

Chas

[Chas]

Any more opinions on the monitors, any thoughts on what I should do regarding the Mackie mixers?

Thanks!

Chas

[mung]

The mackies are great! We have a pair of those in one of the studios at my school, they're great to work with.

KRK's are good also, I have a pair of VXT 6's and they do the job for my home studio.

[trevordutton]

Hey,
I've got the Mackie 824s and really like them. Also got some of their other gear (24 channel Onyx mixer, Onyx 400F audio interface) and really like it all. Outstanding 'bang for buck' ratio with Mackie stuff.

[thefleeingloaf]

I have an older Mackie 14-channel mixer, and it sound fantastic. It's got a nice warm analogue sound. I'm not sure what upgrades Mackie has made on their newer ones, but I'd say that if you need those extra two channels, you can buy the older 16-channel one with confidence.

[IllElectro]

I had a pair of Mackie HR824 studio monitors mk1, they sounded fantastic but on the flip side the mixes i did with those didnt translate well to other systems. It was like a make believe fantasy hearing mixes coming from those speakers. I replaced them with with Events Tr8 which gave me a better idea of where my mix was actually at.

[Solderman]

I've had a pair of HR824 mkI's now for about 6 years. The trick with using them to mix properly is partly knowing which settings on the rear to use for distance from the wall and room size. This is mainly for bass, since they use an internal passive radiator for low end. You should always treat your room with bass traps and the like, for any studio monitors, but considering there's no seperate sub you could place in a seperate, possibly more ideal location, it limits your bass accuracy placement options.

One thing I've found about the lower mid-range: If they aren't elevated from the desk, at least somewhat, this spectral range seems to resonate a little too much.

Finally, and this is the one that rings especially true for the HR824's, the tweeters sound too "nice" above around 8khz, compared to alot of more brutally honest studio monitors. You may be able to adjust your ears to this, or maybe not. I tend to listen for "not nice", and otherwise leave the upper spectrum alone.