Mackie MR824 8" 2-Way Powered Studio Monitor (Single)

I Love an Underdog

These entry-level powered monitors ship at 29 lbs each.� The LSR308 ship at... um 23 lbs each?� Bad memory. So I watched that dude's video of the smaller ones & he wondered what the 8" sound like & so then I wondered & the rest is history.� They are slightly less tall than the LSR308s but heavier.� They are more musical and less analytical than the 308s but do not confuse that statement as me saying the are muddy like KRKs.� They are definitely not muddy.� Yes they have more bass than the 308s but they also have more mids.� Perhaps slightly exaggerated upper mids (could be ear bias from my other speakers) so they should play nice with a Denon TT cartridge I have.� In my opinion they just sound better than the JBL LSR 308s.� So why did I keep the 308's on my gaming rig? Well because I have the matching JBL sub & with the 80Hz crossover that takes the fuller sound advantage the Makies had away.� For gaming I want analytical speakers, so the JBLs win there.� Finally, listening to a specific live recording (just FLAC cd quality) the Mackie speaker made the guitar track sound recessed like the musician's cab was more towards the rear of the stage whereas the JBL's put that guitar right up in my face.� Having seen that concert on laser disk (yup I'm that old, & yes the neighbors kept calling the police because we were shaking their homes) I know exactly where that guitar level was supposed to be.� As I have been known to pick up a guitar from time to time, occasionally playing through VSTs I thought the JBLs would make better, um, guitar amps? Aesthetically the Mackies win.� They just do.� The company is really starting making an effort to recreate themselves here & it deserves to be said that if I didn't have a sub & I had to choose between the JBLs and the Mackies I'd choose the Mackies.� I had to know & now I know. *I don't like the asymmetry of the green lights.� It's a tough call guys.� If you try an RGB scheme you're looking at a price hike & you risk looking tacky because if you put the effort into RGB you're going to want bigger, perhaps wrapping around the sides a bit? No. I'd have to see multiple options in <insert your preferred 3d app here> before I'd green-light the prototype.� But if done right it could be a nice feature on the next gen or special edition.� Include a remote.� What you've got now is real sleek, subtle & classy.� Well done.� Gimme symmetry & we're good.� Two lights - each side?� I don't want them to look off center in the dark.� It pulls me out of the music, but that's just me. *Tested with Mogami Gold balanced TRS cables & a 2017 AM4 MOBO that has specific DAC usb ports.� However for some left - right testing I just go to youtube.� Same with the Hz sweep.� These do dig low & go ear ringingly high.� I put these in a large home office with a tall multi-angled ceiling, hardwood floors, no acoustic treatment and no wall behind them (well a glass door about 11 ft away) & they still held in there against a 2.1 "computer speaker" setup, but naturally became less "musical."� I liked the rear ports about 3.5 ft away from a non-reflective wall.� Add a front port sub and you can get close to the wall if you cut them off below 80 Hz. Well done Mackie.