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Mackie HR824 Mk2 & HR624 Mk2

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Inthisarticle:
Design&Construction
LittleBrother:The
HR624Mk2
Finetuning
Performance
Alternatives
MackieHR824Mk2&
HR624Mk2899/649
pros
Sensiblypriced.
Goodtonalbalance,with
plentyofbassextension.
Greatnewstyling.

cons
Connectorsareawkwardto
accessoncethespeakeris
inplace.

summary
Theseupdatesonexisting
favouriteshaveaslightly
classiersoundandmuch
bettercosmetics,yetthey
costlittlemorethantheir
predecessors.

information
HR824899HR624
649.Pricesperpair
includingVAT.
MackieUK+44(0)1268
571212.
+44(0)1268570809.
Clickheretoemail
www.mackie.com

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MackieHR824Mk2&HR624Mk2
ActiveStudioMonitors

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PublishedinSOSSeptember2007
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Reviews:Monitors

TheHRseriesmonitorshavebeenhugelypopular,but
Mackiehavestillmanagedtofindroomforimprovement.
PaulWhite

Mackie'sHRseriesofactivetwowaystudiomonitorsisoneofthecompany'sbig
successstories,asthesespeakersareinuseeverywherefromhomestudiosto
professionalfacilities.Nowthecompanyhavefinallylaunchedapairofsuccessors,
intheformoftheHR824Mk2andtheHR624Mk2.Thenamesmaynotshowalotof
imagination,butonelookatthenewspeakersshowsthatalothaschangedonthe
outside,andtherehavebeenafewchangesontheinsidetoo.

Design&Construction
ApparentlyEAW'sdesignteam,bestknownfortheirhighendlivesoundsystems,
hadmorethanapassinghandintheredesign(likeMackie,theyarepartofthe
LoudTechnologiesgroupofcompanies).ManufacturingiscarriedoutintheFar
East,asitisformuchoftheMackieproductlinethesedays.

Photos:MikeCameron

AsboththeHR824Mk2andHR624Mk2modelsarequitesimilar,otherthaninwoofersize,powerandfrequency
specifications,IdecidedtofocusonthelargerHR824Mk2,butI'vealsodiscussedtheHR624Mk2inaboxelswhereinthis
article.
ThefirstthingInoticedisthat,insteadoftheusualutilitarianblackashveneer,thedenseMDFcabinetshaveanew,shiny,
glossblack'piano'finish.Also,thoughmonitorsofthistypeproducethewidestsweetspotwhenstandingupright,Mackie
havemadetheirlogorotatable,soanyonewhoinsistsonsidewaysmountingcanatleasthavethelogotherightwayup!
Anotherobviouschangeistheplainrectangularbaffle,whichhasbeenreplacedbyabespokealuminiummouldingwitha
curvedfrontandradiusedcorners,butthisisn'tsimplyacosmetictweakthoseroundededgesreducediffraction,andthe
tweeterwaveguideismouldedintothebafflesothattheflareiscompletelysmooth.Asymmetricaldriverlayoutmeansthat
thereisnoneedforleftandrighthandedmodels.
At425x273x351mm,thenewcabinetisslightlylargerthantheoriginal,buttheconvectioncooledamplifierdesignis
essentiallythesame,thoughwithsometweakstomatchthenewdrivers.TheseFR(FastRecovery)amplifiersuserelatively
lowamountsofnegativefeedback,whichimprovestheirdynamicdistortionperformance,andalsokeepstheamplifiers
stableiftheyaredrivenintoclipping.
Internalbracingisusedtomakethecabinetmorerigidand,aswiththeoldermodels,thefree
spaceisfilledwithanadiabatic(porousacoustic)foamtoreduceinternalreflections.Also
carriedoverfromthepreviousmodelistheconceptofusingapassiveradiator(somewhatlikea
flatfrontedspeakerwithnodrivecoil)attherearofthecabinet,inplaceoftheusualtuningport.
Thisactsmuchlikeatuningportbuthasadvantagesatverylowfrequencies,whereithelps
preventoverexcursionofthewooferandalsoavoidsportwindnoise.Theradiatorisquitelarge,
measuring12x6inches,butitishiddenbytheventilatedrearpanelassembly.
Duringmanufacture,thegainandfrequencyresponseofthespeakersisindividuallyadjustedto
reduceperformancevariationsduetocomponenttolerances,soweshouldbeabletoexpect
bettermatchingbetweenpairsofspeakers.Anindividualcalibrationplotalsocomeswitheach
speaker,whichisreassuring.Thelowendperformanceisimpressive,withtheHR824Mk2
covering35Hzto20kHz(+/1.5dB).Electronicprotectionisbuiltin,inordertoreducetheriskof
driverdamagethroughoverenthusiasticuse,andthedriversthemselvesarecompletelynew.
Handlingthelowendandmidrangeisan8.75inchwoofer,whichhasasyntheticcone,acast
magnesiumchassisanda1.6inchvoicecoil.Thehighfrequencies(HF)arehandledbyaone
inch,Ferrofluidcooled,titaniumdometweeter,inapolymersuspension.TheoriginalHR824
usedanaluminiumdomedtweeter,whichIfeltgaveitaslightlysweetersoundthansomeofthe
ratherbrashsoundingtitaniumtweetermodelsonthemarketatthetime,soI'vebeenlooking
forwardtoseeingifthisnewdesignsoundsassmooth.Bothdriversaremagneticallyshieldedby
meansoffluxcancellingmagnets.

Acomprehensivesetof
controlsontherearofthe
HRMk2seriesmonitors
enableyoutofinetunethe
setuptosuityourown
workingenvironment.

Thetweeterwaveguideiscalculatedtoproduceevendispersionofthetwodrivers,especiallyatthecrossoverpoint,which
notonlyprovidesawidesweetspotbutshouldalsoreducethecolouringeffectofroomreflections.Bothmodelsare'THX
pm3'approved,andcanbeusedinaTHXsurroundsystemwiththeadditionofasuitablesubwoofer.IntheHR824Mk2,the
lowfrequency(LF)driverispoweredbya150Wamplifierandthetweeteramplifierisratedat100W,thoughbothcan
produceovertwicetheirratedpoweronbriefpeaks.ThecrossoverisamodifiedLinkwitzRileyfilter,witha24dBperoctave
slopeandacrossoverfrequencyof1.9kHz.ThepeakSPLperpairatonemetreisquotedas120dBpeakor111dBshort
term.
LittleBrother:TheHR624Mk2
TheoriginalHR624semployasixinchbassdriver(hencethe'6'inthetitle)and,withtheLF
switchsetinthecentre47Hzposition,thebassresponseisroughlythesameasthatofthe
HR824s,whichisplentyformostsmalltomediumsizedprojectstudios.Becausethewoofer
issmallerthanintheHR824,themidrangehandlingisslightlybetter(infact,Itendtousemy
HR624Mk1sinpreferencetomyHR824Mk1s,astheyareplentyloudenoughandIlikethe
extramidrangedefinition),butthemaximumSPLisslightlyless.
TheMk2incarnationactuallysoundprettysimilarbut,liketheHR824Mk2,theyarealittle
smootheratthehighend.I'dsaytheuppermidrangewasprobablyabitcleaner,andthe
reallyhighendabitmorepronounced,whichresultsinasoundthatisbothsmootherandmore
detailedatthesametime.ThemaximumSPLis5dBbelowthatfortheHR824Mk2andthe
frequencyresponsedropsoffaround48Hz,butotherthanthatthecharacterisuncannily
similar.Subjectively(onceyouhavebalancedtheirlevels)onlythedepthofthebassextension
oftheHR824Mk2reallysetsitapartfromitssmallersibling.

Finetuning

www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep07/articles/mackie_hr824mk2.htm

AVINeutron
Five
2.1MonitorSystem

1/4

6/11/12

Mackie HR824 Mk2 & HR624 Mk2

Otherthanthepowerbutton,allthecontrolsareontherearpanel,andtheyseemverysimilartowhatwasonofferforthe
originalHRrange.Onceagain,theinputandpowerconnectionsaretidily,butratherawkwardly,situatedunderan
overhangatthebottomofthemetalpanel.There'sachoiceofRCAphono,balancedquarterinchjack,orbalancedXLR,
thoughyoucan,ofcourse,alsoconnectanunbalancedjackorXLR.Arotarycontrolsetstherequiredinputsensitivity,
wherenormalisfullyclockwise,andthereisathreewayslideswitchtoselectthemainspowersetting.IntheStandby
position,thecircuitryremainspoweredupinalowpowermodeandnosoundisproduced.WhensettoOn,thespeakercan
beactivatedbythefrontpanelpowerbutton.InAutoOnmode,theamplifiersturnoffifnoaudioisdetectedforeight
minutes,buttheywakeupprettysmartlyifalevelinexcessof45dBisdetectedattheinput.Thelightringaroundthepower
switchshowstheamplifierstatus.Acomputerstylebuttononthefrontpanelcontrolsthepowerwhentherearswitchisin
OnorAutoOnmode,andthisissubtlyilluminatedfortunately,itseemstheageofeyeballsearingblueLEDsiscomingto
aclose!
TheAcousticSpaceswitchsetsthebassleveltosuitroomposition.'Quarter'isbestforspeakerssituatednearcorners,'Half'
isforspeakersplacedclosetoonewall,and'WholeSpace'isbestsuitedtospeakerspositionedwellawayfromanywalls.
Ofcourse,mountingrightincornersorupagainstawallisnotrecommended.There'salsoaswitchtosetthelowend
performance,whichinthecaseoftheHR824Mk2offersanLFrolloffat80Hz,47Hzor37Hz.Wheretheroomistoosmall
ortoopoorlybasstrappedtoworkwellatverylowfrequencies,the47Hzsettingisagoodoption,whereasthe80Hzsetting
providesapassableemulationofthebassresponseofasmalldomesticmusicsystem,whichisusefulwhencheckingyour
mixes.The80HzsettingisalsousedforTHXsetups,wherethespeakersarebeingusedwithasubwoofer.Inordertoallow
theusertobalancethehighendtotaste,afurtherswitchoffersflat,+2dBor2dBwithafilterfrequencyof10kHz.

Performance
Asastudiomonitor,IreallyliketheoriginalMackie824s.IhadbeenabitworriedthatMackiemightchangeeverythingjust
forthesakeofmarketing,butitseemsthosefearswereunfounded.Despitethechangeindriversandtheswitchtotitanium
forthetweeterdomematerial,theHR824Mk2managestokeepessentiallythesamefamilysoundasitspredecessor,and
thoughsomeHFdetail,suchasridecymbalhits,comesthroughalittlemoredynamicallythanbefore,theoverallsoundis
stillsmoothandwellbalanced,anditdoesn'tstarttosoundbrashunlessthemixitselfisoveraggressive.Soifyoulikethe
originalMackiemonitors,you'llhavenotroubleadaptingtothese.
But,asI'vementioned,itisn'tasimplerepackaging.Onwellmixedmaterialtheoverallsoundisatouchsmootherand
seemsless'inyourface'.Themidrangeretainsclarityanddetailatleastaswellasbeforeandpossiblyalittlebetter
whilethesmooth,deepbassalwaysimpresses,particularlyforspeakersofthissize.
IknowthatsomeuserscriticisetheperformanceofMackiemonitors,butinmyexperiencethisusuallycomesdowntoroom
problemsorplacementissues.Thefactthatthepassiveradiatorisattherearmeansthatmountingtooclosetowallsis
neveragreatidea,andbecausethebassextensionissoimpressive,cornermountingisdefinitelytobeavoided.Problems
canalsoariseinroomsthatarenotacousticallysuitableforthereproductionofverylowfrequencies,thoughyoucanuse
theLFswitchtoselectthemiddlesetting.Inatypicalprojectstudioroom,thatcanworkreallywell,andthere'sstillplentyof
lowend.
Ialsoknowthatyoumaybeabletofindmoreaccuratemonitorsifyou'repreparedtoextendyourbudget.Butwhatreally
mattersisthatIalwaysseemtoendupwithwellbalancedmixeswhenIusemyMackiemonitors.I'vehadtheoriginal824s
and624sforsomeyearsnow,andthoughIhavetriedothermonitors,IkeepcomingbacktotheMackies,astheysomehow
justfeelcomfortabletoworkwith.
MonitorsDemystified
MonitoringTips
MonitorsvsHiFi?
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Alternatives
Ifyou'reconsideringpurchasingHR824Mk2monitors,youmayalsowanttoauditionmodelssuchastheDynaudioBM15A,KRK
VXT8,ADAMP11AandMAudioEX66.Ifyou'reinthemarketforsomethingliketheHR624Mk2,youcanlooktoequivalentmodels
intherangesofthesamemanufacturers.
PublishedinSOSSeptember2007

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Mackie HR824 Mk2 & HR624 Mk2

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AllcontentscopyrightSOSPublicationsGroupand/oritslicensors,19852012.Allrightsreserved.
Thecontentsofthisarticlearesubjecttoworldwidecopyrightprotectionandreproductioninwholeorpart,whethermechanicalorelectronic,isexpresslyforbiddenwithoutthepriorwrittenconsent
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