Here are some measurements of the Mackie CR4 powered speaker.
The retail price was ~120 USD / pair. It has been discontinued and replaced by CR4-X.
My measurements are quasi-anechoic, with near-field port+woofer measurements, corrected for baffle edge diffraction, combined with gated outdoor measurements at 1m distance (5ms window). I measured the "passive" speaker (the one without amplifier), connected to the "active" one (Not really active. It has a passive crossover).
From Mackie's official Youtube channel:
The new creative reference monitors deliver the studio quality performance that you expect from Mackie, in a
compact package that outperforms anything in it's class.
The CR series takes Mackie's 20 years of expertise in designing studio monitors, and packs it into a new smaller
format, that gives you accurate, articulate full-range sound in a package that can easily fit onto your workstation.
With 3 inch and 4 inch woofers, that pump out an amazing amount of deep, punchy bass, and silk dome tweeters
that deliver smooth, articulate highs.
The result is full-range sound with wide consistent dispersion, and well defined stereo imaging that goes beyond
anything that you'd expect from a speaker of this size.
These are true reference monitors, with the flat response and accurate imaging you need to mix your music, or
multimedia.
The CR series deliver sound the way it was intended to be heard, with clarity that only studio quality monitors
provide.
It almost sounds too good to be true.
The estimated in-room response is probably not that interesting since they are meant for "near-field" listening, but still, here it is, compared to the smaller CR3-X, measured by Erin:
www.audiosciencereview.com
Near-field:
Uneven woofer response and a tweeter peak at 1.6 kHz.
The 1.6 kHz peak matches the right Batman ear, and the woofer resonance at 6.6 kHz matches the dip in the quasi-anechoic measurement (cancellation).
Horizontal directivity:
0-90 degrees for comparison with Stereophile measurements:
Vertical directivity:
Distortion:
The port was already making alot of noise at 90 dB, so I didn't measure at higher SPL.
So, did Mackie deliver on the promises?
It's a very inexpensive speaker, so I'm trying not to be too harsh, but it sounds pretty bad.
Female voices have a tendency to resonate/distort, sounding almost like an old telephone at times, and the bass is muddy.
They did deliver on one promise though. The horizontal dispersion is even, and the horizontal ERDI looks good:
My advice for anyone considering using it as a studio monitor, is to run away, like the guy on the speaker.
Thank you @uwotm8 for the joke.
www.audiosciencereview.com
The retail price was ~120 USD / pair. It has been discontinued and replaced by CR4-X.
My measurements are quasi-anechoic, with near-field port+woofer measurements, corrected for baffle edge diffraction, combined with gated outdoor measurements at 1m distance (5ms window). I measured the "passive" speaker (the one without amplifier), connected to the "active" one (Not really active. It has a passive crossover).
From Mackie's official Youtube channel:
The new creative reference monitors deliver the studio quality performance that you expect from Mackie, in a
compact package that outperforms anything in it's class.
The CR series takes Mackie's 20 years of expertise in designing studio monitors, and packs it into a new smaller
format, that gives you accurate, articulate full-range sound in a package that can easily fit onto your workstation.
With 3 inch and 4 inch woofers, that pump out an amazing amount of deep, punchy bass, and silk dome tweeters
that deliver smooth, articulate highs.
The result is full-range sound with wide consistent dispersion, and well defined stereo imaging that goes beyond
anything that you'd expect from a speaker of this size.
These are true reference monitors, with the flat response and accurate imaging you need to mix your music, or
multimedia.
The CR series deliver sound the way it was intended to be heard, with clarity that only studio quality monitors
provide.
It almost sounds too good to be true.
The estimated in-room response is probably not that interesting since they are meant for "near-field" listening, but still, here it is, compared to the smaller CR3-X, measured by Erin:
Mackie CR3-X Powered Monitor Review ($100/pair)
Full review at my site: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/mackie_cr3x/ Mackie CR3-X Powered Monitor Review Friday, May 14, 2021 Foreword / YouTube Video Review The review on this website is a brief overview and summary of the objective performance of this speaker. It is not...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Near-field:
Uneven woofer response and a tweeter peak at 1.6 kHz.
The 1.6 kHz peak matches the right Batman ear, and the woofer resonance at 6.6 kHz matches the dip in the quasi-anechoic measurement (cancellation).
Horizontal directivity:
0-90 degrees for comparison with Stereophile measurements:
Vertical directivity:
Distortion:
The port was already making alot of noise at 90 dB, so I didn't measure at higher SPL.
So, did Mackie deliver on the promises?
It's a very inexpensive speaker, so I'm trying not to be too harsh, but it sounds pretty bad.
Female voices have a tendency to resonate/distort, sounding almost like an old telephone at times, and the bass is muddy.
They did deliver on one promise though. The horizontal dispersion is even, and the horizontal ERDI looks good:
My advice for anyone considering using it as a studio monitor, is to run away, like the guy on the speaker.
Thank you @uwotm8 for the joke.
Mackie CR4 quasi-anechoic measurements
Here are some measurements of the Mackie CR4 powered speaker. It's the old version, not the "X" measured by Erin. Apparently, it's a creative reference (whatever that means), with "studio quality design". I measured the passive speaker, connected to the active/powered one. Equipment used...
www.audiosciencereview.com
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