I have had both. You can't really compare them. The Mackies have the stupid rear firing passive radiator. Placement is always tough with a nearfield, but it is an even bigger issue with the Mackies. True you have the presets on the rear for acoustic space and roll-off, but you can not place them against the wall, or in a soffit, due to the passive radiator.

The Mackies are louder, but less defined in the mid bass region. The haflers don't have the depth, frequency wise.

A friend told me that he had some problems mixing with the Mackie's, he dont hear some things with the mackies, specially in the mid low range, is this true??

About your commentary lowdbrent, I don't have space between the monitors and the wall, is this a point to consider in my special case to buy the Hafler's??

Paco

In my opinion, I have had no luck with the Mackies. I gave myself 6 months to get used to them. To me they don't image well, and they are vague in the mid bass.

any monitor is going to have an increase in bass when placed net to a boundary. I would guess that you would have less trouble with the haflers than the Mackies.

It is best to buy the monitors from a place that will let you demo them in your room, or let you exchange them should they not work out.

Neither of these may be right for your room. I don't know. You may be able to get by with the Yorkville active monitors, which are extremely cheaper, or you could buy some nicer monitors used, like Meyer HD-1's, or Dynaudio's, Genelec's, etc.

I like Genelec's to a point. They can make everything sound too good. They can fool you into thinking something is better than what it is. I still like Yamaha NS-10's with a good Class A amp, and Auratones. If I can get the mix right on those, they will work anywhere.

Thanks lowdbrent, I've tried in my studio the Mackie monitors and tomorrow I am going to test the haflers, but I think I'm going to choose the Haflers. I have Yamahas NS10M, and I like it a lot, but I always have problems with the low frequencies, I need a better refference in the mid low range. Here in Mexico, the difference in price between Yorkville and Hafler is not to much, so I prefer to spend a little more for better sound.

Paco

By the way, Dynaudio and Genelec are inaffordable here in Mexico, they are too expensive.

Thank you for your comments

Paco

Hey Paco,

I have been using a pair of Mackies HR 824 for around 2 years now. All I can say is that I have had no real problems with them. Yes it does depend on where you place them regarding the wall issue. I have brought them to several different rooms and have learned to accomadate for the different spaces etc. via the switches on the back panel. Being able to tailor a speaker for different areas has been a great plus.

Regards,

( o}===;;;

I have Mackie HR824's.

I love 'em.
The bass pounds great for me, they are tight & I don't get much ear fatigue (at proper volume).
I do alot of dance, Hip Hop, sample/loops, big bass type stuff & they seem to love it.

Mine are actually positioned (at an angle) pretty damn close to a wall (wall's covered with sound/foam wedges) and they still seem to be ok for my use.

I also use a cheapie pair of old Radio Shack bookshelf speakers for A/B'ing.

In the past I have used the Alesis (crap), KRK & the NS10's.
I'd still like to have a pair of NS10's (just to say I have them) but think I am doing just fine without for now.

HR824 = :tu: by me!

The Mackie HR824s are wonderful. They have very good separation and clarity, and really capitalize when it comes to well recorded cymbals. I'm not sure if that means much to anyone else, but put on Steely Dan's - Asia and compare it on HR824s to the yorkville YSM1-Ps, and you'll immediately see what I'm talking about.

Oddly enough the HR624s don't seem to borrow anything from their bigger brother, and if they do I can't hear it. They sound very muddy and washed out to me.

If you're thinking of mixing/mastering with these monitors, which I'm guessing you are, you don't want to get by with Yorkvilles. You may as well just drag your recording through a pool of mud, step on it, and set it on fire before even hitting play, because that's what it's going to sound like through those monitors anyway. Trust me, I know.

As for Haflers, a customer of mine just picked up some TRM10s, and I'm waiting to hear his opinions on them. He had originally picked up KRK V8s, but he got two pairs of duds, and traded up to the Haflers.

Anyway, IMHO the HR824s are wonderful monitors for their price, don't sell yourself short with Yorkvilles, check out the Haflers TRM10s, and most importantly A/B all of them side by side with a couple of CDs you know really well before you buy anything. Ultimately your ears should decide (that's EARS, not wallet, if you can help it =).

What I meant by placement problems with the mackie is that I need to soffit mount them. I cannot. You can't soffit mount them because of the passive radiator. If you port that space, then you are negating the soffit concept and introducing resonance problems.

They are flat. They do sound good. I like the last Saga album on them. One of the Asia guys is on that record playing guitar. TIGHT BAND!

I personally like the Mackies. At first I had some trouble with them. It ended up being my lack of knowledge on how to get the best out of them. I ended up moving them around the room away from the walls, bought some Monster speaker cables and upgraded my DACs with the Layla 24. Without these upgrades the mid bass suffered badly. I can see why people mention this all the time. Now I have a tight coherent sound with my new setup. The Mackies aren't perfect sounding but they are definitly pro. Good luck to you.