It's not really a question of which is better(Though, those who have heard both may have an opinion?), it's which is better for you! Even moving "up" to a set of speakers with 8" woofers means having to have just that much better space to put them in. My 6" only go down to 50 cycles and that's likely 10db+ down from "flat". Even so, when I turn them up loud the "bass problems" really kick in, in my room. Most rooms are not treated, or properly treated to put ANY monitors into with any expectation of any quality results. Again, adding even more bass to the algorithm(Maybe the 8's go down to 40 cycles?) only compunds the difficulty.

Decide what you want to do, recording/mixing/playback-wise.

Decide on the recording software that will do what you need.

Decide on the computer to software interface(Sound card or whatever) that will work best with your, so far, system.

Decide on the computer that will handle all of the above.

Add the outboard gear you need(Mic pre's/mics, etc.)

Work on your room. Bass Traps(Check-out the Real Traps videos, on their web site, for some nice explanations.) are the biggest need and if you don't make them yourself you can expect to spend around 3000 dollars for the typical "bedroom" studio, on bass traps alone, to make a nice difference - to allow ANY speakers you buy to actually work properly - there is NO WAY to get around this! Nothing will "work right" without a proper space. The quality of the recording space, not the gear, generally, determines, to a very high degree, whether you're in this for real or just for fun.

Once you're ready, get your speakers, the size of which will be determined more by the size of your listening space than anything, along with what you want any particular speakers to tell you and how(You may want several types/sizes of speakers?). If you do no low-bass, you'll not need speakers to handle it, a nice set of phones can act as your "check" for any horrible low-bass problems which generally will just be "cut-out" of your mix with a filter, whatever. No 8" speakers will "do" low-bass anyway, to any "monitor-type" degree.

For what it's worth - Any 6" speakers SHOULD be better than any 8", far as it goes, when speaking of quality, not just loudness or bass. Not as much bass but not as much excursion between what the tweeter can do and what the larger speaker(Not really a woofer, perse, to say nothing of being not even close to a sub-woofer, whether 6 OR 8 inch!) can do. Going from a tweeter to an 8" is really too much to ask, you're asking the main to cover more range than it can do properly. A 6" set, along with an 8" or 10" "woofer"(Again STILL not a sub-woofer, but will fill-out the 6" main nicely in the bass regions for most needs.), should, then, do the trick. Or, a nice 3-way system - say a tweeter, 4" and 8" cabinet? Or a tweeter 5" and 10" cabinet? ALL with "proper" crossover types and points, determined as much by what you want to record as anything(You don't want your crossover to be "in the middle" of something you need to hear correctly.).

The 624's or the 824's? I can't say, I got the Yamaha MSP5A's, which are very nice for what I do without the cost of either of the Mackies... and I continue to work on my room.

TG

I like my 624s and all of the Mackie bashing I read has not convinced me to dislike them. The Dynaudio BM5A would be another (probably better) choice for me in roughly the same price range had they been around when I was making the purchase.

The Yamahas are indeed very well respected if you are looking to spend a little less.

I have the 824s with the 120 sub and love the setup. Why? They sound great in my room and my mixes translate well. I've used them at a studio where I freelance; I hated them. I ended up using the Genelecs (sorry, forget which ones) instead.

Every debate about "what is better, this or that" misses the point of what is really going on. You are trying to create a great product. The tools that help you make a great product are good, the ones that hinder you are bad. Speakers should be matched to your room, your ears and style, not based on specs and hype.

LeeAnn wrote: Which pair is better?

i've heard some people think 824 it's woofy...

they think 624 is better.

how do u guys think?

and anyone know about ADAM ANF10 or A7?

how are they compare to the mackie HRs?

I know a few people that use Mackies but most people I speak to say they colour the sound too much... make it a bit too scooped.

Only heard good things about Adams though, although most people we get in here prefer KRKs or Genelecs.