First Look:
The HR824s are shipped in two separate boxes. Upon removal it was evident that the construction is solid and the HR824's appearance is simple yet elegant. The HR824's tweeter sits above its woofer. The tweeter is a (are you ready) 1" viscous edge-damped aluminum-alloy dome tweeter mounted on a massive, acoustically non-resonant, die-cast zinc exponential wave guide. The woofer is an 8.75" die-cast magnesium frame woofer. Both speakers have a power switch on the front..
The HR824 has no bass ports. Instead, the HR824 has a mass-loaded passive radiator. The manual states that the passive radiator is able to produce low frequencies with a lower distortion and higher sound pressure level than a simple port.
Both the low and high frequency amplifiers are 'FR Series' design (Mackie's own Fast Recovery design). The low frequency amplifier is rated at 150 watts continuous (350 watts peak) before clipping, while the high frequency amplifier provides up to 100 watts continuous (210 watts peak. The HR824 takes both XLR and 1/4 " (balanced Tip-Ring-Sleeve or unbalanced Tip-Sleeve). The input jacks are mounted down and not straight out. This allows the monitors to be placed flush against a wall if desired.
By the way, the HR824 is THX approved!
Controls
The housing on the back of the HR824 contains the Input Sensitivity control, switches to adjust the low and high frequency response, and an additional power switch. The input sensitivity is continuously variable from infinity to +4 dBu levels.
The HR824s have several controls to adjust their frequency response to your particular set-up.. Three filters are provided: the acoustic space filter, used to compensate for various speaker placements; a low frequency filter to adjust the point at which the low frequency response roll-off begins; and a high frequency filter to slightly increase or decrease the brightness.
Sound
I used a project programmed into the Synclavier as a test for the HR824's. It is a dance song with a very tight, punchy synth bass. In a couple of hours I was able to create a very good mix. The HR824s gave a very accurate picture of the sound over essentially the entire spectrum.
The bass part, which dips well below 40 Hz (around the lower limit of the HR824s frequency response) came through very clearly. At the mid and high end spectrum, the HR824s performed exceptionally well. The imaging is outstanding.. The high end (12KHz to 18KHz) remained very smooth.
The next test I threw at the HR824's was to master an ambient sound-scape in three-dimensional audio. But to do that properly requires having a transparent and flat monitoring system. The HR824s were superb for this task. They simply seemed to disappear and let me work on the sound. I'm also impressed by the HR824s' wide sweet spot. You do have to sit in the direct center to hear stereo placement properly, but unlike many monitors the mix doesn't collapse as soon as you move to one side. The off-axis coloration is minimal, and there's a nice gradual transition as you move your head into the sweet spot.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that the HR824s give systems costing twice as much as run for their money in terms of sound quality and flexibility. Clients couldn't believe the huge full sound they were hearing was coming from such small profile monitors. They deliver a solid low end that's surprising for their size, and a flat, transparent response across the spectrum. Their flexibility and superior performance make them ideal candidates for just about any near field application.
Price: $1498/pair (sold individually) More from: Mackie Designs, 16220
Wood-Red Rd. NE, Woodinville, WA 98072. 800/258-6883 or 425/487-4333, fax
425/487-4337, http://www.mackie.com.