Sound: While overall sound quality is quite good, and BASS response in particular is impressive for cabinets of this size, I found the mids and highs to not quite have the projection of my JBL EONS, which seem to throw vocals out farther over a crowd. However for music I actually prefer the sound of these speakers, they have a nice warm sound to them that is quite pleasing and does not fatigue the ear after prolonged listening. For the price, they are great performers, but I think that for the general purpose PA work that such speakers are bound to be applied to I would need more punch in the mid-range, particularly with vocals. The BASS response, while definitely there and in your face, is something I would trade a bit off for more output in the vocal range. Subs easily generate all the BASS anyone could need these days. Nice for music but not necessarily for live vocals. This is of course, just a personal observation… Overall these would make good mains in a smaller DJ system, or as part of a distributed system of several pairs of these, and I’ve had some pretty good results using them as side fill monitors for drummers who like its heavy BASS response. They also make great Keyboard amps!
Ease of Use: You plug them in, You add a signal, you turn them on, What else can you ask for with regards to simplicity?
Quality: On this the speaker gets my indestructible vote. The cabinet is made of that molded plastic similar to my JBLs and looks just as tough. I am not encouraging the experiment but should this thing accidentally get tossed down a flight of stairs I don’t think it would suffer too much. I would have like to see the knobs on the control panel recessed a bit more though, but as I’ve said earlier, I’m just nitpicking…
Value: Overall I think these are awesome for the price! DJ’s should love the low frequency output of these speakers and they surely are plenty loud!Manufacturer
Support: I’ve had no experience with Mackie support, but then, I’ve yet to have a Mackie product fail on me.
The Wow Factor: In these tough economic times I’m a tough sell, so I will always rate lower numbers for this category than most. On the other hand, I would buy another pair… So there you go.Overall:I tend to keep my gear for a long time, so I’m very picky about what I buy. I bought these for a specific set of applications, which they are very well suited to (Drum side fill monitors, mains for smaller DJ or music only systems, background music system for medium sized halls). I would and do indeed plan to buy another pair in the next few months. What would lead me to look for another product? Probably if this one where discontinued, otherwise I tend to stick with what I find works in a certain situation. Replacing things lost? I am fond of the JBL powered EON series and could see replacing these with the JBL’s but I would use them in different applications than I would these. It’s a matter of properly applying the tools you have.