Mackie CR3-X 3 inch Multimedia Monitors

When I was in school my friend was way into Mackie products. They had to have Mackie mixers, wanted nothing more than Mackie PA speakers, and nothing else would suffice. I on the other hand didn't care to much as long as things worked. Yamaha became my go to, and I have a really nice pair or JBL monitor speakers. Eventually this friend fell in love with Yamaha products and other brands. For the longest time though because of all the hype this person built around Mackie, I decided to ignore it, thought it was overpriced and not necessary, at least for my application. Recently I fixed up my record player (Yamaha from 1979) that needed some parts. Among those parts were speakers. I don't have a receiver, let alone one that has a record preamp, so I got that, and wanted some active speakers. These fit the bill due to their small size, connection options, and the single volume control on the speaker. I also know it is quality thanks to that friend. I will say my first impression was quite surprised. They do sound great for the application I am using them for. The bass is nice but not too boomy, and the highs are not so ear shattering loud. I am not an audiophile at all, but I can appreciate good audio products and for the price I paid, these exceeded my expectations. I think these would work well for small spaces that needs decent monitor speakers, or even for my application to listen to records, or other media devices.I have not encountered any "hiss" from them but I am also not sitting right in front of them. When I listen to anything I am sitting in a chair probably 6 or 7 feet away relaxing. By the way, I am still friends with that person. I showed that person the speakers, and the response was "I thought I would never see the day..."

Bought these for a beginner podcast setup for my son. There's 2 boom mics and a pc feeding into a small mixer. Then into the mackie monitors via the 1/4 jack plugs. Both the mics and audio from the pc were very good, clear and clean. They sound much larger than their compact size. The tone controls on the mixer dialed the sound in perfectly. Total recommendation for anyone needing powered monitors but not wanting to break the bank. They're pretty impressive for the size and cost.

I got these as a cheap set to do studio work with, as I am working on an EP. I wasn't expecting much for the price point. And man, was I BLOWN the hell away. These are fantastic! Holy cow. Crystal clear sound, bass that'll rattle your grandma's dentures. Volume to piss of the neighbors 2 houses down. Very easy to setup. Absolutely worth every single cent! You'd genuinely be stoopid to not buy these.

Great appearance, excellent sound quality, excellent function, never had a problem with the speakers. Well built and excellent volume sounds, no distortions. This is my second set of speakers, I use them for recording music.

UPDATE: The "Dreaded" Hiss!!I love these monitors! Yes, they hiss as so many complain about. But these are budget speakers and the hiss is so slight, it is hardly a detriment. I'll reduce the rating from 5 to 4 for the hiss. Original review below. Again I love these and, for the price, can't complain one bit. Now for the actual hiss data (I've never seen that on any other review):Listening position: These are desktop a mere two feet from me.Hiss Volume (subjective): the same regardless of volume setting, any cable configuration, or no audio cables hooked up. VERY quiet. Far quieter than a computer fan. I am playing ANY audio whatsoever, even at the lowest volumes the hiss is inaudible.Hiss Volume (Metered): My sound level meter's lowest band is 60dB (measures above 50dB). A versus C weighting did not have any appreciable difference. Used the Fast Response setting. NOTE: I HAD TO HOLD THE SOUND METER **ONE INCH** AWAY FROM THE TWEETER DOME FOR THE HISS TO BE LOUD ENOUGH TO MEASURE IN THE 60dB BAND- Powered Speaker: 53dB- Passive Speaker: 57dBAgain that's at ONE INCH away from the tweeter dome. It is below 50dB (where my meter stops registering) just 3-4 inches away. I'm listening from two feet away. Now I have a raging case of tinnitus (high frequency ringing) so I'm not going to be as sensitive to the hiss as normal hearing people. I can hear in my listening position at two feet. At four feet I can't, though I'd expect most people could in a quiet room. My meter doesn't do any lower than 50 dB so I can only guess that the sound level is around 40 dB at two feet and probably falls to the 30 - 20 dB range at three to four feet and beyond. Just a guess. Someone with a more sensitive meter can check :)Still this is a very quiet hiss, these speakers sound AMAZING, and they only cost $90! I really don't see how anyone could complain. If you need perfectly quiet powered speakers for professional recording, why would you be looking at the CRX line?These are perfect for the bookshelf, computer desk, or mini bedroom recording studioORIGINAL REVIEW:I only just received these (CR3-X, 3 inch, non-bluetooth) as monitors for a little recording "nook" I've setup in my bedroom (approx 10 ft x 15 ft).I had low expectations for a powered monitor that was this small. I couldn't have been more wrong! Some users are complaining about hiss. UPDATE: I finally confirmed hiss, took a long time because it's so slight - details above.All I know is these tiny speakers CRANK. Unbelievably loud for such a small setup! And they sound beautiful! They really wake up with a little power behind them. I have no way of evaluating their frequency response other than to just listen. They seem very linear, no booming or blooming as far as someone who's willing to spend only $90 for powered monitors can tell :) If you need ultra high fidelity, why would you be looking at budget monitors?!They're tiny, inexpensive, and they will definitely be able to irritate anyone within two rooms of you if you turn them up! What more could you want?! I'm already in love with only an hour of listening and I haven't even used them as recording monitors yet!As I use these over time I will update this review. But out-of-the-box I am tremendously impressed at the quality for the price. I have no idea what the bigger versions are like... but if I needed bigger monitors I'd probably not be looking at a budget line. The 3 inch are perfect (so far) and exactly what I needed. Thank you, Mackie!!