Mackie MR6 Mk3 Review - A Bit More Serious Monitor From Mackie

Mackie is well known to fans of affordable monitoring. However, they also have some more refined models in their offer. Today we are going to take a look at Mackie MR6 Mk3, which is considered to be among the best studio monitors you can find under $200. Let's get started.

Design

If there is one design detail that will allow you to recognize Mackie speakers anywhere, it's the usually green outline around the speaker surround. Same can be found on Mackie MR6 Mk3, only this time we are looking at a white outline instead of a green one. This changes the perception of the speakers to a point, as they look much more professional. It also helps that the cabinets look much more refined as well. Build quality is great. Nothing feels or looks cheap. Even the extruded baffle that bunches up around the low-frequency driver, looks pretty good. In terms of ports, Mackie has chosen to take the standard route. Ports are located on the back, meaning that all of the standard precautions apply when positioning the speakers in your studio. Lastly, we have the illuminated Mackie logo at the bottom left corner of the low-frequency driver surround.

Features

The first thing we wanted to know is what kind of hardware Mackie chose for this build. This is where they are a little bit ahead of the curve compared to what their competition has to offer. For the tweeter, they have chosen a fairly standard 1" silk dome tweeter sitting in a subtle waveguide. Below it, we have a mighty 6.5" low-frequency driver that is more than capable of moving serious air should you need it to. The entire system offers some 65 Watts of power coming from a Class A/B amplifier. There is also a built in crossover that kicks in at around 3.5kHz. Back panel reveals a number of controls, including an HF level trim, LF level trim, and a volume knob. The I/O cluster consists of an unbalanced RCA input, and balanced XLR as well as 1/4" TRS ports.

Performance

After quickly going over this speaker, one thing was apparent from the get go. With a 6.5" LF driver, we just knew that Mackie MR6 Mk3's low end is going to dig deep, and it does. Bass frequencies are wide, deep but well structured. Mids and trebles tight and rather defined. You won't run into excessive brightness or similar issues with these Mackie monitors. In terms of response, it is very flat. They have achieved a more than acceptable level of transparency. The only thing left for you to do is position the monitors properly and get both of them on axis with your ears. Whether you are in a smaller studio, or something a bit larger, you should be able to notice even the more subtle nuances of your mix with Mackie's MR6 Mk3.

Conclusion

For more info about the Mackie MR6 Mk3, click here. For more studio monitor under $200 you might like, click here.