CR3.5 3.5" Powered Studio Monitor (Gen 3)

Literally just started listening after setup. Up and running (iMac M4) was a breeze. I'm running it on Bluetooth for now, a few days. Then I'll connect via the supplied RCA connectors to hear any difference. Those, combined with the short speaker wire, means a setup just like in the brochures: nothing very far from each other. Luckily, the prime speaker is close and handy. But I used a lot of 14-gauge copper speaker wire to move the passive speaker to the other side of the very small room. And don't forget some proximity to a power strip. Yes, these speakers deliver on sound, superbly. But you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find full-range speakers that don't sledgehammer you with bass. Along with my conclusion speakers like these must be powered. USB doesn't cut it. It started when Sony "improved" bass on WalkMan and DiscMan. Then ear buds improved drastically. The false standard for quality sound and auto sound was BASS. So what happens? Give 'em BASS. Beats? BASS. These speakers deliver in all ranges and any input can be tuned with a simple equalizer program. There's a lot of junk out there! These are quality. The solid enclosures do one thing: Deliver all the sound OUT! No bouncing around in there. Rock On! UPDATE: Add a star. Have spent most of the time finding Equalizer software. I won't review those, they're all quirky. Cliffhanger: The speakers sound better if you can run 3.5mm out, RCA in my case. Provided. No sweat, Bluetooth is just fine. But the direct connect just seems to have more meat on it, in all channels. Techie to me: DUH! I have a very small and close setup, even having to adjust Balance because I'm closer to one speaker. The advantage of that is the physical immersion in the sound. And these things are pure to the lowest volume, "1". Or I can just use the iMac speakers with the morning news. High performance with usability and versatility. I lusted after Klipsch (kinda personal), even created an account, but they wouldn't answer my three emails with questions. Whatever the name, these are perfect for what I wanted. And I did a TON of research for my unique setup.

These monitor speakers are a great addition to my setup. The sound is clear and well-balanced, with impressive volume for their size. Dialogue, music, and game audio all come through crisp without distortion. They were easy to set up, fit neatly under my monitor, and don’t take up much desk space. For everyday use, gaming, or watching videos, they perform better than expected. Excellent sound quality for the price, highly recommended! I use them with the Mackie CR8SBT Subwoofer, and it works perfectly.

The Mackie CR3.5 studio monitors truly exceeded my expectations. For their size, the sound quality is outstanding—clear highs, balanced mids, and surprisingly solid bass for 3.5-inch speakers. Whether I'm mixing audio, watching movies, or just enjoying music, they deliver crisp and detailed sound. Build quality is excellent, with a sleek, professional look that fits perfectly on my desk. I love the front panel volume knob and the convenient headphone and aux inputs. Setup was a breeze, and the included cables made it even easier to get started right out of the box. These are an amazing value for anyone looking for budget-friendly studio monitors that don’t compromise on performance. Highly recommended for home studios, content creators, or anyone who appreciates quality audio in a compact form!

These speakers are awesome. Simple as that. Perfect sound for my home studio setup. I have no complaints. They get loud and never lose their clarity. As soon as I plugged them in and turned them on I was impressed. You did good Mackie, you did good.

So - These are great entry level monitors. You can listen to music on them and value compared to how much they cost is great. If you are just trying to get into some basic music editing them I think these or the KRK are good starting point. I grabbed them because I was looking for multi-functionality - which i thought they had with the "work/play" tone adjustment knob. I thought I would be able to use them for both video calls and then for some light music production. They just have too much to them to functionally use as video call monitors. Its loud and peoples voices are too big and it causes my camera mic to have a feedback loop. I had to buy a little 20 speaker you can see in the picture to use for the video calls, which isn't bad.

I had M-Audio speakers for years, because that's what we had at work. I watched a Top 10 Amazon speakers review on Youtube, and of the speakers that were in that video, these sounded the best to me. I am happy to say: they're way better than my M-Audio were. They sound better, and they're a lot more user-friendly and have nice little aesthetic touches that give it that extra edge. Connectivity and Switches Unlike M-Audio, which have a dedicated Left and Right Speaker, the Mackie has a dedicated connectivity and power speaker. With the flick of switch, you can put this main speaker on either the Left or Right side of the desk, and...only send Left or Right Stereo signals to it as you assign it. This is incredibly convenient for the creator or avid listener with a more customized setup or need for more customization. It comes with an Aux 3.5mm-to-Red/White Stereo Out cable. The Work/Play Tone Switch I am not a professional audio person, but I can tell the difference. For my listening purposes, I have always preferred studio flat because I consider it to be, "The way the producer/artist intended for it to be heard." It is the most noticeable on songs with heavy bass and electronic effects, like KPop or Hip-Hop. It brings the bass sounds all the way forward so it's loud and in your face without depreciating sound quality or peaking. Size is great. I got the 4.5" speakers for an extra punch. They fit fine on my desk, which is not an oversized desk. Build quality is excellent. They're sexy, sleek, and well-made.

For the price, these things work very well. Placement has a lot to do with how well speakers sound. These seem to take a pretty good beating and still have some decent sound. I have them on the wall with some mounts screwed directly into studs. That gives them a very robust and solid installation. You get to cranking it a bit and the woofers are dancing like mad. If you want deep bass you'll want a sub. But these put out quite well without one in my setup. I'm mostly just watching movies on the computer, streaming music or playing MP3s, etc...

They're really good, very clear. I like the option to have a flat sound or add some bass and treble for casual listening. I use them to play guitar thru an audio interface with amp sims on the computer and to just listen to music so having both is very handy. They don't have a lot of bass though but I'm sure if you get the sub like I plan on, you'll be bumpin. They are very loud too for how little they are I was surprised I can't even turn mine up past halfway or there would be forceful knocks on my door.