Mackie MR524

Mostly called balanced, and the measurements broadly back that up: an even midrange with a bass rise around 100 Hz and a rising top end. A minority hears it as uneven, either hyped at the top or thick and boxy. The two owners who report settling on −2 dB treble (Weeb Labs, gasolin) preferred it there.

“On-axis response is predominantly flat, with a little bit of additional bass and a bump around 10KHz.”

Audio Science Review (Weeb Labs, near-field + gated measurements of a purchased pair)

“Der Klang der Lautsprecher kann mich zu diesem Preis überzeugen und ist sehr transparent und ausgewogen.”

Amazona.de (Stephan Merk; German: "the sound convinces me at this price and is very transparent and balanced")

“The sound cannot be called bad, but there is still a certain dryness in it”

Давай Запишем! (English subtitles, store channel, A/B with Pioneer VM-50)

Unusually strong for a 5-inch box, by most accounts, and tight when given some room. It still runs out in the 40s: listeners wanting real depth report adding a subwoofer, and SOS hears some port overhang. Near walls or corners it can get heavy unless the Acoustic Space switch is used.

“There’s still a decent punch to the low end but it is definitely scaled back in comparison with the larger MR824s.”

Sound On Sound (Paul White, half-space setting, no sub)

“здесь хороший сфокусированный чёткий и быстрый Бас”

DiGiUP (Russian: "here the bass is good, focused, clear and fast"; compared directly with the Mackie CR5-X BT)

“I'm not getting the bass and dynamic/energetic? Sound I was hoping for.”

Reddit r/ZReviews (Kevin_336, desktop at low volume; a Polk sub later fixed it)

“As with many affordable ported monitors, the bass end suffers from a degree of port ‘overhang’ making bass notes sound less tight than they should.”

Sound On Sound (Paul White)

Listeners mostly hear a clear, present midrange, helped by the smaller woofer's lighter low end. The dissenters call it boxy, or too bright on some material and recessed on other material. Both full measurement sets find a port resonance near 1 kHz that few listeners name directly.

“A further side benefit of a less pronounced low end is that the speakers provide a clearer window into the mid-range.”

Sound On Sound (Paul White)

“яркие и насыщенные средние частоты”

iXBT ProSound (Grigory Lyadov; Russian: "bright, rich mid frequencies")

“Les mediums sonnent boxy.”

Thomann (AlphaBase, 2026, with a PreSonus AudioBox; French: "the mids sound boxy")

Sources split three ways: clean and easy to work with, too bright, or too soft. The HF switch moves this by ±2 dB, and those who tried it disagree on direction: Weeb Labs and gasolin settle on −2 dB, while djshop.by's reviewer would go straight to +2 dB.

Praised for width and depth at this price by editorial, video and owner sources alike. A JBL 305P MkII comparison finds the JBL's stage slightly bigger, not the Mackie's weak.

“In terms of imaging, the width and sense of perspective is still there”

Sound On Sound (Paul White, MR524 vs MR824)

“следующее что приятно удивило ширина стерео”

djshop.by (Russian: "the next thing that pleasantly surprised me is the stereo width"; retailer)

Reliably positive: positions are easy to place and a measured pair matched closely. The one comparison that goes against it is mild, from the ASR measurer who heard the JBL as more focused at the centre.

“Detail and imaging are great”

Reddit r/ZReviews (Kevin_336, even while unhappy with the bass)

“the LSR 305's wider horizontal directivity does result in a more focused phantom center when listening in stereo”

Audio Science Review (Weeb Labs, comparing his MR524, T5V and LSR 305)

Sources split in degree more than kind. Reviewers comparing it with costlier or sharper monitors call detail modest, and djshop.by steers detail-seekers to JBL. Owners and listeners coming from other budget speakers usually find it clear and revealing, including at low volume.

“Общая детальность в звуке не очень высокая”

iXBT ProSound (Grigory Lyadov; Russian: "overall detail in the sound is not very high", which he considers secondary at this price)

“it shows all the details and nuances of the sound I need without sounding harsh or analytical”

Digital Stereophony (compared with the JBL 305P MkII)

Loud enough for nearfield work and steady when pushed by the accounts of owners, with little compression measured up to 91 dB. It isn't the loudest in the class: Weeb Labs ranks the T5V higher for level, and Давай Запишем! hears more reserve in the Pioneer VM-50.

“With a peak SPL capability of 108dB, these speakers certainly go loud enough for comfortable long-term monitoring.”

Sound On Sound (Paul White, smaller studio, no sub)

“The T5V exhibits the least distortion of the three and is capable of reaching the highest SPLs but it is also the most expensive.”

Audio Science Review (Weeb Labs, comparing MR524, T5V and LSR 305)

Forgiving side to side, narrower up and down, and it wants some air behind the rear port. Setup guidance rather than a dispute: Fred de Nantes runs it at 1 m, 30 cm from walls, with the Acoustic Space switch cutting bass, and SOS tested at half-space. Measurers advise staying near tweeter height.

“Horizontal directivity is quite wide and uniform, with approximately 45 degrees of freedom up to 15KHz.”

Audio Science Review (Weeb Labs)

“You will definitely want to remain within about 25 degrees on the vertical axis.”

Audio Science Review (Weeb Labs)

“the cabinets are rear ported, so shouldn’t be placed right up against a wall”

Sound On Sound (Paul White)

“plutôt efficace, permet d’atténuer les basses”

Thomann (Fred de Nantes, 1 m listening, 30 cm from the walls; French, of the Acoustic Space switch: "rather effective, lets you reduce the bass")

Generally trusted for home-studio mixing, though few sources describe actually testing mixes elsewhere. SOS and owners who mix on them are positive; djshop.by's engineer expects to compensate on guitars, and dopesnare has only checked on earbuds and phones.

“they won’t get in the way of you making good-sounding mixes”

Sound On Sound (Paul White, MR Series summary)

“Ces moniteurs n’enjolivent pas le son, ce qui est une bonne chose pour le mixage.”

Thomann (Fred de Nantes, checks his own mixes on them; French: "these monitors don't prettify the sound, which is a good thing for mixing")

Sources split. Most owners call it close to silent at the desk and prefer it to hissier JBL, Kali and Adam monitors, crediting the Class AB amps. Amazona hears a moderate mains hum, Amazon's pooled noise comments run slightly negative, and unbalanced PC setups can pick up ground-loop hum.

Plain but well-chosen: three input types and two rear switches that measure as advertised and that owners find useful. There is no DSP, no digital input and no room correction, which keeps latency out of it but leaves any finer correction to you.

“it had dip switches in the back to allow you to place your speaker in a area where you're gonna have them against the wall away from a wall”

FLAVMEDIA (owner; why he chose it over the Rokit 5)

“The 524 is a simple active crossover and a pair of class AB amplifiers.”

Audio Science Review (Weeb Labs, on whether it uses DSP)

Simple to set up, with one repeated gripe: the power switch is around the back, with no auto-standby, so turning a pair off means reaching behind both. Fred de Nantes likes the detented level knob, which matched his pair exactly.

“just a pain to reach behind them to power them on or off”

Amazon (owner, 5-inch)

“bei einer Leistungsaufnahme von 11W im Leerlauf wundert mich, dass man die automatische Abschaltung offenbar vergessen hat”

Amazona.de (Stephan Merk; German: "with 11 W draw at idle I'm surprised they apparently forgot auto power-off")

Sources split, unevenly. Reviewers and most owners find it solid for the money, and a teardown shows through-hole parts and a linear supply that look repairable. A small group reports dead tweeters, a broken input board or scratched cones. The maker lists an MDF front panel; hands-on reviewers describe it as plastic.

Usually called good value, by press and owners alike, though the case has narrowed as prices rose: about $380 a pair today against $119 each that one early owner paid, and about $80 above this site's JBL 305P MkII figure while under the T5V. Давай Запишем! thinks the price is the weak point in a Russian market.

“Sicher sind die Mackie MR524 für platz- und preisbewusste Anwender eine absolute Empfehlung.”

Amazona.de (Stephan Merk, at €149 each; German: "for space- and price-conscious users the MR524 is certainly an absolute recommendation")

“The pricing of all these speakers is competitive given their audio quality, though this section of the market is fairly strongly contested with plenty of worthy competition.”

Sound On Sound (Paul White)

“still one question remains open and not very pleasant – this is the price”

Давай Запишем! (English subtitles, store channel, against the cheaper Pioneer VM-50)