In looking for Bluetooth speakers for my laptop set up in my office, I stumbled upon the Mackie Cr5-XBT 5″ multimedia monitors with Bluetooth. Priced at $220, these multimedia monitors deliver on the price point. Here’s my review.
About the Mackie Multimedia Speakers
Features
Features include a five-inch woofer and .75″ tweeter and a built-in amplifier with 80W peak power. There are also 1/8″, 1/4″ and RCA inputs. The Bluetooth connectivity allows you to pair it with any Bluetooth-enabled device and start streaming music to these monitors.
Pros and Cons
I like the front panel headphone out and volume control because this makes the monitors easy to use. The high-quality cables are included for extra value and make set-up super simple. For all the included features and superior sound experience in terms of the immersive feel and clarity, the price is a real plus.
Other things I like about these is that I can choose which side of my desk gets the volume knob. I can also plug into my smartphone or other source and listen immediately without any pairing or syncing on my part.
I couldn’t find any cons to these speakers.
In the Box
When you get these multimedia monitors, the box also contains some accessories. These accessories include acoustic isolation pads, multiple cables to connect computer output to speakers, a speaker-to-speaker cable, and a cable to connect a smartphone to a media player.
A professional recording software and plugin package is also included as well as 23 plugins for various sound and recording needs.
Where to Buy
You can buy these speakers from Amazon, Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Sweetwater, and AmericanMusical.com.
Final Thoughts
I recommend these multimedia monitors to anyone that works from a home studio or for gaming and content creation. The price is more than fair for something that delivers studio-quality sound in such a small package. Plus, it looks sharp on a home office desk set-up.
