Clr or Mackie

sirgary

Member
Hi folks . Whats the best way to go ..Mackie DLM12 2000W Powered Speaker or the infamous Clr neo.
I have never tried either, Mainly rock and blues stuff.
Thanks
Gary
 
Never owned either but played the CLR a friend owned briefly and hated it for anything other than clean tones.
Plenty of people seem to like them so id advise finding someone that has one to try out.
 
I wouldn't think twice about spending the extra money for any version of the CLR if you are in the +/-$900 price range already. Period. End of story. IMHO, not even a fair comparison tonally between the DLM12 and CLR. This type of flat response and even dispersion across a wide coverage area are generally not found at this price point. Listening to the CLR has literally spoiled me to the point that almost everything other than the top of the high-end stuff sounds muffled and filtered.

JMHO, YMMV.
 
I LOVE my Neo CLR! Wish I had two. Note: I don't do a lot of high gain, but some. Mostly Fenderish tones. It sounds great, and having two inputs with separate levels coms in very handy sometimes - esp. where there are no stage monitors and I can fold some FOH into my wedge. Spring the extra $ for the Neo - your back will thank you.
 
CLR Neo.... I've used it for hundreds of shows, all different kinds of bands and music, it's great...
My RCF NX12SMA is now my secondary monitor...
 
Yes but, it's $1,445 for TWO DLM12's vs $1,399 for ONE CLR Neo. I get that the CLR is probably better (haven't heard one yet) but, let's face it, it is not two times better (got to love the law of diminishing returns). I bought the DLM's myself. I like a stereo setup and just couldn't justify $2,800 for speakers alone (more than the source material!). They sound good for me and take up very little space and a pair weighs only 62 lbs. Are they the BEST option? Probably not but, from a value standpoint, I think that they are.
 
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Yes but, it's $1,445 for TWO DLM12's vs $1,399 for ONE CLR Neo. I get that the CLR is probably better (haven't heard one yet) but, let's face it, it is not two times better (got to love the law of diminishing returns). I bought the DLM's myself. I like a stereo setup and just couldn't justify $2,800 for speakers alone (more than the source material!). They sound good for me and take up very little space and a pair weighs only 62 lbs. Are they the BEST option? Probably not but, from a value standpoint, I think that they are.

Great that the DLM12's work for you - but I'm a bit puzzled as to how you can comfortable say that it can't be two times better when you haven't heard it ??

I haven't heard the DLM12's so I can't say whether is is or not neither - but I CAN say that it could be, in fact it could very well be two times better - as if that was ever a quantifiable thing.
I'm basing this on actual long term first hand experience and countless direct A/B tests with hi-end pro level monitors costing 2,5-3,5 times the price of the CLR a piece, and with A/B's to many of the "most liked" consumer grade and priced monitors used for the Axe Fx.
None of the consumer grade monitors sound great to me - the CLR is outstanding as an FRFR monitor, and thus - to me anyway - easily two times or more better than the consumer grade monitors. Just my 0.02$
 
The CLR is heavily adored in this forum. I've tried them, they were great. Truly a great fit with the Axefx. I haven't heard the DLM12s yet but they definitely look amazing! They're downright Teeeeeensy, and 2000 watts... Eek. It's definitely worth a shot at GC for sure.

The truth is an Alto or an EV may sound amazing to you! I've seen a guy absolutely KILL on stage with an Ultra and a pair of reeeeeeally old Mackie powered PA speakers. And I can assure you that there wasn't one person in that crowd shaking his head and reading the riot act about Dispersion. Because someone tells you a story about how scientific clarity somehow makes a huge difference in how YOU will hear something doesn't make one product better than another. It takes a lot of money to own a CLR and I would definitely look at the 100+ other companies that make powered speakers before I dropped that kind of cash! I spent my money on a Xitone 212 and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Let us know how the Mackies sound! Good luck!
 
Some guys take the monitor thing way too far, and have had 20 monitors over the course of owning the axe. All the time wasted could be better spent playing. I remember tons of "flavor of the month" monitors over the years, cant count how much money some dudes must have spent. shut up and play yer guitar. :) next year the CLR will be old and busted.
 
Some guys take the monitor thing way too far, and have had 20 monitors over the course of owning the axe. All the time wasted could be better spent playing. I remember tons of "flavor of the month" monitors over the years, cant count how much money some dudes must have spent. shut up and play yer guitar. :) next year the CLR will be old and busted.

doubtful, it's been going strong for 2-3 years now as the best thing around.
 
Some guys take the monitor thing way too far, and have had 20 monitors over the course of owning the axe. All the time wasted could be better spent playing. I remember tons of "flavor of the month" monitors over the years, cant count how much money some dudes must have spent. shut up and play yer guitar. :) next year the CLR will be old and busted.

All the time you use posting about other people wasting time with monitors instead of playing - could be spend playing (just saying), so consider taking your own advice and shut up and play yer guitar - Frank will be proud of you.

The CLR's have gone way beyond what is a honeymoon or flavor of the month period - and they are still a or (to me anyway) THE top candidate unless you have a 3,500 $ pr wedge budget and for some reason don't want a CLR.

I've only owned two different monitors for the Axe - the RCF NX-10 SMA's and the CLR's.
I had the RCF's first and got those for small gigs, jams, rehearsal and so on, and that got me by, but I always considered them good for the money and capable of getting the job done, but I never thought that they were a match for the pro wedge we had on the bigger productions.
When I got to try the CLRs they completely destroyed the RCF's on all points and I had to get them. The CLRs match the pro wedges form the industry standard "name" brands at a much lower price point, and they are insanely good value for money.

There are two reasons that I've played many monitors
1) I make my living and provide for my family playing guitar, that means that I play a lot of different stages with a lot of different monitors including all the big household names in the industry. So not time wasted, but time spend playing guitar.
2) when it comes to spending my own money I wan't to be sure that I get the best solution that I can for my money, so I tried all the better consumer grade monitors that I could get my hands on to see if there were any "sleepers" that would allow me to spend less than on the CLR. I didn't find any.
 
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