B2301 review
I just spent a week with the behringer's and they are NOT almost as flat as the mackies. They have a noticable peak around 3k which can be problematic bec its pretty narrow though probably not more than 2-3dB. Theyre also exaggerated on bottom without much detail. But you can tell if your mix has bottom and what type...deep bass, midbass, boomy bass, etc. Theyre exaggerated on top but if you set the treble to -2 or -4dB theyre ok.
If mackie's imaging is a 10 then behringer's imaging is a 3.8 (most other monitors in this range have much better imaging..event, tannoy, krk, hafler, yorkville). The midrange is pretty linear except for that 3k bump although overall the mid detail isnt that hot. If mackies tansient response is a 10 then behringer is a 4. If you listen to both speakers back to back youll likely say...there aint $900 worth of difference. On that count you would be right if you were going to use them in your living room. But if you take them home and put them to the test, play back your first couple of mixes (the shitty ones with no imaging or definition) and see which ones are more forgiving which monitors show flaws, the answer is mackie by a mile---nay, by a hundred miles. The TRUTH here is that they shouldnt be compared bec they are in a very dif price range but I guess anytime behringer puts out a product "inspired" by mackie their products will be compared. For $400 its a good deal. The one caveat here is though the behringer's ARE forgiving and hide flaws, they are easier to learn and more predictable than events, tannoys, and krks bec of their mostly straightforward midrange. I would not use these as a main reference as just about everything on them sounds better than it should but as a 2nd or 3rd reference theyre not bad.
