The MC-350 and MC-450 are currently the top of the range of Mackie’s professional headphone series and offer an affordable, professional grade solution for live and studio monitoring requirements. Both the MC-350 and MC-450 make use of premium materials and solid construction and are built to withstand a reasonable amount of real-world abuse. Both the MC-350 and MC-450 feature an adjustable metal headband attached to a leather stitched headband cushion and comfortable, conforming leather ear cups. The metal headband on the MC-350 and MC-450 can quickly and precisely be adjusted for a variety of head sizes. Both the MC-350 and MC-450 are designed to be comfortable enough to be worn for extended listening sessions.
The MC-350 and MC-450 have the same overall professional build specifications, the main difference between the two headphones is that the MC-350 is a closed back design, and the MC-450 has an open back design. Both the MC-350 and MC-450 have high-headroom, reference-quality 50mm transducers which provide clear, accurate sonic reproduction of your source material across the entire frequency spectrum. Frequency response for both the MC-350 and MC-450 is 20Hz – 20kHz. Impedance for the MC 350 headphone is 32 Ohms, while impedance for the MC-450 is 54 Ohms. Sensitivity for both headphones is 97 dB.
Both the MC-350 and MC-450 are great for recording and critical listening applications. That said, the MC 350 being a closed back design has better sound Isolation allowing it to effectively be used for live and location applications while still offering a color neutral, sonically accurate listening experience in the studio. For recording studio and critical listening applications, the MC-450 delivers tight punchy bass and clear and precise translations of treble and mid-range frequencies making the MC-450 suitable for just about any tracking, mixing or mastering session you will want to use them for.
Both the MC-350 and MC-450 come with a 9.8 ft. fabric-jacketed straight cable, a 4 ft coiled cable, and a 4 ft straight cable with multimedia functions (volume +/-, play/pause). The cable on both the MC-350 and MC-450 connects to the Headphone via a twist and click bayonet twist connector that securely attaches whatever of the three cable options provided with the headphones are currently being used. The other end of each of the three cables is a 1/8th TRS connector that attaches to the provided gold-plated quarter inch adaptor. Both headphones come with a protective carrying case that holds both the headphone and a separate pouch to store whichever two cables you are not currently using. Both headphones have a collapsible, foldable “swivel and tilt” design that facilitate single ear monitoring if desired and allows them to lie flat on your desktop or recording console.
As with all Mackie products, the MC-350 and MC-450 offer a solid value proposition. The Included variety of cables, carrying case, professional specifications, not to mention the affordable price points, make the MC-350 and MC-450 a great choice for your next headphone purchase and should be a cost effective enough solution to outfit an entire band, club or recording studio.
The Mackie MC-350 is available now for $199, the Mackie MC-450 is available now for $299 MAP.
Find out more at mackie.com.
