JBL One Series 104 or Mackie CR4? Which one is better and why? Comparison review

Today we will finally put JBL 104 agains a fair competitor from comparable price range - Mackie CR4 - as two previous monitors compared with 104 where from higher price bracket. Mackie CR4 is on the market for few years now and owns a big share of market that JBL is aiming at, so let's find out which one is better!

Build Quality & Features

JBL 104 is a fine looking monitor, much more interesting to look at than plain and slightly tacky (green rings) Mackie CR4, JBL also has smaller footprint on desk. Build quality is another area where JBL (even though it is build mostly from plastic with the exception of metal grilles) feels sturdier and more premium than Mackie.
Featurewise, these two are quite equally matched. the only difference is that JBL has auto standby function which Mackie lacks. JBl has slightly more powerfull amplifier rated at 2x30W, while Mackie's amp is rated at 2x25W. Both CR4 and 104 has some hiss audible at idle, but neither is terrible in this regard.

Sound Quality

Sadly, neither JBL nor Mackie has truly flat frequency response one would expect from a studio monitors. Fortunately both are quite flat and neutral between 700kHz to around 4kHz, so the vocals sound good on both. The main defferences shaping the overall sound character of 104 and CR4 is just outside this range. Mackie CR4 has a dip in the frequency response at both ends of this range, between 300Hz and 700Hz and between 4.5kHz and 7kHz. The dip in lower mids in CR4 is responsibnle for the speakers sounding hollow and lacking in body, while the upper mid dip means CR4 also lacks crispness and presence in the upper mid ranges. 104 on the other had has a big boost in the upper mids (4kHz to 5.5kHz) followed by a dip (5.5kHz to 7.5kHz) and than another spike in the lower treble around 8kHz. In result JBL has bright and forced upper mids and lower treble, adding shine and sparkle to your music that was not there originally, and that can be tiring on longer listen. Fortunately for 104 its low mids are better balanced with the rest of the spectrum than in CR4, so JBL has more presence and body but also adds a touch of boxinees in the lower midrange. Mackie CR4 has smoother and more natural treble response.
Basswise JBL bests Mackie with the depth of the bass (60Hz lower reach against 70Hz in CR4), bass weigh and punch. Mackie has sounds hollow and lacks viscercal punch in comparison.
JBL, thanks to coaxial design, throws superior soundstage, bigger and more precise, with more depth and air, JBL's boxes do the dissapearing act more convincingly than Makcies. JBL also is able to play louder without much of distortion while Mackie becomes overly boomy very fast.

Here is a frequency response comparison between Mackie CR4 and JBL 104, measured in room at 1meter using UMIK-1 microphone:

Here is a sound comparison video of CR and 104 from my YouTube channel:

Conclusion

JBl 104 finally get a fair competitor and is able to best it, but not without a problem. 104 is better build much more interesting to look at and, more importantly, sounds a bit better than hollow and dark sounding Mackie CR4. JBL 104 gets my recommendation in this comparison.