Tapco by Mackie S.8 Studio Monitors, Set of 2

by Tapco

Product Features

• Compact size
• Adjustable system for various room sizes and shapes
• Fine callibration controls
• Active crossovers
• Dual 60-watt power amplifiers

Product Details

• Item Weight: 82.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 44 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0002PZGBG
• Item model number: S.8 (pair)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,642 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

Amazon.com

Our S•5 Active Studio Monitors have been such a hit, producers in the hip-hop and DJ communities asked us for a bigger, louder version. Tapco designed the loudest, most accurate 8" active studio monitor in its class, and called it the S•8. With a huge low-end response, your mixes will be louder, punchier, and have a low-end you can be proud of.

Exceptional sonic performance
The S•8 Active Studio Monitors are designed to be transparent and produce uncolored low-end sound for monitoring in home and project recording studios, home theater systems, and anywhere else massive sound is required. The S•8's two-way bass reflex design provides an amazingly flat frequency response and benefits from complete system integration from the Active crossover, dual 60-watt power amplifiers, precision drivers (8-inch low frequency, 1-inch for the highs) and a custom-tuned, ported cabinet.

Cure for bass envy
The S•8's sound big because they ARE big. Perfect for serious dance and hip-hop producers, the S•8's deliver massive amounts of bass. The 8-inch woofer pushes huge volumes of air with its integrated 120-watt amplifier, but the low-end response stays clear, not tubby, due to sophisticated Active technology. A huge heatsink on the rear keeps the electronics cool when the music is pumping. And because they look as great as they sound, they can only improve the vibe of your studio.

Adjustable, to work any room
The actual room you mix in can have serious effects on how your mix sounds when played on other systems. Variables like size and shape, furniture, doors and windows, carpeted or wood floors, and where you sit when you listen, all combine to determine what you will hear is really what your mix sounds like. After all, what good is a mix that only sounds good in your studio? With the S•8, we included fine calibration controls to let you adjust the low (0, +2, +4 dB below 100Hz) and high (+/- 2dB above 5kHz) frequency response to suit your taste. More importantly, these controls help to ensure that the great sounds you get with the S•8 also sound great on your home stereo, in the car, and anywhere else your music is played.

Protecting your investment
Tapco knows people want to blast their monitors for long periods in less than laboratory conditions, so they added some extra circuitry just to keep your S•8s performing their best. The S•8s are tuned to maximize efficiency, but they can get hot when used in the real world. If the electronics get too hot, separate thermal switches activate and shut down the high and/or low frequency amplifiers until they cool down. An Over-excursion filter, just before the low frequency amplifier protects the woofer from shredding itself when the low-end is driven to the maximum. These extra protections ensure long life and monitors you can count on to have your back at all times. Finally, they've added magnetic shielding to protect your computer display or television from being permanently being tweaked from the powerful magnets found inside the S•8.

Product Description

The TAPCO S�8 is the loudest, most accurate 8 active studio monitor in its class, with a big low-end response especially well suited to modern rock, hip-hop and dance music styles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid investment in this range, November 28, 2005

By 

G. Gutierrez "G" (Fremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tapco by Mackie S.8 Studio Monitors, Set of 2 (Electronics)

Imaging is impressive on the S8. I've mixed on NS10's, JBL 4208 and 4312, and various Genelec and Tannoy models. The S8 is not as pretty as the Genelec, but I prefer it that way. Some Tannoy monitors, especially the older concentric units, are cleaner than the S8 but not by much.

Build quality is excellent, too. These are heavy, solid beasts. I'm sure there are seams on the cabinets, but we couldn't find them. They are also good looking, much more dark and aggressive than photos can relate. Overall, we have no complaints at all, especially at this price.

This is what's so great about the S8: They are an astounding value. They will definitely show you what is right or wrong with your mix, and do so better than anything else in its class at high or low volume (yes, that is an option no one ever talks about). I had read some reports about bass power problems, but I believe they perform much better in an actual studio/room rather than in a store showroom where sales-staff have likely cranked the back-panel bass option beyond reason.

If you have a chance to listen before you buy, you should. If not, search online for reviews and comparison shootouts. The S8's are a solid investment for anyone shopping in this range.

Update, Feb 2008: It looks like Mackie (Tapco) might be replacing these with the new Mackie MR8 Reference Monitors. Same price for a pair, similar specs. Worth a look as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Mackie makes good stuff, and this just proves it further, July 25, 2009

By 

Brian C. Verduin "Das Mainframe" (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tapco by Mackie S.8 Studio Monitors, Set of 2 (Electronics)

This is an absolutely amazing product. I bought these through amazon a couple weeks back from Musician's Friend for 200 for a pair on clearance. I bought these solely on a friend's recommendation and boy, I am glad I didn't pick anything else.

I can assure you of this, if you are a consumer listener and just listen to music or play games, these are honestly the best thing I think my friends have ever heard. They come over sometimes just to hang out and talk while listening to these (and I think they use it as an excuse, haha). The bass is magnificent when you turn up the switch on the back. It provides just the right amount of bass upping for casual listening.

I can also assure you that if you are a novice music maker on a budget, these are a great place to start. For this price, you are getting incredible quality. The linear sound produced by these when the switches are set to 0 are very close to what I know linear sounds like.

I recently started making my own electronic music and I felt like I was enjoying it enough to kick my music making into the next gear by buying studio monitors. I had been using Logitech speakers for years and years before I bought these and I think I may never dwell back into the consumer market ever again. Most computer speakers have the problem of being naturally high in bass and treble. My Z-4's were a great example of this because the mid-range is almost non-existent. All of my mixes done on my home computer were strong in mid-range whenever I listened on other's speakers. It was dreadfully annoying to run into this problem consistently.

Overall, these are the best looking and best sounding speakers I have ever owned in my life. I may say differently one day when I am buying 1000 dollar monitors in the future, but these are a great place to start.

Side Note: I recommend buying a Link.Firewire or Link.USB with these. The sound produced when not using the Link is noticeably less clear.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best all -round Monitors/Speakers., June 9, 2009

By 

Zed - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tapco by Mackie S.8 Studio Monitors, Set of 2 (Electronics)

These were bigger and heavier than I imagined. The S-5's would have been fine. But I got them 3 years ago and am so happy I use them all day every day for music, spoken voice from PC to 4 track to iPod. They are in a class much higher than JBL's for example. The cleanness, rich, not lacking in bass or high's. I am picky about the voice and saxophone and I think this must be the intended texture and placement. This quality for this price was so fair...well I love Tapco by Mackie. I know that love is a strong word but I love music and at last in my 50's I found the answer to the mystical science of monitor speakers in these Tapco's outside of a recording studio, right at home. Holy Cow!