Mackie MP-460 Quad Balanced Armature Professional In-Ear Monitors
The MP-460 is the top of the Mackie MP Series and the only quad driver model. Four balanced armature drivers from Knowles sit behind a precision 3-way crossover in each monitor, with two of those drivers assigned to high frequencies alone. That is what lets fine detail come through without the hardness a single stressed driver produces.
- Quad balanced armature drivers: Knowles armatures custom designed specifically for the MP Series.
- Precision 3-way crossover: keeps the balance even across the whole frequency range instead of leaving one driver to cover everything.
- Two drivers on highs: the finest detail resolves without harshness, with an incredibly smooth midrange.
- Up to 40dB of sound isolation: from an ergonomically molded low-profile enclosure that also supports bass response.
- Clear enclosure: a streamlined onstage look.
- Detachable MMCX cable: shielded and braided, with a swivelling connector and over-ear routing that keeps the cable behind your head.
- Twelve sets of ear tips: foam, silicone, wide-bore silicone and triple flange, each in small, medium and large.
- Included: hard molded case, second braided cable with in-line remote, gold-plated eighth-inch to quarter-inch adapter, cleaning tool and cleaning cloth.
- Key figures: 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, 15.5 Ohms plus or minus 15%, sensitivity 118dB plus or minus 3dB at 1mW at 1kHz.
The MP-460 is where the MP Series stops adding drivers. Four balanced armature units per side, sourced from Knowles and custom designed for this series, replace the dynamic drivers used further down the range. Armatures are small, fast and easy to drive, and with four of them you can hand each part of the spectrum to a driver built for it.
Four drivers and a 3-way crossover
A precision 3-way crossover splits the signal so the balance holds across the entire frequency range. Two of the four drivers are dedicated to high frequencies, which is the reason cymbals, air and consonants stay legible at volume instead of turning brittle. Mackie describes the midrange as incredibly smooth, and that is the practical benefit on stage: vocals sit clearly without you pushing the level up to find them.
Fit and isolation
- Ergonomically molded low-profile enclosure for comfort, isolation and bass response.
- Up to 40db of sound isolation.
- Clear enclosure for a streamlined look under stage lighting.
- Four tip types, foam, silicone, wide-bore silicone and triple flange, in three sizes each.
- Over-ear cable routing with a detachable, swivelling MMCX connector.
Sensitivity and what is in the box
Impedance is 15.5 Ohms within 15% and sensitivity is quoted at 118dB within 3dB at 1mW at 1kHz, which is very high, so the MP-460 gets loud from a beltpack without asking much of it. Frequency response runs 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Along with the monitors you get a hard molded case, a second braided cable with an in-line remote for listening away from the stage, a gold-plated eighth-inch to quarter-inch adapter, a cleaning tool and a cleaning cloth.