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Mackie Onyx 1640i 16-Channel Premium Analog Mixer with FireWire Interface Reviews
Home >> Recording >> 4-Bus Mixers
Average Review: 3
Manufacturer: Mackie
Price: $1599.99
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About the Mackie Onyx 1640i 16-Channel Premium Analog Mixer with FireWire Interface
The 16-channel Mackie Onyx 1640i FireWire Recording Mixer combines the benefits of a powerful 16X16 FireWire interface with the hands-on control of premium analog features like 16 Onyx mic preamps and Perkins EQ. Plus, it's qualified by Mackie for use with all major DAWs, including Pro Tools M-Powered 8 (upgrade required*).
Mackie Onyx 1640i 16-Channel Premium Analog Mixer with FireWire Interface Reviews
I have been recording and doing live sound in various situations for about 3 years now. I used to have a Phonic Helix board 24. I purchased the phonic because I loved the concept of a real mixing board with firewire included. I did a lot of recording with the Phonic with good results. Over time I began to notice that the noise which was only sight when I bought the Phonic was getting louder. I really needed something quieter and mellower sounding. Thus the 1640I Although unlike the other people who are amazed by the flexibility that an analog mixer with firewire offers, I am not. The Helix offered this capability for a long time before anyone else came out with competitive products and I am already used to this. This thing is Dead quiet. I have the ability to turn phantom on and off on each channel, which is nice, and the ability to use the EQ section dumping into the DAW or not with the press of a button The ability to do 16 outs is no big deal to me. As near as I can figure out the usefulness of this feature is so you can insert VST plugins from your DAW into each channel thus giving you all sorts of effects for Live performances. I really don't foresee myself using this because it inserts delay, and eliminating delay on monitoring was the main reason I wanted an analog mixer in the 1st place. The Good: The onyx Preamps stand up to all the hype. They are Dead quiet, provide lots of gain, and have a very mellow sound (not sterile). I compare the sound to a friend’s Tascam 16 from the late 60’s which is extremely musical, and though the musicality of the Onyx is not as extreme, it still has a similar smooth sound. The EQ is awesome for Live work with 4 bands, they sound great. I still don't use them for recording as I prefer to dump straight out of the Pres into the DAW. This board is built like a tank The 6 aux and 4 group channels are very nice to have The Manual is very well written, and funny. Check out the section on button 21 It is nice to be able to turn phantom on and off by channel. It is nice to be able to use the EQ on the board if so desired into the DAW. The NOT Good: The pres have a nonlinear gain response there is very low gain till you get to about ¾ of the way up then there is suddenly LOTs. (still very quiet and musical even in this range) This really doesn’t matter since the signal to noise level is so low, I can just pump the levels up to where I want them in the DAW. No effects processor. If you want to change the pod configuration you have to purchase a $70 bracket.
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