Mackie Onyx 1640i 16-Channel Premium Analog Mixer with FireWire Interface

Feature:
this is where things get a little hairy, no spdif/adat inputs? no wordclock? no midi? no monitor select buttons (the yamaha n12 has 3!)? and why do most of these damn mixers have to have the on/off switch at the back of the unit (that goes for most monitors as well)??? i can understand the reasoning behind having no wordclock, the quality of affordable converters these days are exceptional anyway. 5 years ago i would as said no. but, it would have been nice. i like to use my ssl alpha channel for a big pop vocal sound and like to use its spdif capabilities- rather than hooking it up analog (don't try and tell me it doesn't make a difference to the sound, it does my friend). i've gotten around this by having my maudio 192 card installed as well. a little tricky, but it works with no conflicts! solved the midi problem too. by purchasing a tc electronic level pilot i can no also use two sets of monitors efficiently. i think mackie may have jumped the gun a little and thought most people would be buying this product for 'live' recording use, however many would want this for the studio. i would have happily paid a little more for the extra features- but like i said, people can get around it by installing a soundcard of their choice, for example.

Quality:
the quality is what you have come to expect from mackie. they've always made decent gear, even now that theyve been bought out and their manufacturing is done in china. the knobs are a little wobbly these days though (but nothing to be concerned about). as far as the new design, i like it but preffered the look of the previous onyx series. the preamps, eq and recording quality... you wont buy better in this price range (unless you buy a neve or ssl as i've already mentioned). i've also started mixing out of the box again with 2 behringer v-verb rev2496's, ensoniq dp4, neumann tlm103 mic and various fmr compressors with amazing results! i've worked in some high end studio's before and it's amazing what you can do these days at home with not much outlay. the computer to 1640i analog fw 'record to tape' style mixdown has also been problem free, and if you know what you're doing, you will get a pro, punchy, sweet sound for your tracks. sounds better than a digital mixdown (to my ears at least).

Value:
for the money theres a few comparable products out there (yamaha n12 for example), but... i like the mackie more. and it sounds better too. it will be very interesting to see what they release next!

Desirability:
as i said before i prefer the look of the previous onyx mixers, but... damned if i don't wanna carress this thing now and again.

Sound:
very interesting sound out of this unit, i compared it directly to a yamaha n12, m-audio 192 (profire converters) and e-mu 1212m (protools hd converters). the yamaha and e-mu sound very similar (a lot of people rave about these converters, to me they're a little harsh and clinical for my taste)- the m-audio sounds extremely smooth, has great extended frequency response with buckets of headroom which i really prefer. the mackie 1640i converter's sit directly between the yamaha/e-mu and the m-audio. this is very pleasing to my ears! the eq and preamps are the same as their other onyx products (if it aint broke don't fix it) however the circutry, headroom and noisefloor are a little better than previous units. ssl (which i have used and love) can compare to this unit, its squekey clean! its actually cleaner than the digital yamaha n12- surprisingly the mackie 1640i is mostly analog and less noisey... how is that possible? a very solid 9/10 for the mackie. the only reason it doesnt get a 10/10 is that while this unit is fantastic on many levels it still aint a neve or ssl. but- it's damn close for a lot less money. home studio owners will be thrilled.

Ease of Use:
considering these are early drivers (mackie don't outsource their driver team/echo product manufacturing anymore - which is great- it's all in house now!) i'm amazed it works perfectly. the installation was painless, and i have used it in sonar, cubase, wavelab and traktion in windows 7 pro64 with no problems whatsoever! that's pretty impressive with such early drivers. i havent used it in protools, but i can't see why it wouldnt be flawless. latency has been decent so far and should get even better with more updates. keep in mind ive built a decent new i5 pc with 12gig of ram and intel mobo so dont expect this kind of operation on something you havent got off your ass to upgrade recently. you really should upgrade a pc every couple of years guys- its not hard to do and it aint that expensive. you can quietly smirk when your friends rave about their 'powerful' style over substance- and very expensive macs. losers. and this is from a guy that always used macs up to about 6 years ago... the change was the best thing i ever did (just don't be stupid and get another pc for your internet surfing).

Support:
havent needed it at all so far, even after almost 2 months of constant use.

Overall:
this unit should keep me happy for a couple of years until mackie tempt me with something else. luckily the resale value on a mackie is still pretty good, being a well respected company, so my upgrades arent too problematic. most home reviewers only ever report a really good or a really bad experience with a product they have just purchased... but for me, it's made my home studio fun again with its ease of use, solid drivers, decent sound quality and flawless pc to 1640i analog mixdown capabilities. they got it (almost) right this time. thanks again mackie!