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Rating And Reviews: Steinberg MR816X Audio

True Integrated Monitoring, no latency mixes! Includes Cubase AI5. Eight 'D-Pre' connections. Built-in DSP reverb.

User Ratings
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Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
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"Buy for the sound, not the features." submitted April 15, 2010

By a customer from chartermi.net
Overall
Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
Manufacturer Support
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: Recording Engineer
Music Style: Whatever the client brings me.
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Sound: The preamps are open and natural. Decent amount of head room and detail in both the high and low end. I prefer them to the Mackie Onyx preamps, which had been my favorites for a while. Feature: The unit is well made, not a rugged as the Mackie Onyx (400F, 1200F) units, but nicely constructed. Metal knobs would have been a better choice for both units. The editor software is fine, nothing spectacular, but workable. The DSP reverb is a nice, easy to edit plug-in that works well in the headphone mix. Ease of Use: The unit itself is fine, but the software is another story. Installation is difficult and a bit buggy. The editor software works well enough to set up a control room and headphone mix, but the Cubase AI 4 does not interact with the unit the way they have advertised. I can not get the "Quick Connect" feature to work and the "Headphone Mix" still requires that I use the Editor to mute the control room feed ( instead of using the "Master" knob on the unit. (Something they said you would not have to do.) Perhaps I can configure it later to work properly if I can ever get Cubase AI 4 to interact with the unit. Quality: This is really the whole point. The preamps sound good, what I play into the unit is very close to what comes out. It seems to keep the depth and width of the sound ( sound image ) intact. So I think it is worth holding on to for that reason alone. Eight preamps that sound good for less than $100 each is a good deal. Value: Again, it's all about the preamps. If it worked with out having to fuss with the software so much, the value would be higher. Manufacturer Support: So far the updates have helped, but I am still waiting on some activation problems for the software. Fortunately the unit works with my other DAW software, so not having Cubase AI 4 isn't really a problem, although it hampers my access to some features. The Wow Factor: I bought this in order to try it, as it was not available locally. I wanted something with eight mic preamps, this has them and they sound good. But it's a tool, so I don't get to excited about it. Overall: I suspect in a year or two, there will be another break through with better interfaces, this is a solid unit, but feels like a refined version is on it's way... if these sell at all.
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"Follow up to original "first impression" review." submitted April 16, 2010

By a customer from chartermi.net
Overall
Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: Recording Engineer
Music Style: Whatever the client brings me.
Back to Product Information
Sound: This is an update to the first review. I have since resolved the software issues, and the "Quick Connect" feature now works, I figured out how to set up a cue mix ( no thanks the PDF manual... ) but still find it faster to make adjustments in the MR editor than using hardware knobs, but time will tell if there is a better way to do that. So expect some set up headaches, but the thing sounds great. Feature: See original review. Ease of Use: See original review. It is easier to use when the software works properly. One odd feature is you can't use the MR editor and Cubase at the same time ( to control the unit. ) I guess it makes sense, but it was the first time I couldn't use the interface editor and my DAW at once. Quality: See original review. Value: See original review. The Wow Factor: See original review. Overall: See original review.
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