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Mackie 820i -v- Allen&Heath Zed12fx


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Hi all, I am buying a new mixer primarily for live work but also for some DAW duty as well. And I am really tired of the noisy (white noise hiss) on the channel gain pots on my Edirol M10DX.

 

I have narrowed it down to either the Allen&Heath ZED12fx, or the new Mackie 820i.

 

Thing is I have been reading some other threads here and it seems all is not "rosy" in Mackie land??

 

Anyhoo, apart from that does anyone have experience/preferences for either of the above? I know the 820i is pretty new, but I was hoping someone has some experience.

 

Thanks

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at this point in the game mackie is an unreliable company with questionable products. it doesnt really matter at this point if the happen to build something worthy of owning, their record is poor and their future is in doubt. i own some macki stuff but would never again buy in the future.

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Thanks Coaster, thats the sort of info I am looking for...Would you say the Mackie gear is unreliable?

 

I have heard of boards getting dead channels etc, for no apparent reason, and that the move to China manufacturing has damaged quality and dependability?

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Cool. I was thinking of simply adding a Tascam US144 MK II USB 2 interface to beef up the USB on the A+H. So maybe that ouwld be better. I can buy the A+H AND the Tascam interface for less than the total cost of the Mackie.

 

The mackie was pointed out to me by a dealer and teh specs did look good, AND it has the firewire interface built in, but all of that means nothing if it does not work or there is a chance of it going dead whilst using it live.

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Word to the wise.


Mackie, while once a great company, currently doesn't have a clue and warranty service is non-exsistent.

 

 

Sad but true. Mind you, they're still doing a "bang-up" job at marketing. Looks to me like they only care about attracting new customers, and sacrificing those they already have. Short-sighted strategy.

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Sad but true. Mind you, they're still doing a "bang-up" job at marketing. Looks to me like they only care about attracting new customers, and sacrificing those they already have. Short-sighted strategy.

 

 

I'd expect nothing less of LOUD Tech. They're a train-wreck. The best we can hope for is that some entrepenaurial souls buy the rights to Mackie and Ampeg's lines and resurrects what were pretty decent products.

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I own numerous Mackie products and for the most part like my Mackie products. The Onyx series stuff work well for dual purpose in live/recoding applications. The biggest beef about Mackie trying to get service or tech support. Not that any of my Mackie products have ever failed but just simple questions like what to do on certain applications. It's very frustrating not having someone there to walk me through complicated applications.

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I own numerous Mackie products and for the most part like my Mackie products. The Onyx series stuff work well for dual purpose in live/recoding applications. The biggest beef about Mackie trying to get service or tech support. Not that any of my Mackie products have ever failed but just simple questions like what to do on certain applications. It's very frustrating not having someone there to walk me through complicated applications.

 

 

My biggest beef is the failures. I have a customer that's now 3 for 3 on the Onyx products. I had hope for them but it doesn't look like it's working out.

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I don't think anyone has mentioned it, and you might know about this, but just know that the ZED's usb feature is only able to send a 2 track stereo mix to your comp.


It's not going to multitrack like I'm thinking the Mackie can.

 

 

Yeah, thanks. I was aware of that...Its one of the reasons for considering the 820.

 

The only workaround is that I already own a Tascam US144 MK II USB 2 interface, so I was thinking of that. But having said that even it is only capable of two stereo ins, I think???

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My biggest beef is the failures. I have a customer that's now 3 for 3 on the Onyx products. I had hope for them but it doesn't look like it's working out.

 

 

Andy,

 

What is usually the problem with the Onyx? Is it stil the Mackie ribbon issue? How are the repairs on the Onyx mixers? I'm just gearing up my info in case mine ever fails.

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The only workaround is that I already own a Tascam US144 MK II USB 2 interface, so I was thinking of that. But having said that even it is only capable of two stereo ins, I think???

 

 

Yup only two ins... SO the only diference is that instead of going usb to the computer, you'll be going firewire.

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Well thanks to to everyone for contributing your views on this subject. I have decided to go with the Allen and Heath ZED12FX. Now all I need is a decent firewire interface......But THAT's another story LOL

 

Cheers

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Andy,


What is usually the problem with the Onyx? Is it stil the Mackie ribbon issue? How are the repairs on the Onyx mixers? I'm just gearing up my info in case mine ever fails.

 

 

Intermittents on all three. Don't know what the causes are, and frankly at this point I really don't care because any significant repairs cost more than the boards are really worth. The intermittents are NOT insert points, that I tested. It may be ribbon cables, maybe bad solder joints, maybe defective parts, but 3 out of 3 are odds that this customer can no longer deal with.

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Intermittents on all three. Don't know what the causes are, and frankly at this point I really don't care because any significant repairs cost more than the boards are really worth. The intermittents are NOT insert points, that I tested. It may be ribbon cables, maybe bad solder joints, maybe defective parts, but 3 out of 3 are odds that this customer can no longer deal with.

I have had my 1640 for about 5 years no problems so far. Knock on wood. :)

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