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Mackie Onyx 1200F - FireWire Box


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Originally posted by Matt Hepworth

Yeah, if they had these before I got my RME setup I definitely would have gone for it. VERY cool!

 

im close to the point of bying a rme fireface, but the onyx serie looks interesting indeed. why would you have gone for the macke instead? :)

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One of the things i like about the fireface is its diminutive 1-rackspace size. It is much more convenient than the Mackie to take on the raod, and use with a PowerBook. I wouldn't want to lug the Mackie thing around in a backpack.

 

The Mackie unit looks great. I would bet the preamps are nicer than the RME, but I'm not so sure the converters are better than the RME. But that's only a guess.

 

The bottom line seems to be that both units are really nice, mature solutions for a DAW. The Mackie has a few more console-like features, I believe, but the Fireface has tons of inputs and can deal with just about any kind of signal and works really well.

 

For me, the deciding factor would be: if you think you're going to move it around with a laptop, I'd get the fireface. if you're going to put it into a rack and never move it, maybe get the Mackie. If you need the extra mic pres, I'd get the Mackie. If you don't like Mackie because in the past, not everything they makes sounds good, I'd get the RME (although Mackie has evolved a lot quality-wise in the past few years).

 

Disclosure: i have a Fireface and would probably choose the fireface over the mackie if I had to do it again, but I might get the Mackie and then something smaller than the Fireface to take on the road.

 

-Peace, Love, and Brittanylips

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On the old forum in a daffy dictionary thread Dan South coined a useful term.

 

See Mackieon

 

 

Mackieon - (noun) The vast time period between the announcement of a product and its availability in stores. Also know as a Kurzwhile.

 

 

disclosure: I bought an i88x and decided to decide again, later. Hopefully, much later.

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Originally posted by Matt Hepworth

No, a 1640 with a firewire card would cost you about the same price. Also, the 1640 w/ Firewire card provides only a stereo return from the computer (versus THIRTY FOUR outs on the 1200F) - so much for routing.

 

 

I have no need for 34 outputs (that means you have to buy one heck of a board to mix outside the box anyway).

All I want to do is to record bands with a mobile setup that can be quickly set and that can give me 4 headphone feeds. I guess the 1640 is still a better solution for me, plus it makes recording live gigs while mixing for the PA possible

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  • 3 months later...
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The 1640 does indeed look nice but:

 

no ADAT

no SPDIF

Converters are lower quality than the 1200/400f

 

It all depends what you need though, as long as the converters on the 1200f are a step-up from the Layla24 that Im using now, and the latency is comparable, Im sold.

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I think the 1200F should have higher quality pres and converters than the 01v96, in addition to a small footprint and tighter integration into a PC setup.

 

One thing that is really making me consider the 1200F is that mackie teamed up with Echo for the Firewire I/O, and Im a huge fan of their products. They're known for their rock-solid drivers and great audio quality...heck they keep updating the drivers for my Layla24 and that was discontinued like 2-3 years ago.

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the 1200f is supposed to be VERY similar to the 400F (internally) ... I have not heard many good things about the 400f's compatibility thus far... lots of bugs. Take that into consideration. The mackie (onyx) forum is full of posts w/ people returning their units. And I was all psyched to buy one. I also read somewhere that you can't adjust the volume on the line inputs on teh unit... so if you want to di a guitar... u are at the software's disposal... not sure if that's a big deal or not.

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Most new units have issues when they're first released...perhaps that's why they're holding on the release of the 1200F...

 

Craig's pro review seemed awfully positive, at least from a Sonar user's perspective.

 

You can adjust the volume on most units with a direct line-in (at least, on my Layla24 I cant), and its never been a problem The 1200F is supposed to have Hi-Z inputs, I believe.

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