Mackie vs. Behringer vs. Spirit - Mixer Madness

amonte

New member
I realize that this debate has raged on and on at this site, but still - I don't think any definitive answer was ever reached as to what the best small project studio mixer brand is. I have read many comments saying that Behringer mixers are just as good as Mackies. Personally, I worked with a Mackie for about a week and a Behringer for three days, and in that short time, I couldn't find any major differences...

...but when I went into Guitar Center this weekend to pickup a Behringer mixer of my own (finally), I was met by one of their harassing salesmen. He tried to convince me that Behringer mixers were noisy. Very noisy. And that Mackies were much cleaner in comparison. When I asked him for examples of this noise, he couldn't provide any (of course). This whole sales pitch seemed kind of odd, as they didn't have any Mackies to sell and a ton of Behringer mixers lying around. So he then tried to point me towards the Spirit mixing boards, which (to my surprise) were even less expensive then the Behringer mixers. Granted, I am not an audio equipment pro, but I don't believe it takes an expert to tell that just from the build quality on the outside, the Spirit mixers are lacking in comparison to the Behringer (especially the faders on the Spirit).

SO I guess what it comes down to do is the following:

1) Which is the best mixer for a small project studio?
2) Which mixer has the best performance to value ratio?
3) Is the Behringer really noisy?
4) Are the Mic pres on a Mackie that much better then those on a Behringer?
5) Where does Spirit fit into to all of this?

Thanks for your help guys. This forum has never let me down in the past when I've had to make some equipment choices, and I am sure it won't now.
 
Hello. Some of you may recognise me. I am the dithering, blabbering fool that has trawled from messageboard to messageboard, digging through sh*tloads of archives, trying to weigh up the pros and cons of virtually every single project studio console I have chanced upon. I have vacillated between the two extremes of the Allen and Heath GS3000 and the bloody Alesis Studio32. But NO MORE. I've decided to settle upon a happy medium. Yes, it's the Spirit LX7 24-channel for me. $1499.55 plus shipping. Bliss. Contentment. Peace of mind.

NOW IS THERE ANY WISEASS OUT THERE WHO'S GONNA COME AND FR**CKIN TELL ME THAT THE LX7 IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER PIECE OF SHIT TOTALLY UNWORTHY OF CONSIDERATION WHATSOEVER?!?!!!?!SHEEEAAAARHGGGHHHHH!!!!!
:eek:
 
Peace camus.Tell me more 'bout your Spirit.
How's the pre-amps,auxes.,faders,noise factors
overall operation.
 
that's a little (actually a shit load) out of my price range. Any comments on a more cost effective mixer?
 
Only flaw with the darned thing is the dumb global 48V phantom power. Rats. That aside, I do think it's more or less the perfect "mid-cheapo" console for home recordists. Definitely a contender for the best performance to price ratio. In fact, I think I saw one going for about 1300 bucks on another website (can't remember which). Check it out, amonte.
 
I'll throw in my 2 cents even though I don't own a mixer...the Behringers are so attractively priced...tough to pass up deals like that....16 channels, effects, for $330 US. Most recordists always upgrade and want something new after a few years, you may even want a digital someday. If you have lots of cash buy the 24 channel Mackie or Spirit. Also, if you buy a cheap Behringer 8 channel you can use it as a sub-mixer if you upgrade later.
 
hey! ill throw in some more confusion for you!

Check out the used tascam mixer range. the M1508, M1516, M2516, M2524. Unfortunately if you do, you will now have another set of mixers to be dealing with.. Used on ebay they go anywhere from $250 for the M1508 to $900 for the M2524. I personally have the M2516, i wish i had the M2516 but money as always is a barrier. I have no complaints besides trim knob on channel 16 got whacked off.. and its HARD to do that.
 
Behringer vs Mackie

Here is a real life example.
When doing the research for my console, I was considering the Mackie 32.8 and the Behringer MX9000. I had the pleasure of trying both boards for a month and then..........I took the Mackie back.
Both boards were noiseless, and one major plus to the mackie was that the preamp section was less coloring to input signals. fOR $2000 (cANADIAN) LESS, i HAVE A 48 INPUT (PLUS 16 ADDITIONAL INPUTS ON THE BUSES) 8 bus, 6 aux console with full meter bridge (an additional $1000 on the mackie!) 2 headphone outs with seperate level (two additional outs on back panel) inserts on mains, and 24 channels plus full talkback system.
One downfall is the grouped 48v phantom power which is grouped by 8 channels however it is available on all 24!
Dollar for dollar the Behringer is the better buy and I like Mackie but could not find enough of a noise difference to warrant the extra $3000!
One final thought, Behringer offers exceptional customer service! While transporting my board, I accidently dropped it! Behringer sent a courier within 3 days with a new board and picked up the damaged one at no cost to me!
 
Behringer is like my Oktava 319 mic

Hey guy....I own a Behringer 1804...have had no "noise problem" and have a son who worked for Mackie who can tell you some stories about that operation...Mackie is good (I said good, not great)..so don't let anyone talk you out of the Behringer...anyway...in case you ever need a mic..here is a post in the Mic dept:

Im reading from some great advisors here...likely the reason I bought the 319 from GC was because I hadn't checked our forum before buying....or I really would have taken Recording Engineers advice....its only what, 79.00 more, and you get the nice cedar box instead of the cheesy vinyl one from GC, a 20.00 value... I dont know about the shock mount...does SR include one for the 319???...so 49.00 more from SR isn't much to pay for that extended warranty which must be the result of good discriminate testing ....yea, Im thinkin of takin mine back for a refund now...nawwww i can't that's against the health laws GC says, sooo Im stuck with mine..shoot!...I'm a builder though, I guess I can make a custom box for it....and as for the warranty...well my son worked for Mackie until he moved to Texas ...he did the trouble-shooting on their mixers...so maybe I will give him a shot at it....errrk! noooo..I will let him fix my Behringer 1804 when it goes down.....well what I really intended to say here is that the 319 sounds like "some kinda wonderful" to me....and so does the 1804....let's see..I have 199 in the mic and 349 in the mixer....yep, duh...they will probably both outlast my ability to perform... I wonder if Sound Room were to work a deal with Behringer...would it give Behringer more credibility, I hear a lot of negative feedback on them ...I hear the numbers are important, but so are our ears...Im trying to strike a balance ....C7, you will love your new Octava 319!!!!! Mike
 
;83846 said:
Check out the used tascam mixer range. the M1508, M1516, M2516, M2524. Unfortunately if you do, you will now have another set of mixers to be dealing with.. Used on ebay they go anywhere from $250 for the M1508 to $900 for the M2524. I personally have the M2516, i wish i had the M2516 but money as always is a barrier. I have no complaints besides trim knob on channel 16 got whacked off.. and its HARD to do that.
tell me more about the m2516? how are the preamps compared to Behr or even Mack, is the universal phantom trouble with the non phantom mics?
 
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