Pre Amps in Mackie 1604 series

dgatwood said:
No, it's a great benchmark for consumer grade pres. With very, very few exceptions, we are not talking about old models of high-end pres when we discuss pres built into audio mixers or other audio gear.

Most audio gear with embedded pres typically use the nicest parts they can get for a couple of bucks per channel. Even a Burr Brown design costs only about three bucks in bulk (pots, power, case, knobs, jacks, etc. not included in that price). $2.90 for the chip plus a couple of resistors. And that's for chips that are at or near the high end as far as consumer pres go. Consumer gear goes down from there. :)

Because the price of low-cost op amp chips drops as better tech comes along, the quality that you can get at a given price point improves almost linearly over time. Thus, I can say with confidence that low-cost op amps built fifteen years ago (and, by association, most gear with built-in pres from that era) almost universally suck compared with all but the cheapest preamp hardware still built today.
That's a whole mess of qualification there, I just said age is not a god benchmark and it's not. I have 25 newer preamps that all sound less clear and full than my "old" ones...old prosumer opamps by the way.
 
those older mackie VLZs are great.. I/we have several nationally released albums recorded with those and a avalon channel for overdubs. Dont second guess yourself on those

There is always a $1000-$2000 channel that will sound marginally better but you are just fine with those.

If you find that a $1000-$2000 preamp sounds "marginally better" than a Mackie VLZ preamp then your experience has differed greatly from mine. The Mackie VLZ's are better than many other preamps in their pricerange. I really wouldn't give them credit beyond that.
 
this sure turned into a cock measuring contest didnt it? I forgot why I had quit posting here years ago.

I usually find when people disagree with my recommendations it's because I missed an aspect of something I hadn't considered or experienced before. Or you could just have a really small package. :cool:
 
i wanted to get something good to have mics and lines all set up and ready for my whims.

i saw all the hype about the mackie mixers with vlz preamps so i got one.

it was a nice piece to be sure. the preamps beat my tube mp and my blue tube.

then i got a rane ms 1b for 150 bucks and it was all over. the dmp3 supposedly has the same chip as the rane so my advice is... dont judge the dmp3 without trying it.

the rane made me feel like a big wet blanket had been taken off my sound.

i sold the mackie on ebay.
 
I have Mackie 1202 VLZ-Pro and an Echo AudioFire8 audio interface. When it come to basic home recording, the preamps in both units more than meet my needs and expectations. I'm sure there are better interfaces and mixers out there, but for for my needs and the level of recording that I'm doing, I just don't need any better.
 
You should listen to my rare 1980s Behringer prototype mixer. The only thing I can't figure out is why it says "MACKIE" all those places on the inside...:D
 
Back
Top