Help a stuck and confused guy out?

N

nocarsgo

New member
Hello all. So I recently decided to spring for an onyx mackie mixer, and am going to be using firewire. The issue I have is whether or not to buy the 1620i for around $1000 new (8 onyx preamps and firewire built in), or a used Onyx 1640 with the firewire card included (16 onyx preamps) for $100 more. Now I know this sounds stupid, I mean double the channels and stuff, but I don't know if the new onyx I series have some added benefits. Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don't want to make a huge investment (for me anyway) like this and make the wrong decision. Any input? I'd really appreciate it, thanks.
-nocarsgo


http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1620i/
http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1640/index.html
 
we have used this desk before and had problems with the built in firewire interface. kept popping and crackling out of nowhere after a few hours of use, almost ruined the monitors, restart of the IF and PC was the only option then. changed to lexicon usb interface then , you wont notice a significant difference in relation to latency anyway.
whats your processing software?
 
To answer the question directly, the Onyx I series have these benefits:

*The Perkins eq can be routed pre or post firewire out.
*The effects inserts can also be routed pre or post firewire out.
*The Onyx I series have a workaround that allows you to use it with ProTools M-powered. A cool feature if you want to spend money on ProTools.

Loud Technologies has had issues with their drivers ever since they brought their software development "in-house". It really is dependent on your hardware though. Make sure that your firewire chipset is Texas Instruments as this is THE most reliable chipset for audio. It is also the most recommended.

If you can get a good working setup, Mackie has some of the best preamps you can get without having to spend a considerable amount more.
 
dealing solely with 1640 vs. 1620i response, as always is 'depends'

do you need (now or in foreseeable future) more then 8 pre amps?

if more then 8 then 1640, even as a discontinued model suggests itself

The 1640 has four sub groups, plus a mono out (in addition to L/R mains) (both missing on 1620i)

1640 also has direct analog outs (even with firewire and channel inserts direct analog outs can be useful)

If you are using it primarily for in home recording and don't see the possibility of needing 9 mics on a drum kit there is probably an argument for going with the new product

If you are planning on using it for live sound reinforcement for any but the most basic set ups I'd find the 1620i to be a bit limited . . . can be used but either you'll spend a lot of time cobbling work arounds or settle into a single intransigent set up

While I don't perceive any killer upgrades, more feature creep with some useful items missing, on the 1620i . . . onyx mic pres are certainly usable but nothing I've seen suggests that they suddenly crossed into a new level with new product series. If you are using it primarily for home recording any slight improvement in channel EQ should be only marginally significant.

without doing head to head comparison (old EQ to new) I can't be sure but would be surprised if, for typical live use, the difference were make or break. The Channel strip EQ on the onyx series was functional (at least marginally better then several other entry level brand boards) but fact is for anything but most rudimentary set ups you still need outboard eq . . .

in your situation I would probably be torn as well . . . the newer model that might have sufficient feature set for near future (or forever for that matter) or discontinued model with significantly more I/O options?

At the moment I'm currently using an Onxy 12xx series for a couple of live acoustic duos and trios . . . with more flexible output (then 1620i) (& fewer mic pre's) even the small acoustic ensembles strain the abilities (but it's light weight and my next 'up' option is a 2408 A&H) . . . at some point in the next year I'll probably upgrade hardware for this niche and onyx 12xx board will go back to being a 'returns' sidecar in the project studio

good luck
 
when onyx firewire option first showed up I was quite disatisfied

and never felt that Mackie expended enough effort on driver development

that said . . . after some initial problems and a single driver upgrade I have several Onyx firewire bits of hardware that work seemlessly

TI chipset was most significant component (which I already had prior to picking up the Onyx gear) . . . But I also consistently roll the windows firewire back to XP SP1

even with this the onyx gear is more sensitive then any other firewire tech I have as order in which it is addressed on system boot nor is there a single magic sequence that suits all systems (have two nearly identical audio only laptops using the same belkin TI firewire interface that require Onyx to be attached in entirely different seqence . . . on one system, if sequence is wrong, the onyx board simply won't mount, on the other it will mount but drop out in a short period of time

my hope would be that with new 'i' series Mackie has improved drivers
 
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