After much debate I have found the firewire mixer I want...A&H ZED-R16

ncmail

ncmail

The Banana Man
I have read a SHIT TON of reviews this last week or so and watched as many videos I could find on various USB and IEEE mixers. I finally settled on the Allen & Heath ZED-R16! I was going to spring for a Mackie Onyx 1640i. The reviews were just not 'top notch' enough for the price IMO.

Now I am just waiting on Uncle Sam (2009 income tax housing credit of $2500 :D) Letter I got last week said to expect it in 1-3 weeks, I'm pulling for sooner rather then later haha.

Just for kicks does anyone have any experience with this unit? How do you like it? and what have you fell in love with/disliked about it?

I am also in the process of building a PC for the "studio" AMD Quad Core processors, 8 GB of RAM, 2 TB HDD (for storage), 500 GB HDD (for OS), and various other goodies. I have not decided on a sound card being that (to my understanding) the R16 replaces my sound card when it is in use. I do not know how much I wanna throw into one if it will barley be utilized
 
I do not know anything about that mixer or A&H in general. I vaguely remember them being a quality brand many eons ago, don't know if that changed. But,

That board looks cool!!! 26 ins and 26 outs, plus control surface functionality. Sounds perfect for live gig recordings and FOH mixing. The one little detail that is important is the audio can be streamed to the computer Pre-EQ. This is important because whatever adjustments you need to make as an FOH board won't get recorded.

For a home recording studio, it might be overkill. Depends on what you want to do. If money is a premium, you might want to reconsider where you spend it. Again, it all depends on what you want to do.

and you're correct, this board can replace your soundcard.
 
I went the Mackie route, with the original 1640 back in 2007. Has been a workhorse for me. Im thinking of getting the 1640i for the added firewire options and the added preamp tap after the eq option. I had looked at the Zed's and they too recieved good reviews. Either one will do fine. The Mackie will give you the option of using ProTools (M version) or the new 9 version out of the box.
 
Way to go ncmail, it will be my last piece of hardware upgrade that i'm after for a while, when i get there. I'm still on my multimix and like you have red and researched. I originally wanted the mackie when i started on IEEE 4yr ago but ended up with the multi for a cost reason. The mackie spec is good but the A&H is always better in every way. I have owned large and small format A&H and mackie consoles. The zedr pres' and eq is the best they make & they sound great. A&H in my view has always been the stepping stone between cheap and the un affordable. My only dislike with it is the congestion of buttons on faders but thats a small price for everything else it can do.

Love to here a review when you get it up and running.
 
Thanks for the responses everybody. I was planning on doing a full video review of it and putting it on youtube. Mainly because there is really nothing on youtube about their ZED line...well at least in English :confused: Im set on this one. Just waiting on the government to give me my $$ back now
:drunk:
 
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