from a mackie to a heath?

[antofants]

Been seriously considering the past couple of weeks switching out my 1604 VLZ for an AH wz16:2dx. Been hearing a bunch of good things bout this board and just wanted some last opinions (some reassurance). For those who know, are the AH pres just as quiet/quieter than the VLZ pres (I always go out the inserts on the 1604 to keep it as clean/quiet as possible). I've heard a bunch about them being smoother/warmer which would be great. But I thought I heard something about the Mackies having more headroom than the AH. Is this true, significant in differance, and is it ever a problem for anyone? Will it be kinder for some of the choirs, chamber groups, jazz bands I help record.

 

[justharold]

It is really hard to say about things like this sometime, because it is often a matter of taste. However...after saying that...I would still recommend the AH over the Mackie. The AH has plenty of headroom, as far as I'm concerned. So I do not think that would possibly be an issue.

To my ears, the AH is warmer. The Mackie is almost sterile. EQ wise, if I'm not mistaken, the Mackie has one sweepable mid. The AH has two. The faders on the AH are 100mm which gives you more control, as well.

When I was looking into upgrading my sound equipment for the road, I looked hard at the Mackie 1604. In fact, I WANTED to buy the Mackie (because that was what everybody told me to buy). However, the more I researched and the more I talked to people who were on a higher level of production than I was, the more I realized that the AH was the way to go.

I like it.

 

[robnos]

I use AH GL2200 for FOH mixing, and it blows mackie away.

As for 'warmth' i dont think that is such an issue with live sound as is quality.

for two words that sound similar, the AH is alot HOTTER than the mackie off the bat, mostly because headroom on the mic pres and the 100mm faders.
the Gain staging is incredible on those things.
theyre alittle pricier than mackie but the dollars go a long way in reliability, durability and fun

hope this helped.

 

[antofants]

Thanks for the input guys.
Harold, do you use the AH as your pres for comparing those mics?
Anyone else have some experience with AH wizards in the studio that could provide more insight? I origonally was thinking of going to the studiocraft 12M instead. But the more I read, the more I started leaning toward the AH. Still a good idea?

 

[justharold]

No, I did not use the AH to record those mics. I use my board for live apps. I do not use it for recording (reason being...I keep it in my RoadReady case along with my other live rack gear. The case weighs about one TRILLION pounds...and my studio is in the basement.)