High End "Big Knob"?

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bdam123

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I've had my Mackie Big Knob for a few years now and I think its finally conking out.

I was wondering if there were any high end companies producing the same kind of controller. If I'm going to have to replace it soon, might as well upgrade.

Thanks
 
Crane Song Avocet. One of the best controllers I've used with one of the best DA's for the purpose and a bargain at twice the price.
 
I have the Dangerous D-Box. While not strictly a dedicated monitoring controller, it's got all the features of one with the addition of eight channels of high end summing. And I promise you, the DA is STELLAR. It's got two digital inputs (AES), one analogue input, two headphone outputs, a talkback, two pairs of switchable speaker outputs and, of course, the summing bus. In "special" mode you can monitor from all inputs at once or switch between them as the toggles become "latching".

I love mine and couldn't live without it. Price ain't too shabby, too.

Cheers :)

EDIT: I realise now you're probably asking for a specific remote panel kind of controller a la the Big Knob so take my post with a pinch. FWIW, it still kills the Big Knob, though. If you got the money, as said, the Avocet or the Monitor ST will also blow your socks off.
 
So are these monitor controllers and audio interfaces in one?

I'm using PT. I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the DA in this case right?
 
No, they are monitor controllers with digital and analogue inputs.

The digital inputs are AES/EBU (also known as AES3), which is a digital transmission protocol developed by the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcast Union. It is a standard protocol that is utilized in a lot of pro-level digital gear. From Wikipedia:

"AES3 is a standard used for the transport of digital audio signals between professional audio devices. It is also known as AES/EBU and is published by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and as part of IEC 60958. It was developed by the AES and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and first published in 1985 and later revised in 1992 and 2003. It is able to carry two channels of PCM audio over several different transmission mediums including balanced and unbalanced lines and optical fiber. A consumer variant of the standard, S/PDIF, is also available."

However, an AES/EBU input can also be fed via SPDIF so if you have an SPDIF output on your interface you can make use of the DA.

What interface are you using?

Cheers :)
 
Oh ok I get it.

Im using an MBox Pro.

Do you guys know of any in the middle ground in terms of price range?

I was looking to spend like $700-$1000.

No really ready to take a 2k hit right now.
 
I am curious as to what you mean by the Big Knob 'conking out'. I use one myself and would like to know what might happen...
 
jimmys69 said:
I am curious as to what you mean by the Big Knob 'conking out'. I use one myself and would like to know what might happen...
Click to expand...

Have you never had your big knob conk out before, Jimmy :p?
 
bdam123 said:
Oh ok I get it.

Im using an MBox Pro.

Do you guys know of any in the middle ground in terms of price range?

I was looking to spend like $700-$1000.

No really ready to take a 2k hit right now.
Click to expand...

Well, the MBox Pro has an SPDIF output which means the D-Box will accept it. If you can scrape up another $400, the D-Box is $1399 on Sweetwater. And I can wholeheartedly say the DA on the D-Box is absolutely fantastic. I HIGHLY recommend it.

If you check on ebay or forum classifieds you might find one cheaper.

Cheers :)
 
If you were happy then get another Big Knob. I love mine & so does my girl :facepalm:
 
bdam123 said:
Oh ok I get it.

Im using an MBox Pro.

Do you guys know of any in the middle ground in terms of price range?

I was looking to spend like $700-$1000.

No really ready to take a 2k hit right now.
Click to expand...

Well, the MBox Pro has an SPDIF output which means the D-Box will accept it. If you can scrape up another $400, the D-Box is R1399 on Sweetwater. And I can wholeheartedly say the DA on the D-Box is absolutely fantastic. I HIGHLY recommend it.

If you check on ebay or forum classifieds you might find one cheaper.

And no wonder your big knob is broken! You've been driving it too hard!

Cheers :)
 
The unit is just being finicky. Sometimes it will output to just one speaker, sometimes both. I changed speakers and the same thing.

If I if I feed the Mbox Pro via SDIF to the D Box, I would be bypassing the Mbox's D/A?
 
bdam123 said:
The unit is just being finicky. Sometimes it will output to just one speaker, sometimes both. I changed speakers and the same thing.
Click to expand...

Not trying to be redundant, but have you changed out the cables before blaming the Knob? Sorry but many times it is something simple that causes crap like that...

I would see the volume knob going out before in intermittent short of the outputs. Not like there are many moving parts to wear out on the thing.
 
Yea, I did the whole cable thing. And funny that you mention the actual knob because that thing is finicky too.

I checked out the Dangerous Music D Box and I really like it but I don't need the summing features.

Anything out there with the same quality thats just a monitor controller?
 
PRESONUS MONITOR STATION

Sorry, I misread your question. I'm not sure I would dump a bunch of cash into a volume knob myself. Either the Big Knob or the Mon Station are suitable for me. But what the hell do I know? ....
 
You could always run the Cue output to a headphone distribution amp. Likely that would be what you need to do anyway. Uh oh, more money. :)

Now I have GAS...
 
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