Mackie Onyx quality?

[Jay M]

I've had some very bad experience with Mackie products. I have two first generation 16 channel Onyx mixers that both have issues with.

Recently I have been working with a newer 24.4 Onyx mixer and I must admit I love it. It sounds great, does everything I need, and is dirt cheap. I think the six aux sends which are post EQ and the 4 bands of EQ make it work really well. You just need to set the monitor levels and do the EQ at the same time.

Has Mackie turned around? Is their quality better?

I will soon be recommending a new 32 channel board and would like to have one that will last for about 10 years.

I think it would be best to avoid digital because it will be too complex for the people running it, and even the Pros who will be running it occasionally won't really have a need for the added features.

But I'm here for a discussion, so I'm open to all thought s and opinions.

~Jay

[cmchamp]

Quality "may" be better since they lost their production facility in China. I think the new products are produced in Malaysia/Taiwan.
If you're looking at a brand with a track record of longevity - Allen & Heath probably has the best recognition there with Soundcraft and Midas a second and third.
Mackie is still shooting at the "retail" market, not necessarily the "pro" or "install" so their feature set is good, but the component quality will be lacking.
For longevity, I have a 1992 Allen & Heath GL2 that still sounds great, even after being beat up by the previous owner. That's almost 20 years!
The next question that will be brought up will be budget. What's your budget range?
C.

[Jay M]

Thanks for the reply,

Do you think a new Allen & Heath board will be built as well as a 20 year old one?

We don't have a budget yet, I'm just getting ideas to make a proposal.

The room is a gym with pretty much no acoustic treatment! It is just plain awful. I hope I can convince the money people of the importance of proper acoustic treatment.

The room is used by two different Sunday school classes, one at 8:30am with about 300 people, and then another at 10:30am with about 700 people. On extra crowded days the people absorb a lot and it's not so bad. The total capacity is about 900, but I don't know the exact dimensions.

The group of 300 mostly does hymns on a piano, and sometimes guitar and percussion. The larger group usually has a full rock band- which happens to do mostly hymns, but more modern sounding.

Both groups usually have about 45 minutes to an hour of preaching, so speech ineligibility is very important.

The PA consists of 2 18" subs, and 2 EAW speakers on stands. For monitors they just use wedges.

The second hour band is outstanding and really deserves a quality sound system.

My thoughts are that we should spend a significant amount of money to get the room treated, and use a center cluster and subs. Then with what's left over we can get a new board, mics, and other stuff that is more easily upgradeable.

The room has hollow wood floor, cinder block walls, and the ceiling has some very thin acoustic panels (which have been painted numerous times) covering it.

What would you recommend for this echo chamber? With all that needs to be done I was considering compromising the board and a few other items to make sure the essentials such as acoustics, loudspeakers and amps can be best in class. We can swap out the board anytime in the future if needed.

thanks,
~Jay

[Tim Padrick]

The Onyx are good units, but I'd recommend Allen & Heath. If 24 channels will do, the Presonus SL24 is quite a deal at $2800 shipped.

[pdc]

I am getting in late. Do not expect any new console in that category to last problem free for more than 5 years.

Mackie at one point was no better than Behringer. To keep costs down, they opted to not buy the best parts, and to not stock sufficient supplies for service. As Mackie products age, in some cases only one year after being discontinued, there can be no parts and little to no support. But, this is the crummy age in which we live. Companies are not building to be better and last longer. Companies are building features for less money.

I will say that the dude commissioned to turn Mackie and Loud around did so. He did such a good job that his contract was bought out, he was paid a nice chunk of change and now things are on course. Mackie is seeking to be a major force again, but the dealers, like the one I work for, are cautious. We were bitten once or twice before. People now know that Mackie does not equal quality.

A&H build some good low end stuff, and the new stuff will not be worse than the old stuff. Because of RF congestion, old pot, fader and switch wear, the new one with a warranty will be a much better buy.

A&H is getting ready to release digital versions of the MixWizard line, so you might hold off until those hit the streets.

[stevelam]

Mackie hurt me so badly, I don't think I can love them again LOL. In the price range of the Onyx 32.4, I think that the Soundcraft GB2 32 would be a better buy.