Advice on mini recording rig: SM7B, Onyx etc.

[Nolet]

Hey y'all!

Been reading this forum for a long time, and I finally have a question

I'm currently researching scaling down my recording rig is size, but not in quality. My current setup is a Mackie Onyx 1220 with a Delta1010 and Genelec 1030's for monitoring.

The dillema (or trillema?):

I'm planning on ditching the PC and using my way more powerful (and living room / girlfriend-friendly) laptop for running Cubase and my plugins. Also, I'd like one or maybe two mics for recording electric guitar, acoustic and some vocals (indie / alt.country style stuff).
The plan is to order the raved about SM7B, an SM57 and an Echo Audiofire 4 to replace the bulky (and PCI-based) Delta 1010.

1. Would the SM7 and SM57 perform well enough with preamps in either the Onyx or the Audiofire? Am I waisting money on mics that will not shine with these pre's?

2. Could the SM7B replace the duties of the SM57, so I can buy a SDC instead (mainly for acoustic)?

or...

3. Would maybe a Yamaha N8 be good deal for me, regarding AD/DA conversion and preamp quality? I kinda like the 1220, but if the N8 would drastically increase the usefullnes and performance of the SM7B and other mics, I would consider it.

Thanks for the opinions!

Tim

[Nolet]

Kick! no one with any experience hooking up SM57's and SM7b's to Onyx preamps?

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by Nolet

1. Would the SM7 and SM57 perform well enough with preamps in either the Onyx or the Audiofire? Am I waisting money on mics that will not shine with these pre's?

the larger onyxs are fine so assuming yours is the same as them and the pres offer 60db gain you will be fine. i dont know the audiofire at all.

Originally Posted by Nolet

2. Could the SM7B replace the duties of the SM57, so I can buy a SDC instead (mainly for acoustic)?

they are different mics. however for guitars and vocals yes the SM7 will cover your bases very well, you wont be missing anything by not having a 57.

i dont know the yamaha but if its like their other lower end stuff the onyx should be a tad better.

maybe you would be better off to get the firewire card for the onxy for converters, it would be one less piece of gear you need. there are plenty of opinions around here on both the onyx and audiofire converters anyway.

[Nolet]

Thanks for that. I was looking at the Onyx firewire card, but it's kinda expensive and has one incredibly stupid flaw: it only has stereo output. So you can only listen back you main mix from the DAW and have no option of sending out other tracks. This design flaw from Mackie has boggled me...

[Audio Hombre]

onyx pre's or more than fine enough for an sm7b

[Ubu4him]

kel audio hm-1's on guitar sound awesome... also excellent for overheads
they have sound clips on there website.

[Ubu4him]

also you should check out the echo audiofire. supposedly good and not to expensive.

[juscallmemickey]

I've used my church's 32 channel Onyx mixer for about a year or so. I thought they sounded decent and warm, so I bought myself an Onyx Satellite around the same time I started using my church's mixer.

Using the Satellite with my SM7B, I felt that there wasn't enough gain to drive it. I had to crank it to max, which caused a lot of noise. I ended up having to boost a lot of my recordings within my DAW. I temporarily avoided this by routing/sending the mic signal from my first input into the second, which is probably not the best idea. But hey, it worked pretty well.

Recently though, I decided to pick up a few 57's and a 767a. The Satellite was able to drive them with no problem. I also placed an order for a Yamaha N12 last week for ~$1150. I wanted to buy an interface that'd be able to drive all my mics with ease and sounded good. I'd been following the Yamaha N-Series thread on GS for a while and was convinced that it was the one to get. Plus, someone said that there's about 85dB of gain, so that would solve my issue with the Satellite. Also, I heard that these preamps sound awesome. Unfortunately, my order is still on backorder, so I can't comment on how well it works just yet.

Hope my .02 was of some use!

[Nolet]

Originally Posted by juscallmemickey

I've used my church's 32 channel Onyx mixer for about a year or so. I thought they sounded decent and warm, so I bought myself an Onyx Satellite around the same time I started using my church's mixer. Using the Satellite with my SM7B, I felt that there wasn't enough gain to drive it. I had to crank it to max, which caused a lot of noise. I ended up having to boost a lot of my recordings within my DAW. I temporarily avoided this by routing/sending the mic signal from my first input into the second, which is probably not the best idea. But hey, it worked pretty well. Recently though, I decided to pick up a few 57's and a 767a. The Satellite was able to drive them with no problem. I also placed an order for a Yamaha N12 last week for ~$1150. I wanted to buy an interface that'd be able to drive all my mics with ease and sounded good. I'd been following the Yamaha N-Series thread on GS for a while and was convinced that it was the one to get. Plus, someone said that there's about 85dB of gain, so that would solve my issue with the Satellite. Unfortunately, my order is still on backorder, so I can't comment on how well it works just yet.Hope my .02 was of some use!

Thanks! That's extremelt heplful! Seems like you're on the seem path as I am. I was also checking out the Mackie Satellite, also because it's so extremely cheap right now.

[drbam]

Originally Posted by Nolet

Thanks! That's extremelt heplful! Seems like you're on the seem path as I am. I was also checking out the Mackie Satellite, also because it's so extremely cheap right now.

It has the same monitoring "design flaw" so if you are having problems with it, I'd pass. Also, other than firewire it lacks any digital I/O which is another reason the product flopped IMO. I have one and its a killer deal for 2 onyx pres and decent conversion, but definitely lacks some essential features.

[juscallmemickey]

Originally Posted by drbam

It has the same monitoring "design flaw" so if you are having problems with it, I'd pass. Also, other than firewire it lacks any digital I/O which is another reason the product flopped IMO. I have one and its a killer deal for 2 onyx pres and decent conversion, but definitely lacks some essential features.

I'm pretty sure they fixed the design flaw with their last firmware update. If it's the flaw that you're talking about, you are now able to hear the signal being recorded while recording. Hope that made sense.

One problem that's been a nuisance is that if the sample rate is set at 44kHz or 88.2kHz in the satellite's control panel, my monitors give off a noticeable hiss. The hiss is lowered enough to not be too noticeable when the sample rate is set at 48kHz or 96kHz. I've got mine set at 48kHz, so it's not too bad. I've grown used to it.

Also, there is no Vista driver support for those that need it. It also takes forever for them to make updates to firmwares.

Aside from that, it's a pretty good piece of hardware for the amount of $ it costs right now. I remember getting mine for around $250 when the price was still way over $300. I thought that was a steal. Now, you can find it for $150 retail or $100 used. That's a real bargain right there.

I also have a Yamaha GO46 on backorder from the same place I bought my N12. I paid ~$155 for it. It has many of the same functions as the Satellite. I like the fact that it also has a digital in/out and midi in/out. I'm going to be going to college soon, so it'd be more convenient to have those features built into one device. Once I get it in the mail, I'll make comparisons between the Satellite and the GO46.

[bap]

The phantom power in Onyx Satellite is not sufficient to drive 2 mics requiring true 48v power. Some mic pairs are fine.

I complained and got 3 or 4 replacements (good service, by the way) and then just decided it wasn't going to happen. One side was always going to be about 20 Db less than the other when recording in stereo.

Nice little units otherwise.

[Nolet]

Originally Posted by bap

The phantom power in Onyx Satellite is not sufficient to drive 2 mics requiring true 48v power. Some mic pairs are fine.

I complained and got 3 or 4 replacements (good service, by the way) and then just decided it wasn't going to happen. One side was always going to be about 20 Db less than the other when recording in stereo.

Nice little units otherwise.

Jeez, that's a bummer. Does this also happen when the Satellite is powered from the mains?
Anyway, I'm going for the Echo Audiofire 4 first. I just need basic AD/DA duties right now, no frills etc.

[bap]

I'm not sure what you mean when you say 'powered from the mains', but I was using the wall wart into a wall socket because it was being used for laptop/location recording and the 4 pin firewire bus won't power it anyway.

I think Mackie just under spec'd the 48v phantom and have heard similar comments regarding the larger Onyx devices as well. I read on some forum (don't remember where) that someone had measured Satellite phantom power to be close to 32v per channel which can still run certain mics just fine.

I have a RME FF800 now but still kept the Satellite.