Anyone interested in seeing modification done for the Mackie Onyx 1640i?

trymonlam · 7th February 2012

Hello guys,
I would like to know how many of us here would be interested in seeing some mods done for the 1640i? I am thinking of making this happen. Here's the story.
a few weeks ago, I helped out a friend of mine over a consulting gig for a MI/backline purchase for a local club. This friend wants to repay me by doing something for me.
The guy's a seasoned tech in the pro-audio business, having spent 20+ years designing and manufacturing equipments, at one point he used to own and operate a design house that does outsourced design work for SSL(He's reluctant to tell me too much details. All he mentioned was a compressor module that goes into some box) and the like. He now designs and manufactures his own hifi equipments for a small and dedicated group.
I did not know what I should ask for. So I had him looked into my 1640i. He opened it up, and sooo.... one thing led to another, he's entertaining the idea of trying to do some mods on it. It might cost me some money, but I was intrigued.
We have yet to test the performance of the mixer, noise floor, preamp bandwidth, etc. If there's enough interest, I will try to push ahead and have him look into modding this thing. I will try to document the details of the work that's done here. What we did, what we used, and possibly how you can do it too.
so, guys, how many of you are out there with a 1640i? Let me know what you think.

David C. · 8th February 2012

Sure, if you do some mods and it sounds better, then please keep us posted!

manzini · 8th February 2012

little question: could be hard to mod ? is a big SMD device or not ?

if you found any mod, pleased if you keep here.

tINY · 8th February 2012

Adding BW control on the EQ may be interesting....

-tINY

trymonlam · 9th February 2012

alright, a little update.
Supposedly, the first thing that annoys my tech(goes by the nickname "fumac", he might show up here some time later, say hi to him if he does) is the power supply. Man, the amount of swear that man can dish out over that mixer power supply.
So the plan is this. The power supply that sits in the bottom of the mixer will be taken out. Then design and manufacture a linear power supply that sits outside the mixer, and provide various power rails through a aiviation jack on the back on the mixer.
This probably will take some time. So I will keep this thread alive and well with sporadic updates. Once this is done, we will probably look into removing the 6db pad and probably look into the possibility of some op-amp replacement.

tINY · 9th February 2012

Interesting choices...

-tINY

Tejan · 9th February 2012

I'd love it If someone modded 1640i's commercially. I've still got mine and would be psyched if it could be upgraded... No point letting good gear go to waste!

trymonlam · 11th February 2012

well, I suppose at the beginning was not to add new functions to the mixer, but to make its original functions better. well, adding a new function or two could be a good idea too. I will have fumac look into whether this is a possibility.
Tiny, do you mind telling me what you mean by adding BW control to EQ?

tINY · 11th February 2012

A switch or a knob to change the range of the filters - more like a parametric EQ.

I don't see any issues with the power supply as designed, but mine always got fed reasonably clean power. We'll see how it does long-term, but it works great as is.

-tINY

gravyface · 11th February 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by tINY

A switch or a knob to change the range of the filters - more like a parametric EQ.

I don't see any issues with the power supply as designed, but mine always got fed reasonably clean power. We'll see how it does long-term, but it works great as is.

-tINY

I would say two potential issues:

a) heat. An external power supply would reduce the internal temperature significantly.

b) replacement. Much easier to swap in a new power supply if it's an external (detachable/threaded) power supply.

stgaudio · 11th February 2012

I would definitely like the line level inputs to bypass the preamp gain stage and go DIRECTLY to the A/D.

What would swapping out the PSU achieve exactly?

gravyface · 11th February 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by stgaudio

I would definitely like the line level inputs to bypass the preamp gain stage and go DIRECTLY to the A/D.

What would swapping out the PSU achieve exactly?

Either the tech thinks it's under powered (or perhaps the modifications he has in mind require more power), or a maintenance/longevity decision to reduce the amount of heat in the unit.

Seeing how small it is, I could see that it would get pretty warm in there.

Also, it would make PSU replacement easier.

trymonlam · 12th February 2012

well,
The tech has been a analog/linear power supply designer for the last 20 years. It seems like he bitches at all the switch/digital power supply gear I bring to him to check out. this may be a personal thing. I don't know. I am working on a session for some original music written for a modern dance group. once I am done, I will drop the mixer at the tech's house. We will have some real testing done(His lab equipment measures down to -130db noise floor, so we will have some definite answer.) as well as some graphs to look at, to determine if a linear power supply is indeed the wisest route. I will keep you guys posted.
about rerouting the line in signal to bypass the gain stage, well, we have discussed this. we will look into the possibility of a bypass button to switch route the signal through some kind of buffer instead of the op-amps, thus bypassing the gain.
and yes, I do think the mixer is fairly warm with the power supply in there.

trymonlam · 12th February 2012

by the way.
I do apologize for misusing any lingos and terms in my posts. I am in no way a tech and have always knew that i knew too little about the subject of electronics to matter. My writings are somewhat translated from our conversation conducted in another language. If there's any confusion, please speak out. I will try to do my best to correct it.

tINY · 13th February 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by gravyface

I would say two potential issues:

a) heat. An external power supply would reduce the internal temperature significantly.

b) replacement. Much easier to swap in a new power supply if it's an external (detachable/threaded) power supply.

I wonlder how much less a second mixer waiting in the closet costs than all that custom work.

I see your point, but if you need something that lasts 30 years and can have it's power supply swapped out in 20 minutes, you probably want something more robust than Mackie gear - even if it doesn't sound quite as good....

Mackie stuff has been pretty solid for me over the years, but the cost is low enough that replacing it seems like a viable option most times. I understand the modder-bug, I just do that with other things myself. In this case, changing the function seems like the way to go.

But, if the tests show that there is a noise problem that I haven't noticed on mine (or a heat problem with that 85% efficient SMPS?) then that should be a reasonably easy mod....

-tINY

gravyface · 14th February 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by tINY

I wonlder how much less a second mixer waiting in the closet costs than all that custom work.

I see your point, but if you need something that lasts 30 years and can have it's power supply swapped out in 20 minutes, you probably want something more robust than Mackie gear - even if it doesn't sound quite as good....

Mackie stuff has been pretty solid for me over the years, but the cost is low enough that replacing it seems like a viable option most times. I understand the modder-bug, I just do that with other things myself. In this case, changing the function seems like the way to go.

But, if the tests show that there is a noise problem that I haven't noticed on mine (or a heat problem with that 85% efficient SMPS?) then that should be a reasonably easy mod....

-tINY

I'm not saying I agree with the modifications -- if I'm going to tear apart some gear, it's going to be to significantly improve sound components, unless there was a glaring weakness (or it's vintage gear, and there's really no choice).

boolve · 24th April 2012

Any news? I realy like this thread. My Mackie have power supply problema I need to replace it. It's 1640 and 1640i power supplys same voltages?

trymonlam · 4 Weeks Ago

I do not own a 1640, but I do suspect that 1640i and 1640 has similar power supply.
Currently my tech has been working to release his new DA converter using the 9018 chip. He couldn't be bothered by my little leisure time work orders. I will get around to it. I will post updates here once I have some.

7th February 2012	#1
trymonlam Gear Head Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 72 Thread Starter	Anyone interested in seeing modification done for the Mackie Onyx 1640i? Hello guys, I would like to know how many of us here would be interested in seeing some mods done for the 1640i? I am thinking of making this happen. Here's the story. a few weeks ago, I helped out a friend of mine over a consulting gig for a MI/backline purchase for a local club. This friend wants to repay me by doing something for me. The guy's a seasoned tech in the pro-audio business, having spent 20+ years designing and manufacturing equipments, at one point he used to own and operate a design house that does outsourced design work for SSL(He's reluctant to tell me too much details. All he mentioned was a compressor module that goes into some box) and the like. He now designs and manufactures his own hifi equipments for a small and dedicated group. I did not know what I should ask for. So I had him looked into my 1640i. He opened it up, and sooo.... one thing led to another, he's entertaining the idea of trying to do some mods on it. It might cost me some money, but I was intrigued. We have yet to test the performance of the mixer, noise floor, preamp bandwidth, etc. If there's enough interest, I will try to push ahead and have him look into modding this thing. I will try to document the details of the work that's done here. What we did, what we used, and possibly how you can do it too. so, guys, how many of you are out there with a 1640i? Let me know what you think.

11th February 2012	#11
stgaudio Gear nut Joined: Dec 2011 Location: South West UK Posts: 137 2 Reviews written	I would definitely like the line level inputs to bypass the preamp gain stage and go DIRECTLY to the A/D. What would swapping out the PSU achieve exactly? __________________ ______________________________________ I'll try anything twice

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8th February 2012	#2
David C. Gear addict Joined: Jun 2009 Location: Race Horse and Bourbon State Posts: 357	Sure, if you do some mods and it sounds better, then please keep us posted!

8th February 2012	#3
manzini Gear maniac Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 182	little question: could be hard to mod ? is a big SMD device or not ? if you found any mod, pleased if you keep here.

8th February 2012	#4
tINY Gear Guru Joined: Jul 2004 Location: Orygun Posts: 10,233	Adding BW control on the EQ may be interesting.... -tINY

9th February 2012	#5
trymonlam Gear Head Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 72 Thread Starter	alright, a little update. Supposedly, the first thing that annoys my tech(goes by the nickname "fumac", he might show up here some time later, say hi to him if he does) is the power supply. Man, the amount of swear that man can dish out over that mixer power supply. So the plan is this. The power supply that sits in the bottom of the mixer will be taken out. Then design and manufacture a linear power supply that sits outside the mixer, and provide various power rails through a aiviation jack on the back on the mixer. This probably will take some time. So I will keep this thread alive and well with sporadic updates. Once this is done, we will probably look into removing the 6db pad and probably look into the possibility of some op-amp replacement.

9th February 2012	#7
Tejan Gear nut Joined: Dec 2011 Posts: 101	I'd love it If someone modded 1640i's commercially. I've still got mine and would be psyched if it could be upgraded... No point letting good gear go to waste!

12th February 2012	#13
trymonlam Gear Head Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 72 Thread Starter	well, The tech has been a analog/linear power supply designer for the last 20 years. It seems like he bitches at all the switch/digital power supply gear I bring to him to check out. this may be a personal thing. I don't know. I am working on a session for some original music written for a modern dance group. once I am done, I will drop the mixer at the tech's house. We will have some real testing done(His lab equipment measures down to -130db noise floor, so we will have some definite answer.) as well as some graphs to look at, to determine if a linear power supply is indeed the wisest route. I will keep you guys posted. about rerouting the line in signal to bypass the gain stage, well, we have discussed this. we will look into the possibility of a bypass button to switch route the signal through some kind of buffer instead of the op-amps, thus bypassing the gain. and yes, I do think the mixer is fairly warm with the power supply in there.

24th April 2012	#17
boolve Gear interested Joined: Apr 2012 Posts: 3	Any news? I realy like this thread. My Mackie have power supply problema I need to replace it. It's 1640 and 1640i power supplys same voltages?

4 Weeks Ago	#18
trymonlam Gear Head Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 72 Thread Starter	I do not own a 1640, but I do suspect that 1640i and 1640 has similar power supply. Currently my tech has been working to release his new DA converter using the 9018 chip. He couldn't be bothered by my little leisure time work orders. I will get around to it. I will post updates here once I have some.