Please recommend a digital mixer

[mariuslacatus]

this is my first post here and i would need some help with your experience in digital mixers with or without onboard preamps/ a/d's

[PhilE]

That Sony- is it the DMX?? Is the only one Ive ever felt sounded good.

[prismtheory]

Can not go wrong with Yamaha! I believe they operate at 48 bit internally. They have two different types of EQ. The mic pres on the o2r96's and up sound great. You can buy the waves cards and use waves plug-ins internally. Built like a tank.

There's an awesome amount of power in the DM1000 board. The 02r96 is great and of course, the DM2000 if you can afford is a BEAST. I use Pro Tools HD...but if I could afford to I would mix through a Yamaha. IT just wouldn't be cost effective at this point for me to go that route.

Look into it though...pretty serious stuff.


-C

[Cojo]

New, old - expencive, cheap?

[mikesilence]

Soundtracs Virtua - best sounding digital desk I have heard so far. Next step would be a console over 100k$...

Greetz,

Mike

[quincyg]

Ramsa DA7. I have 3 of these. imho better sounding than the o2r's. you can find them for $1k loaded. 48k max rate. you can run 2 in tandem, which is what i do.

I have been wondering what my next move would be. maybe a sony dm1000. i don't think i will be upgrading any time soon though.

[tINY]

If you are going to use outboard pre/ADCs I'd skip the digital mixer alltogether.

I use a DM2000 for live/recording and it was a real B1tch to learn how to route the thing.

If you are recording, you can get the raw tracks and manipulate them in the box.




-tINY

[uncle duncan]

Yamaha 01V96. Working in the box can be a real pain, unless you either get a controller (a box with sliders and knobs - in other words - a mixer) or you really like being limited to doing one thing at a time with your mouse. You want to fade the vocal down and the guitar up at the same time, and you're going to use a mouse to do it? Good luck. I'll take a mixer any day.

[tINY]

Yeah, you probably want a control surface - which is a lot cheaper than a mixer......



-tINY

[spektor]

Roland vm mixers great sound love them

[Boby Stoica]

I gues by your nickname you're romanian, so I invite you to see my SONY DMX R 100 at my studio in Bucharest - www.voltart.ro . For me it was the best choice, upgrading from Yamaha 02R.

[AlexLakis]

I'm selling a Spirit 328 (analog/digital hybrid mixer) for CHEAP in the classified section that may be worth considering for your needs. That's got 16 channels of preamps, nice A/D-D/A, full automation, ADAT I/O, wordclock, etc.

http://www.sweetwater.com/publicatio...99/page02.html

[Pasta4lnch]

I've always been a fan of the o2r's. I have 2 old ones that are work horses and the new ones are like the old ones on steroids.

I also just did an album on the sony little guy . . . was pretty darn nice. the eq section is pretty damn extensive, the sound was also good . . .

[DirkB]

I tested the 02r96, DMX-R100 and decided to get a DM1000 (was just coming out at that time).

I really like the sound and ease of use of the DM1000. I have many times tried to get the same kind of mixes ITB, but somehow I am never able to get the sound I get on the DM1000. I especially like the automation!
I use the onboard eq and compressors quite a bit (although I use outboard for the "money channels"). I really dig the eq2 algorithm for dirt guitars...

Great little mixer!

I wonder how Yamaha is going to top the DM series mixers. If they can get the delay compensation figured out troughout all the routing and perhaps improve the eq's a little more, than that will be my next mixer. Until that time, I am happy mixing on my DM1000.

Greetings,
Dirk

[quincyg]

it seems like the digital i/o is limited on the dm1000 and 2000. i think for me to switch boards i would like at least 4 banks of adat io at 96k. also i would want the ability to route any digital channel to any analog output. the mackie xbus looked very promising to me, but the whole touch screen and full blown software kind of scares me + apparently the internal fan was a bit noisy. has anyone used one of these???

http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage...s200_front.jpg

http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage...us200_rear.jpg

the open architecture looks amazing.

what is your budget?

[DirkB]

Originally Posted by quincyg

it seems like the digital i/o is limited on the dm1000 and 2000. i think for me to switch boards i would like at least 4 banks of adat io at 96k.

Although I do agree that Yamaha should have 16ch I/O cards at 96k in there new DM series, the DM2000 is not limited at all. You have 6 slots so 48ch of 96k either adat or AES.

Originally Posted by quincyg

also i would want the ability to route any digital channel to any analog output.

That is exactly what all the yamaha boards excell at. You can route anything to anything!

Greetings,
Dirk

[quincyg]

Originally Posted by DirkB

Although I do agree that Yamaha should have 16ch I/O cards at 96k in there new DM series, the DM2000 is not limited at all. You have 6 slots so 48ch of 96k either adat or AES.

That is exactly what all the yamaha boards excell at. You can route anything to anything!

Greetings,
Dirk

that's good to know. can you do 12 channles at 44.1 instead of 6 at 96? i seem to remember that being an option on a yamaha device.

on my da7 the digital banks can be routed internally, but in terms of analog ouputs you can only send to auxs, not to tape out, monitor b out, or what i really would like is to be able to send a single adat to a channel insert send. i.e. adat 7 to analog channel 1 output. can this be done? i think the xbus uses "universal outputs" which you can assign anything to.

[DirkB]

Originally Posted by quincyg

that's good to know. can you do 12 channles at 44.1 instead of 6 at 96? i seem to remember that being an option on a yamaha device.

the cards are 8ch at 96k, 16ch at 48k. So working at 48k you can for example have 64 digital I/O from your DAW to the mixer and still have 2 slot options available.

Originally Posted by quincyg

or what i really would like is to be able to send a single adat to a channel insert send. i.e. adat 7 to analog channel 1 output. can this be done?

yes, anything can be routed to every fysical in or output.

Originally Posted by quincyg

i think the xbus uses "universal outputs" which you can assign anything to.

Yeah, they took a good look at the Yamaha boards of course.

Greetings,
Dirk

[delcosmos]

You gonna laugh of me, but I still love the sound of my old 01v on my midi modules, drum machines and keyboards (yes they are 20 bits).
I have 4 of them for all my keys and I have found that I prefer the sound from its analog xlr outputs than getting their sound via spdif or Adat.

Armando Avila.

[vixapphire]

Originally Posted by quincyg

it seems like the digital i/o is limited on the dm1000 and 2000. i think for me to switch boards i would like at least 4 banks of adat io at 96k. also i would want the ability to route any digital channel to any analog output. the mackie xbus looked very promising to me, but the whole touch screen and full blown software kind of scares me + apparently the internal fan was a bit noisy. has anyone used one of these???

http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage...s200_front.jpg

http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage...us200_rear.jpg

the open architecture looks amazing.

what is your budget?

fan is louder than hell on the mackies, sadly. how they missed that in the design is beyond me. otherwise, what a beaut of a board.

[vixapphire]

i'm putting the plastic rainjacket on now to guard against the flurry of rotten vegetables and offal, but i'll add to the mix that if you're looking for something with a lot of inputs, a useable complement of musical-sounding dynamics, EQ, and a passable internal effects complement, for around $600 or so, you can find the behringer ddx 3216 on the web, ebay, etc. i used one for the past 2-3 years and it was a great workhorse, built really well and had a big sound, mainly due to the sharc chips that drive the dsp internally. it's not the most versatile board, routing-wise (the software can be somewhat confusing when it comes to grouping, etc.), but considering the features and the fact that yes, it actually sounds good and won't fall apart after a few months/years, it's the one to beat. after looking at the far more expensive offerings from tascam, yamaha, mackie, etc., i couldn't justify the extra spend. the only reason i got rid of it was to go completely itb finally, using the wall of logic control modules i've got as the only set of faders in the joint anymore. otherwise, i'd probably never have gotten rid of it.

of course, if there's a status/"shame factor" issue involved, you probably want to avoid the behringer name...

[quincyg]

Originally Posted by vixapphire

fan is louder than hell on the mackies, sadly. how they missed that in the design is beyond me. otherwise, what a beaut of a board.

have you used this board first hand? seems like mackie has only sold 2 or 3 of them worldwide. no one seems to have one.

[s.d.finley]

I have both a Ramsa DA7 mkII and Sony DMX R-100. The DA7 is great on the cheap. The pres are usable and the AD/DA is pretty decent too. The EQ's are sterile, but usable in the cut dept. The dynamics are ok.

DMX R-100 rocks!! Pres are killer, not the same class as my OSA, A-Designs, Shadow Hills, but very usable. EQ and dynamic sections kick ass. The routing is pretty killer too, not to mention the AD/DA.

How much do you have to spend, and will you work over 48k?

rock

sdf

[Roland]

Budget is everything!

You have the Behringer at one end right up to the Euphonix system 5 and Studer Vista 8 at the other end. What are you planning to use it for, and more importantly what's the budget?

Regards


Roland

[matt thomas]

mackie digital x bus

have you used this board first hand? seems like mackie has only sold 2 or 3 of them worldwide. no one seems to have one.

as used by snoop dogg, ac/dc and me! Although I'm pretty sure some other people use them too..

The work flow on this thing is better than an analog board. YMMV.

I use external converters so sound quality isn't an issue, although the built in ones are quite good anyway.

It can run VST's and have UAD cards installed inside it, ie the best eq's and comps you can get in a digital mixer (again YMMV).

72 channels, plus a controller layer, dual touch screens etc..

Being a digital thing there are some issues though, eg if you want to do over 48k you have to use AES cards not ADAT. These issues are getting ironed out though with new updates.

Someone was selling one a few days back in the for sale forum

full disclosure: I've got a "noted user" endorsement deal from mackie, but only because they found out I was planning on buying one anyway.

narco

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by quincyg

the mackie xbus looked very promising to me, but the whole touch screen and full blown software kind of scares me + apparently the internal fan was a bit noisy. has anyone used one of these???

http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage...s200_front.jpg

http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage...us200_rear.jpg

the open architecture looks amazing.

yeah the fan on the power supply is a bit noisey, i swapped it out for a quieter one, is fine now.

narco

[quincyg]

Originally Posted by narco

yeah the fan on the power supply is a bit noisey, i swapped it out for a quieter one, is fine now.

narco

what fan did you swap it out for? was it difficult? does the mixer ever crash?
how is the feel of the faders?
i'm curious as to why more people aren't into this board. maybe the d8b scared off alot of people. i would also think it could be hard to maintain as you are dealing with computer problems as well are mixer hardware.

[DigitMus]

Another DXB200 user here. It never lets me down. I concur with narco - the ergonomics and workflow are stellar. Nothing wrong with the converters (though I have 12 channels of Crane Song and 4 of Benchmark which get used 1st ).

The routing/configuration options are endless, and the learning curve was quite easy for an old "analog-head" like me. The automation is simply amazing, you can automate pretty much everything - EQ, compression, plug-ins, routing etc. Worlds better than the (barely useable) D8B and (frustratingly limited and non-ergonomic) DM24 I was using before.

Scott

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by quincyg

what fan did you swap it out for? was it difficult? does the mixer ever crash?
how is the feel of the faders?
i'm curious as to why more people aren't into this board. maybe the d8b scared off alot of people. i would also think it could be hard to maintain as you are dealing with computer problems as well are mixer hardware.

I swapped the whole power supply

There are a few options for power supply, basically you need at least 550 watts, and it has to have an "aux" connector (which is an older thing mostly for servers). If you look on the mackie forums, in the dxb forum there is plenty of info, I can't remember the name of my power supply off the top of my head (I'm not in my studio at the mo). I was thinking about putting a fanless one in, but I'm guessing the air flow through the rest of the mixer is important.

I also put the hard drive in a silent enclosure, but only because I had one lying around.

My G5 is at least twice as loud as my dxb now (for comparisons sake)

The faders are penny and giles so they are great.

Its crashed twice in a year of constant use.

narco

[yrplace]

And another vote for the Mackie. The friendliest digital console you will ever see.

We use it for live monitor and broadcast mixes , most recently for Santana, and the results even using AKG 240 headphones amazes me.

The onboaard eq and comps are good, I have a UAD card installed so I can even have the sound of an EMT 140 on the road.

Replaced the power supply (the local Mackie tech did it for me) and upped the RAM.

This is a great user friendly package most notable for its touchscreens. I have yet to use the automation, but my partner did and says it works great.

Check one out and I bet you can get your local dealer to make you a really good deal since they want to get more of them into the marketplace.

Mark Linett
www.ypomr.com