Yes definitely. And more time consuming. Thats the reason why I didn't start any DIY approach as I always think its done in half a day and in the end I fiddle around for a weeks till I'm happy . The Mackie Box is nice. Just the pot is weak. I take pictures when I swap the pot.

The company is Alpha, you can see it written on the side of the potentiometer in the photo. Alpha is well known potentiometer manufacturer.

Colors the sound lightly and somehow was not well balanced here got 1.2 DB more on one side than the other.
Back in its box and in storage

I have had mine maybe a year at most--its starting to inject a static sound when turning the potentiometer. I think the case is pretty good, but maybe a new pot would be called for--overall not impressed with the quality of this product.

Hi
May somebody teach me how to hook up two sets speakers ( 4 speakers) with apogee element interface to the big knob passive ???

Kind of confused about the monitor outputs switched button AB
I only having one source - interface , and I hook up with two sets speakers to 2 monitor outputs on the big knob passive???? Totally sets up, the 4 speakers shout out together??

no, you select between output A and B

Just a little update. Ended up building my own "passive preamp". Sounds great... definitely better than the Mackie big knob could. All you need is a 24 step pot (got 10k) from Ebay (prices vary), a rotary switch (got one that can swap up to 5 sources) and some Neutrik XLRs and a Hammond box. Then you just need to have tools to do the holes, etc. Can never go back to going through a mixer... those were dark years

I'm just curious - but doesn't a stepped pot just have a detent so you can make a count and match the distance of the wipers sweep? If so - that doesn't seem to be anymore precise or have a higher tolerance than a non stepped pot. If they're ganged pots this wouldn't apply either.

Or- does a stepped pot have separate resitor pads for each step?

Sorry you're right, my writing didn't match my thinking. You should use a stepped attenuator which makes use of a 24 position rotary switch. You can either buy "audiophile grade" stuff including SMD stuff or buy prepopulated ones from ebay sellers. You can also source and solder everything yourself if you're into that

Had mine for 2 weeks and then started to crackle really bad when switching to the other set of speakers... It's an "OK" device for the budget, colours the sound lightly and I also feel the stereo image is a little less wide once it's in the chain. Also a +- -3dB dip of the signal out.

My Mackie Big Knob makes a noticeable "thump" through speakers when toggling between Monitor A/B. Didn't realize it until I got a subwoofer. Anyone else have that issue?

Does anyone know if it can act as a splitter? Running stereo analogue lines in and then being able to output to 2x stereo monitors for example?

EDIT: It appears not

I bought a Mackie Big Knob Passive about a year ago.

One year on and I can safely say it was $75 very well spent.

I think the Big Knob Passive is an outstanding product, especially for the price; it appears to be solidly-built and doesn't degrade the sound in any way that I have remarked. It just sits there on the table making my workflow easier every day of the week.

Two switchable stereo-ins and two switchable stereo-outs, plus the very useful Mono and Mute buttons - I don't at the moment need all the bells and whistles of (much) pricier controllers. $75 folks - I mean, c'mon!

If anyone has a recommendation on the pot replacement, I would like to hear it. I know that alpha is, or was, a audiophile type pot, but I am considering replacing it since it does not track both channels and makes static when I turn it. I wonder what the resistance of the alpha is, and whether its a straight pot, or some sort of t pad circuit.

I had the Big Knob for 3 years. No scratchiness, no coloration I was aware of, although I didn't do testing.
But then it's stereo just dropped and only Mono worked. So I gave it away on Craigslist and replaced it with a PreSonus Monitor Station V2.
They have a good reputation and people were surprise mine had a problem if that puts it into perspective.
But the knob here doesn't have a lot of parts so it should last a good long time give their reputation and my experience with the knob.

When did the static start? Mine is also noisy when adjusting the volume, but it only happens with bassy music and only during the first half turn. With dim activated it is fine. In my case it started after several months already.

Ok.... missed that post

probably normal, when you switch while the woofer is playing.

just. ought one for cheap (b-stock, full garanty). will test it and its "sound" today.
but i noticed a sticker on it: "warning: cancer and reproductive harm - p65 warning.ca.gov"
anyone seen it as well? but i can't find further information on the subject. is some material questionable?

California love warning you about niche dangers. All electronics have weird metals in them.

If you don't eat the internal components there is zero danger. And even if you did you'd be fine.

haha, i thought so!

I got my crackling Mackie exchanged.
I know it's a common and normal issue that the stereo balance is asymmetric at low volumes.
I just wonder where your Mackie Big Knob passive becomes even. I have the feeling that the new one is a bit worse compared to the old one. When I increase the volume at around ~9 o'clock there's a strong change in the volume which sets in faster on the right channel making the right channel louder compared to the left. When turning further the left channel volume increases also significantly and they become more or less the same volume.

So, here it's at around 9 o'clock. Maybe 8:30.

Hey Guys, just thought I'd chime in here.

I recently bought a Big Knob Passive and connected it to my Motu Ultralite MK4. I used this set up for around 1 month, never going directly into the interface since I bought it. I am running all Mogami Gold cables, and ran Mogami Gold patch cables (3ft) to connect the interface to the Big Knob. From there I ran my Adam A7X's to the Big Knob with 6 ft Mogami Gold's. After running it this way, I decided to try the Adam's directly into the interface and let me tell you... The Mackie does in fact degrade the sound quality. I didn't want this to be so, as I really liked having a stand alone volume controller, and was excited to run a passive unit (thinking it would not affect the sound quality), however - it did make a huge impact and I immediately removed it from my chain / set up. This change is so noticeable, that I had to turn my tweeter level down to almost -4 (9 o'clok) and my high shelf down to 11 o'clock, where before everything was at 0.

To be honest, I was very happy with the sound of the A7X's and the big knob, but not until I ran them directly into the Motu did I really get the full sound of my monitors / source material - Especially on the high end / mids (as well as the lows and stereo image, depth & detail). Now, I have a new found respect for the Adam's.

What's worse? I did a shoot out this way with a pair of Adam A7X's and Genelec 8040's... Should I have kept the 8040's? Only Mackie can tell you... Or another proper shootout. Be warned... If you are looking for pristine audio quality, then I would suggest not using this product. If solely volume control is something you are after, I believe it's useful - however, for serious audio engineering and or production, I would not recommend it.

Are you 100% sure you didn't have the dim button clicked in? I'm thinking if you're comparing with a 4 db difference, then the Fletcher-Munsen curve could be coming into play. Not hearing degradation with mine, maybe because I use Sonarworks in my setup. When I take mixes to my car they tend to translate well vs. what I hear in the studio which I'm guessing wouldn't happen if there was significant degradation.

I measured with and without the Big Knob and I don't see any difference

https://m.imgur.com/tpDaECh?r

Wow, I wouldn't have expected it to be that close. Thanks for sharing. Looks like I need to learn REW better so I can make comparisons like that.

Just got one of these. Found the pot/knob too free-moving, so simply took it off and stuck an adhesive felt pad under. Provides a little resistance and feels much more comfortable. Great little controller.

OK - here's a slightly left-field question I can't find the answer to by RTFM...

Can I use the Big Knob Passive in mono?

And by 'mono' I mean literally mono through and through.

I have a discrete Mono Out on my Soundcraft mixer and a single Avantone Mixcube - I'd like the use the BKP as a volume controller for that. Am I losing anything by just hooking up, say the Left I/O of the BKP and engaging the mono switch?

Every other piece of Mackie gear always says LR (L Mono) - but the BKP does not indicate this so I'd be worried somehow the internal summing to mono might not be behaving correctly, even if I do get sound out.

EDIT: There's definitely a marked sound difference when engaging the Mono button - everything becomes harsher. I think the unit works better in mono in the scenario described above if you DON'T press the mono button, although as previous mentioned I have some reservations about what must be a stereo ganged pot controlling a mono signal?

Same issue here. My Big Knob was connected to an Apogee Ensemble with 6db of signal loss. I sent back the unit and perhaps I wish another brand. I've seen the "heritage audio baby ram" with stepped potentiometer which is for sure more reliable. It cost more but in the specs they talk about a signla loss about 0.2db which is pretty good to me.