Mackie DFX6 Compact Mixer

Advantages: Tough, affordable, high quality, low noise, versatile
Disadvantages: No sliding faders.

...and effects units etc, and of course mic's and instruments. The Mackie desk has a massive dynamic range with no detectable noise whatsoever, which in laymans's terms means that it can cleanly handle everything from a pin drop to a rocket launch! The mixer is compact and sturdy, and provides phantom power to four XLR sockets (phantom power is a 48v charge that can be sent to microphones that require power, and XLR is a 3-pin industry-standard audio connection found in many high-end recording devices), which is very handy if you're mic'ing multiple sources and can't afford multiple pre-amps (mic amplifiers). It also has alternative outputs and with the touch of a button you can transfer the signal through any channel to the main or alternative outputs. I use this feature to switch the channels between the monitors and the main PC soundcard... Read review

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Advantages: Quality solid mixer with excellent preamps
Disadvantages: Manual doesn't offer computer to mixer connectivity help

...I have owned my Mackie mixer for over a year and have enjoyed every minute with it. The build quality is absoloutley superb, it's a tank of a mixer with a host of connectivity options. The majority of home studio owners will no doubt want to hook up the mixer to an audio interface, in my case an EMU 1212m. Unfortunatley the extremely well written and informative manual doesn't give any help to hook up to a computer which is a glaring omission. The hook up diagrams for other setups in the manual don't help at all. Connectivity isn't too much of an issue once the signal paths are understood (however EMU users suffer even more frustration trying to get patchmix working correctly with everything else. If you are one of these people send me a mail and I will try and help). My setup has the OUTs of the soundcard going into channel 13... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent quality and very little if any background noise.
Disadvantages: I would advise using a seperate bass speaker if these frequencies are being used.

...The Mackie SRM-350 offers great quality sound, and performs excellently in live situations. I have used my set of these for many live situations, and the sound has always been absolutely brilliant. if you are looking for some good quality speakers at reasonable price these are what you want. as a single speaker this could be used to expand your's existing PA, or be used to monitor mono mixes. Weather in a live situation or being used just to monitor or listen to CDs or works in progress, they will produce excellent sound quality. This quality speaker from mackie produces excellent sound quality on vocals, and instruments alike. This speaker really stands out from the rest with an excellent live sound, and durable too, with a free gig bag making it even easier to transport.... Read review

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