Product: Mackie onyx satellite
Price Paid: Euros 200
Submitted
10/31/2007
at
06:38am
by
Tim
General
:
10
As said above the Mackie onyx satellite is a portable unit (sturdy, metal, no plastic) that comes with a docking station that gives you some extra outputs and controls, however you're free to leave that in the box if it doesn't fit on your desk like in my situation. I havent used the docking station because for my purposes it's still a little unnessescary, though i might want to use it for hooking up my compressor later or adding an extra set of hifi speakers for mixing.
At the moment i use 2 active studio monitors. I connected my electric guitar to channel 1, and a mic to channel 2. The whole thing runs via firewire to my macbook, i record in logic 8 pro.
The main unit carries 2 hybrid inputs (jack/xlr) and individual gain controls with clip indicators for each output. There's a guitar button for each channel which acts as a boostser for softer instrument signals like electric guitars and passive bass guitars. The unit carries 2 headphone inputs. The unit carries the famous built-in onyx pre-amp.
The docking station, 2 double headphone outputs, control room / talkback functions, 4 speaker outputs, 48v phanton power, built-in pre-amp..it's a very versatile unit.
Connectivity
:
4
FireWire 400 connection. I use an Apple Macbook. Unfortunately Apple recently included some updates to their firewire drivers which makes the Mackie Satellite unable to connect to your Macbook. With a lot of effort i managed to downgrade my firewire drivers to a version that's a couple of months older. It works now, however whenever i start up my mac the units configuration switches to 48.000,00hz in stead off 44.100,00hz...which results in high pitched playback of everything i hear. You can't see this because the menu still indicates 44,1...This can be fixed by simply clicking again on 44,1...but i have to do that everytime i start up my Mac..which is to be honest, quite annoying.
I seem to get the idea Mackie doesnt take full responsibility of this problem and says it's Apples fault. Whatever it is, it's not supposed to be my problem. Their website wasnt a lot of help, the answer was not there. I had to find the answer reading through tons of messageboards.. It took me about 2 hours to get this unit working properly.
I/O
:
9
2 hybrid inputs with onyx pre-amp. The pre-amp works amazing considering the units price. I record in Logic 8 pro and experimented with different mics and instruments, i got great results with even the cheaper mics.
Power
:
8
It's bus powered by firewire but can also be AC-powered. The docking station carries an on/off switch but the unit itself doesnt, that's quite annoying because Macbooks keep powering firewire even when it's turned off (except when it's not connected to a power source). That way i either have to take out the firewire cable, or search on the floor for the adapter.
Technical specs
:
No Opinion
Other
:
9
I get minimal latency and amazing sounds from this unit. Except for the FireWire issues (which i expect to be fixed in a while) i think this is a great unit and i would recommend it to anyone that's looking a recording interface for their home studio.
Overall
:
No Opinion
Product: Mackie onyx satellite
Price Paid: USD 199
Submitted
07/14/2007
at
04:48pm
by
pb+j
General
:
8
desktop firewire interface with LED meter, 2 preamps, metal case. The unusual aspect is it has a "base" and then a portable unit which removes from the base. The base has more inputs and outputs than the portable unit. No midi input or output only one firewire port. Physical volume and level controls
Connectivity
:
5
firewire only--no optical, only one firewire port
I/O
:
9
The preamps are what sold me on this thing--they're excellent in this price range, really outstanding. Two XLR preamps in the base unit, two dedicated guitar/bass 1/4 inputs. 2 line inputs, and an effects insert. You can use all four at once but can't control all four levels. No midi in/out. cue/mx outputs, two headphone outs
Power
:
8
portable unit is bus powered ith my macbook pro, base requires wall power with supplied wall wart
Technical specs
:
No Opinion
Other
:
9
can operate without computer as input source for powered monitors
no ground lift. I did not use any of the bundled software
Overall
:
9
This is a very inexpensive unit for what you get--the preamps are the bottom line for me--they're excellent. It can be hot-plugged. It's a little bulky. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a two-preamp firewire interface--the price can't be beat
