Mackie Onyx FireWire Sound Card
Out of stock |
Similar in Sound Cards
- Output Mode: Stereo
- Bit Depth: 24-bit
- Form Factor: Plug-In Card
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
393
Mackie Onyx FireWire Upgrade: Record straight from your Mackie mixer to the PC
Pros
Allows you to connect your Mackie Onyx to the PC
Cons
Conflicts with other sound cards (depending on software used)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The bottom line should be at the bottom - just read the review ;-)
This device is not really a computer component but rather an upgrade to the Onyx line of Mackie sound board mixers. It allows a direct input to the PC for recording multitrack sound.
Our band uses the Mackie 1620 (I know, we were too cheap to go with the 1640) which allows us to mix our band live while simultaneously sending the mix to a standard recording deck, stereo amplifiers and mono amps for the monitor mix. This upgrade for the Mackie allows you to send the individual channels and effects buses to the computer for recording digitally and for later mixing and editing.
Mackie Onyx FireWire Sound Card
This device has a dual identity. It is a direct multi-channel audio port from the Mackie to the PC, but it is also an external PC sound card adapter. Notice I said "adapter". The Mackie Onyx mixer is the actual sound hardware and the FireWire card basically allows the computer to use the Mackie as it's main sound card.
On a side note, we have experienced many issues when using the device with another installed sound card in the PC
It's main purpose is to allow recording and playback through a studio PA system but you can also use it for regular PC sound out to any stereo device that the Mackie sound board is connected to. It is simply three IEEE 1394 FireWire ports on a small panel that fits into the back of the mixing board.
Installation
Installing the device is rather simple. There are two small screws on the back of the Mackie sound board that hold a blank panel in place. You remove the screws and the panel falls right out. Then you just plug in the FireWire adapter; it clicks snuggly into place and only fits in the correct way, so you can't put it in wrong. Then you put the screws back in and it is installed.
Once you have that done you need to install the drivers so the computer can recognize the device. You insert the CD and run the installation program, then plug the FireWire cable in and turn on the Mackie. The computer will recognize the new hardware and find the drivers you just installed. The whole process takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.
Recording
Before recording with any software you must run the Mackie configuration program. This program simply lets you choose the input quality from 8-bit, 11Khz to 32-bit 192Khz. You do not have to keep it running and should only have to run it once unless you reinstall the driver or disable it to use a different sound card.
Not all recording programs will be compatible with the Mackie; however, the most popular professional software is supported. These include Sonar 1 through 6, which is the software we chose to employ for recording. The installation CD also comes with a recording program that I personally found more difficult to learn and use than Sonar so we abandoned it within the first hour and stuck with Sonar. Sonar recognizes the individual inputs as mono channels so if you want stereo you need to use two channels (which is the way it should be for the best sound).
The device allows us to send the digital signal to the PC with infinite clarity and no interference from the amps and effects buses. All effects are run on their own buses directly to the PC so there is no static or noise from the effects used, just clean signal.
The FireWire card has three IEEE 1394 ports on it. You can use these to link-up mixing boards by connecting two using FireWire cables. Each board must be configured before recording and you can choose which board your are configuring in the driver program by simply choosing #1 or #2. You can only link-up two boards but that should be sufficient for most bands. If you have two Mackie 1640's this will give you 32 channels to work with.
The FireWire card also has an output volume control so you can turn down the output volume without changing any recording output levels or monitor and mix levels. This comes in very handy after you have already set up the entire sound system and done your sound check only to find that the recording volume is too high or too low.
Portability
We take the mixer with us when we play live and with this device installed I can record us live on my laptop and clean up the mix later when I get home. Since the device is part of the soundboard there is nothing extra to pack, all you need extra is a laptop and a FireWire cable.
Don't get me wrong, you still have to pack all your gear as well but you would have to do that anyway to play anywhere. The Mackie is simply a mixer with no built-in amplifier so you need your amps, speaker cabinets, mikes, cables and instruments with their respective gear as well. If you have ever set up a band for a live show before, you know what kind of work I am talking about. But as far as the FireWire card is concerned, it takes no extra space and literally takes seconds to set up with a laptop.
Issues
So far the device works fantastic for recording purposes but we did run into some problems when plugging it into a computer with an installed sound card. The PC we had the problem with had on-board sound, but the sound chip was disabled and a SoundBlaster Audigy card was installed as the PC's main sound card. The Mackie would work for recording at first but after closing Sonar and reopening the program it would say that the sound device is either not supported or was in use by another program. This problem vexed me for a while but I removed the SoundBlaster and the problem went away. It appears that the Mackie wants to be the only sound device on the computer which could pose a problem for some people. We, however, do not use that particular computer for anything other than digital recording so replacing the SoundBlaster with the Mackie wasn't a problem for us.
PC Gaming
Although not what it was designed for, the Mackie can become the ultimate sound card for your PC; depending, of course, on the quality of your PA system. I played a round of Battlefield 2 on my home PC with the Mackie hooked up to it and ran the stereo outs to my home stereo. I am surprised my neighbors didn't call the cops, my den sounded like Gulf War re-enacted. The sound quality is absolutely amazing; crystal clear.
Audiophiles with money to spend would enjoy this device set up with a great PA system for playing games and music from the PC or for recording from their home stereo. It would be overkill for most people because you would only be using two tracks on a multitrack soundboard but it really does sound good.
Conclusion
If you want a way to get multitrack audio into your PC, the Mackie Onyx soundboards are a good choice; and if you go that route, you will need this FireWire card to connect it to the PC. It works well and does a great job of transporting many audio tracks simultaneously. Just be ware if you already have a sound card installed, you may need to remove or disable it to avoid problems with the driver depending on the software you use to record with.
Thanks for reading,
Gr8ful ;-)
Our band uses the Mackie 1620 (I know, we were too cheap to go with the 1640) which allows us to mix our band live while simultaneously sending the mix to a standard recording deck, stereo amplifiers and mono amps for the monitor mix. This upgrade for the Mackie allows you to send the individual channels and effects buses to the computer for recording digitally and for later mixing and editing.
Mackie Onyx FireWire Sound Card
This device has a dual identity. It is a direct multi-channel audio port from the Mackie to the PC, but it is also an external PC sound card adapter. Notice I said "adapter". The Mackie Onyx mixer is the actual sound hardware and the FireWire card basically allows the computer to use the Mackie as it's main sound card.
On a side note, we have experienced many issues when using the device with another installed sound card in the PC
It's main purpose is to allow recording and playback through a studio PA system but you can also use it for regular PC sound out to any stereo device that the Mackie sound board is connected to. It is simply three IEEE 1394 FireWire ports on a small panel that fits into the back of the mixing board.
Installation
Installing the device is rather simple. There are two small screws on the back of the Mackie sound board that hold a blank panel in place. You remove the screws and the panel falls right out. Then you just plug in the FireWire adapter; it clicks snuggly into place and only fits in the correct way, so you can't put it in wrong. Then you put the screws back in and it is installed.
Once you have that done you need to install the drivers so the computer can recognize the device. You insert the CD and run the installation program, then plug the FireWire cable in and turn on the Mackie. The computer will recognize the new hardware and find the drivers you just installed. The whole process takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.
Recording
Before recording with any software you must run the Mackie configuration program. This program simply lets you choose the input quality from 8-bit, 11Khz to 32-bit 192Khz. You do not have to keep it running and should only have to run it once unless you reinstall the driver or disable it to use a different sound card.
Not all recording programs will be compatible with the Mackie; however, the most popular professional software is supported. These include Sonar 1 through 6, which is the software we chose to employ for recording. The installation CD also comes with a recording program that I personally found more difficult to learn and use than Sonar so we abandoned it within the first hour and stuck with Sonar. Sonar recognizes the individual inputs as mono channels so if you want stereo you need to use two channels (which is the way it should be for the best sound).
The device allows us to send the digital signal to the PC with infinite clarity and no interference from the amps and effects buses. All effects are run on their own buses directly to the PC so there is no static or noise from the effects used, just clean signal.
The FireWire card has three IEEE 1394 ports on it. You can use these to link-up mixing boards by connecting two using FireWire cables. Each board must be configured before recording and you can choose which board your are configuring in the driver program by simply choosing #1 or #2. You can only link-up two boards but that should be sufficient for most bands. If you have two Mackie 1640's this will give you 32 channels to work with.
The FireWire card also has an output volume control so you can turn down the output volume without changing any recording output levels or monitor and mix levels. This comes in very handy after you have already set up the entire sound system and done your sound check only to find that the recording volume is too high or too low.
Portability
We take the mixer with us when we play live and with this device installed I can record us live on my laptop and clean up the mix later when I get home. Since the device is part of the soundboard there is nothing extra to pack, all you need extra is a laptop and a FireWire cable.
Don't get me wrong, you still have to pack all your gear as well but you would have to do that anyway to play anywhere. The Mackie is simply a mixer with no built-in amplifier so you need your amps, speaker cabinets, mikes, cables and instruments with their respective gear as well. If you have ever set up a band for a live show before, you know what kind of work I am talking about. But as far as the FireWire card is concerned, it takes no extra space and literally takes seconds to set up with a laptop.
Issues
So far the device works fantastic for recording purposes but we did run into some problems when plugging it into a computer with an installed sound card. The PC we had the problem with had on-board sound, but the sound chip was disabled and a SoundBlaster Audigy card was installed as the PC's main sound card. The Mackie would work for recording at first but after closing Sonar and reopening the program it would say that the sound device is either not supported or was in use by another program. This problem vexed me for a while but I removed the SoundBlaster and the problem went away. It appears that the Mackie wants to be the only sound device on the computer which could pose a problem for some people. We, however, do not use that particular computer for anything other than digital recording so replacing the SoundBlaster with the Mackie wasn't a problem for us.
PC Gaming
Although not what it was designed for, the Mackie can become the ultimate sound card for your PC; depending, of course, on the quality of your PA system. I played a round of Battlefield 2 on my home PC with the Mackie hooked up to it and ran the stereo outs to my home stereo. I am surprised my neighbors didn't call the cops, my den sounded like Gulf War re-enacted. The sound quality is absolutely amazing; crystal clear.
Audiophiles with money to spend would enjoy this device set up with a great PA system for playing games and music from the PC or for recording from their home stereo. It would be overkill for most people because you would only be using two tracks on a multitrack soundboard but it really does sound good.
Conclusion
If you want a way to get multitrack audio into your PC, the Mackie Onyx soundboards are a good choice; and if you go that route, you will need this FireWire card to connect it to the PC. It works well and does a great job of transporting many audio tracks simultaneously. Just be ware if you already have a sound card installed, you may need to remove or disable it to avoid problems with the driver depending on the software you use to record with.
Thanks for reading,
Gr8ful ;-)
