Mackie 1642-VLZ Pro
Ten channels of XDR mic preamplification in a package light enough to carry to the gig under one arm.
Overview
At 18.2 lbs. (8.3kg), the 1642-VLZ Pro gets thrown in a trunk, not babied in a rack. Mackie built it around ten XDR mic preamplifiers and four stereo line channels. The company's own service documentation puts the mic input equivalent input noise at -129.5dBm unweighted with a 150 Ω termination. That's a quiet front end for a compact console of this class. The spec sheet reads like test gear rather than a budget mixer: total harmonic distortion of 1kHz at +14dBu, measured 20Hz-20kHz from mic in to main out, comes in below 0.0007%.
That THD figure shows what the XDR preamps were for. Mackie's advertising line for the VLZ Pro series leaned hard on "ultra-high headroom XDR mic preamps," and the numbers back the claim. Maximum mic input level is +22dBu, the same as every other input on the board. The main mix 1/4" TRS and XLR outputs swing to +28dBu before clipping. Common mode rejection at 1kHz is better than 90dB, which keeps hum out of a long microphone cable run in a room with bad power.
The channel strip is not the same across all sixteen channels. Channels 1 through 8 get a three-band EQ: high shelving at ±15dB @ 12kHz, a sweepable mid peaking at ±15dB covering 100Hz-8kHz, and low shelving at ±15dB @ 80Hz. Channels 9 through 16 trade the sweepable mid for a fixed four-band layout - high shelving at ±15dB @ 12kHz, a hi-mid shelf at ±15dB @ 3kHz, a lo-mid shelf at ±15dB @ 800Hz, and the same ±15dB @ 80Hz low shelf. The low cut filter, 18dB/octave with its -3dB point at 75Hz, is fitted to channels 1-8 and to channels 9-12.
Noise is where the design earns its keep. With the main mix fader at unity and all channel faders down, the main mix noise floor measures -86.5dBu across a 20Hz-20kHz bandwidth with trims at unity and EQs flat. That's a 90dB signal-to-noise ratio referenced to +4dBu. Push all the channel faders up to unity as well and the floor rises to -84.0dBu.
Frequency response from the mic input to any output runs 20Hz to 60kHz at +0dB/-1dB, and extends to 100kHz at +0dB/-3dB. Impedances are sensible: mic in at 1.3 kΩ, channel insert return at 2.5 kΩ, all other inputs at 10 kΩ or greater, tape out at 1.1 kΩ, and all other outputs at 120 Ω. Crosstalk sits at -84dBu whether the channel mute is engaged or the channel gain knob is turned down, measured at 1kHz relative to 0dBu across a 20Hz-20kHz bandwidth. The whole thing draws 40 watts from a 120V AC, 50/60Hz supply. It's protected by a 1A slo-blo 5 x 20mm fuse on 120V, or a 0.5A slo-blo on 220-240V.
Rack mounting was optional rather than standard. Mackie sold rack ears separately. The service documentation is explicit about the consequences: the 1642-VLZ Pro occupies ten rack spaces, and you need to leave two empty spaces above it for room to plug things in.
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