Mackie Onyx 1640
Sixteen Onyx preamps, six aux sends, and an I/O pod that rotates three ways - the compact console Mackie built to bring analog mixing into the digital era.
Overview
The first thing to know about the Onyx 1640 is the preamp count: sixteen of Mackie's premium Onyx mic preamps, the same studio-grade circuits the company claimed rivaled expensive stand-alone outboard. Sixteen mono mic/line channels, each with its own phantom power switch, low-cut filter, pre-EQ insert, and a four-band EQ with sweepable mids plus an EQ bypass. Lesser compact mixers don't give you that much per-channel control. Mix (April 2005, p.102) framed the Onyx line as a deliberate step up from the VLZ Pro family, and described the 1640 as the flagship of that new generation - a 16x4x2 mixer with six aux sends, positioned as the analog desk that could live comfortably in a high-resolution digital workflow.
The digital side is real. Every one of the sixteen channels carries a balanced recording output, and those direct outs come out on a pair of DB-25 connectors for multitrack work. Add the optional FireWire card and the desk streams all sixteen direct outputs plus the L-R main mix straight to a laptop. EQ (February 2005, p.60) listed the console at $1,539 with the FireWire card a $499 option, and described it as an analog mixer that fulfills traditional roles while talking to your computer over FireWire.
The numbers behind the preamps are why collectors still seek these out. Mackie rates the mic input to main output at +0, -1 dB from 20 Hz to 50 kHz, with THD under 0.01% across the audio band and SMPTE IMD below 0.005%. Dynamic range is quoted at better than 110 dB mic-in to main-out, signal-to-noise at -93 dBu referenced to +4 dBu, and equivalent input noise at -129.5 dBu with 60 dB of gain. Those are quiet figures for a compact analog desk, and the Onyx pres earned a reputation for crispness on drums. Mic input gain runs 0 to +60 dB, line input -20 to +40 dB, phantom power is +48 VDC, and the main XLR and TRS outputs top out at +21 dBu. The four-band EQ gives ±15 dB at 12 kHz up top, ±15 dB at 80 Hz on the bottom, and sweepable ±15 dB mids - high-mid from 400 Hz to 8 kHz, low-mid from 100 Hz to 2 kHz.
Channels 1 and 2 have high-impedance instrument inputs, so a guitar or bass can plug straight in without a direct box. EQ (July 2006, p.61) singled those inputs out as sounding great, and found the desk well balanced for bass and synths. Each channel also gets a 60 mm fader, four signal level indicators, pan, mute, sub assign, and solo. The talkback section has a built-in mic with routing to aux sends 1-4 or 5-6, subs 1-4, or the phones output, plus a separate XLR for an external mic. Mix (April 2005, p.104) called the dedicated talkback section a huge improvement over the old arrangement where a tiny solo button hid among the sub-assigns.
The feature that sets the 1640 apart is the rotopod connector section, carried over from the popular 1604-VLZ Pro. The entire connector panel rotates so it can face up (all jacks on the same surface as the knobs and faders), to the rear in the default mixer configuration, or toward the back for rack mounting using the included rack ears. That turns a desktop console into a rack unit without a second chassis. The metering is two columns of twelve LEDs running from -30 at the bottom through 0 (labeled LEVEL SET) to +20 CLIP at the top. It reflects the selected control-room or phones source before those level knobs, so the engineer always sees the real levels even when listening quietly.
What is documented is the support structure. LOUD Technologies backed the desk with a three-year warranty from the original purchase date, and factory service ran out of Woodinville, Washington, with a stated three-to-five business-day turnaround once an RA number was issued. The manual walks owners through RA numbers, original packaging, and serial-number registration.
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