Customer Reviews

Mackie Big Knob Desktop Studio Monitor System

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a home studio and have used the Big Knob for about 2 years now. This is exactly what I was missing in my chain. Very well made, this thing is constructed like a tank and built to last. I can easily switch between my monitors and headphones with the push of one button and you always know where the volume knobs is. The Big Knob can also make things easier if you are using multiple inputs. My computer is hooked up to one input, my guitar to another and electric keyboard to another....and all with a push of a button or two I can easily select which combination I want to hear. Each input has a gain level knob associated with it. Two headphone jacks are included with individual volumes for each. I have not seen anything on the market that quite compares. Presonus has a similar unit, but it does not appear to be made nearly as well or useful despite it's glowing buttons. You can't go wrong with this at all. I bought mine off an auction site, so shop around for a good deal.

I own 2 of these. One for my home studio and one in one of my small edit suites in my recording studio. Really nothing touches it at it's price point. Really excellent flexibility of inputs and outputs. All of the inputs are trimable and having multiple volume controls for monitors, headphones and the studio outs makes for a very versatile piece. It also has a talkback circuit so it can be used to talk to your performers in your tracking room/vocal booth while you're in the control room.

One thing to be aware of is that this unit is analog only. No digital ins. No digital outs. Also understand, it sounds pretty darn good but not outstanding. To get to the audiophile level you'll need to step up to a whole new price point. In our main studio we use a Grace Designs M906 that frankly sounds way better and is even more flexible but it's also WAY more money. Not at all a fair comparison.

So, if all of the above meets your needs you just can't beat it. Like I said, I own 2.

This is my first purchase from Mackie and I'm very happy with it. This thing is the stuff.... I have a computer based home studio and the big knob was the missing chain. I can switch between my studio monitors, my home sound system and my desktop speakers. and also using my monitor headphone at the same time. thats exactly what I wanted so you can listen to your mix from different sources.

The build quality is superb and it looks really nice in my studio. All the knobs and buttons seems heavy duty and long lasting.

About the performance, its outstanding. The big knob will give you exactly the same sound you get when you connect your studio monitors directly to your sound card, a clear flat sound without any noise or humm. I used the behringer minimon before the big knob, the sound was horrible although I'm using monster cables. its true when they say ( you get what you pay for ). Now I know why the Mackie stuff are expensive. beacuse its worth it.

I ordered this to replace the mixer I was using to control levels in my studio and couldn't be happier. The large knob makes fine adjustments to volume really easy. I also like that there are 3 outputs that can be used in any combination at the push of a button. I am using 2 sets of monitors, (on A &B) with a sub on channel C that I can combine with either speaker set. The talkback Mic & headphones controls are nice too. And although it has only 4 inputs, the use of a patch bay effectively eliminates that limitation. Great product!

I've used one for about three years and it has all the features I want but it was quite noisy when I got it (low level background noise) and it has got worse (intermittent crackles and hums), so much so that I'm looking for a replacement and it won't be a Mackie. It's almost unusable after three years.

It's a shame because if it sounded nice and worked reliably it would fulfill my needs perfectly.

The item I'll replace it with will probably be more than twice the price for similar features but with better product and sound quality.

I have also experienced noise and reliability problems with other Mackie products.

1. The knobs fell of my SRM350s and the dealer seemed incapable of getting replacements from Mackie. Mackie wouldn't deal with me directly because I'm in Canada and have to go to the dealer. In the end I went to Radio Shack and bought generic knobs.

2. My SRM450s are very noisy.

3. The A/D card in my 1640 stopped working completely and I had to buy another.

The only Mackie product I've had no problem with is an 800R preamp which sits in a studio rack and is very lightly used. I'm going to replace it anyway because of my unhappy experiences with Mackie reliability and quality in general.