For interfaces, the Audient id line is significantly better spec'ed than anything near its price range. AD and DA dynamic range and THD are way ahead of Focusrite Scarlett, Steinberg/ Yamaha, etc.

tmoneygetpaid wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 9:42 am For interfaces, the Audient id line is significantly better spec'ed than anything near its price range. AD and DA dynamic range and THD are way ahead of Focusrite Scarlett, Steinberg/ Yamaha, etc.

2nded! I immediately noticed fuller, less murky midrangey recordings when jumping from the Scarlett to the iD14.

benadrian wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 10:49 am latency of monitoring through a DAW. I hate those things. Plus, when playing around with musical ideas, it's great to be able to plug into a mixer that is connected to studio monitors.

I have a number of interfaces, none of which are modern (Lexicon U42s, Tascam 1641, Focusrite Scarlett something-or-other etc) and they all do direct/latency free monitoring via a direct/DAW controller pot. I'm fairly sure that any modern interface would have this facility. Plug into interface, turn pot to 100% direct then your input is directed straight to the the monitors/mixer/headphones (via whatever volume pot etc your interface has). Zero latency.

RME interfaces always used to be the best option in stability terms which is pretty key regardless of recording specs

Personally I really like the (old) Lexicon I-Onix interfaces which have DBX preamps, are (IMO) a great desktop format and dirt cheap if you can find them. 4 channel or 8 channel.

This said, I'm very far from being anything even approaching an expert, and my recommendations are almost certainly too old and too amateurish!

I picked up a 32x8 Soundtracs topaz for just under $500 on CL. Wanted something with lots of ins and outs. This thing has Mic In, Line In, Insert ,Tape in, Tape out on every channel. The internal routing has some nice features, groups can be assigned to a channel's tape out for example. I wanted something affordable and functional and this fit the bill. It's not ideal in every way, but it's a decent starter. There are smaller version out there too, though beware they have a weird combination of +4 and -10 IOs and all the outs are unbalanced.

As for interface, I have 2 Allen&Heath ICE-16D's 16 analog line level ins and outs, no mic pres, and can record as a standalone unit, and they can be ganged together. There's a similar Cymatic unit and JoeCo makes something like it as well though pricier, both of those are probably better executions of the same concept.

This is all just coming together, the idea being a mostly out-of-the-box workflow. It's more channels than you're interested in, but maybe some of this is useful.

I say look to the world of used live Analog boards.
I've been using an Allen Heath GL2200 and a MOTU 16a for a couple of years and have very few complaints. The preamps are pretty quiet if not a little bland. If you have nice preamps you can always line those in the desk for nicer front end. Mime is a split 16:8 so I have outboard preamps inserted on the 8 far right channels for variety. It could use a little more headroom, but has not been what I would call a problem. When it distorts, it is not what I would call pleasant, but it is easy to keep form causing issues. I bought mine for $50 used from a AV company I used to work for because all of the LEDS in the meters were always on solid red regardless of level. It was just a loose ribbon cable and the desk hasn't had any other issues at all. 90's/2000's Analog Live desks are almost cheap as free these days and are usually free of a lot of big issues. It has talkback and I use aux sends for headphone feeds. I even use it to sum out of the box mixes at times to some success. I saw a Midas Venice 320 for like $400 the other day. Thats a lot of power and flexibility for under $500.

for something small, A used AH Mixwizard or Crest X20r might be a pretty good choice. I also have a Tascam 308b that I use just for weird color and fun weird stuff. I think a Tascam 300b series are extremely fun and flexible boards, but definitely have a sound. I used to have a really nice 320b and kick myself for selling it. They will need a reworking given the age, but they are extremely well built. If you have pockets spilling with cash, the Yamaha PM1000 rout is an option. But they are made of Bitcoin because the prices are all over the place and usually inflated.

I mention this with a fair amount of trepidation, but if you ever come across a CAD (yes, that CAD) Maxcon console for a reasonable price you might consider it. Feature-wise I think it has everything you’re looking for and they’re well-regarded sonically. The downside is that they can be a maintenance headache.

The features:
• Full inline setup with the main channel path selectable between mic/line or tape inputs, with separate input gain controls.
• Defeatable (unbalanced) insert
• Defeatable 3-band EQ with sweepable frequency and 15dB boost/35dB cut
• 4 mono aux sends each internally configurable pre or post-fader
• 2 mono aux sends that can be switched as a pair between the main channel path and the tape monitor path
• 1 stereo aux send that can be switched to function as a tape return monitor path for cue mixes and/or monitoring using the Global Tape Monitor button in the master section
• Post-fade direct out on each channel
• 8 busses, assignable in pairs, plus the main stereo buss
• 8 aux returns
• Aux 7 To Master switch to simultaneously send line in and tape in to the 2-mix
• Talkback assignable to any aux out

They use an external PSU which is essentially a pair of 20VDC PowerOne/Bel off-the-shelf linear supplies. Each channel runs on +/-15VDC derived from the main PSU and using local voltage regulators. Each channel also generates its +48V supply independently.

The only caps in the audio path are a pair of e-caps used as phantom blockers at the mic input. DC is removed from the signal path in a few places using opamp servo circuits (using poly caps). So, there’s virtually no phase shift introduced in the audio path. The only other e-caps are around the voltage regulators, meaning recapping is not a monumental task.

The downsides:
The PCBs are not the sturdiest, and the channel strip PCBs are mounted to their frames (in groups of four per module) via the pots. They also, for whatever reason, would clip the ends of the legs on the pots after they were soldered to the PCBs...this sometimes resulted in cracked solder joints which need to be reflowed. The switches are also not the greatest and are prone to getting dirty and noisy. Typical maintenance on these boards would be to clean the pots and switches and replace any of either which can’t be revived.

Schematically they’re pretty straightforward. There are two obsolete parts that I’m aware of. One is the Analog Devices IC that’s used for the mic/line amp. There isn’t a direct drop-in replacement but there are a few functional replacements from Analog Devices, THAT, and maybe somebody else like TI. The other is a solid-state relay that’s used in the tape monitor routing. I think these can be occasionally hard to come by because they’re also used in some SSL boards and consequently get hoarded.

So that’s it, pretty much. I have plenty of info in these (I own one and somewhat know one of the engineers who worked on it), if you’d like to know more. Not a board I’d suggest to just anyone, but I know you have the technical ability as well as the resources from your employer that not everybody has.

Mason wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:02 pm I feel like a Sony broadcast mixer could be a good pick. No direct experience so I can't recommend a model, but I see MX-series and MXP-series models in the classifieds sometimes. They seem to fit your technical criteria, and I've heard that they sound great and are delightfully overbuilt.

Just wanted to chime in and say that I've used a Sony MX-20 (8 channels) for about 15 years. It is small, portable (it's got a handle, just snap on the top and it's just a bit bigger than a briefcase) and surprisingly rugged. It can be a little noisy depending on the application, but I've recorded multiple albums on mine and it's never been serviced whatsoever. Definitely not a Studer, or even what many of us would consider a 'proper' mixer, but I love mine. For a super budget option that's built like a tank, I would definitely recommend it.

Adam P wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 9:16 amCAD (yes, that CAD) Maxcon console

Sorry in advance for the useless post but I'm looking these up and holy:



That 10-degree angle to the sidecar is going to give me an aneurysm

They went 1000% on the early 90s aesthetic.