VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Tom Test]

Hey all,

Check out the Mackie Onyx Satellite, which is now going for a mere $180 at Musician's Friend: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mackie-Onyx-Satellite-Recording-Interface?sku=248154

It has very nice Onyx preamps (you'd probably have to pay at least $500 to get better preamps for your mic) and FW connectivity. It seems like a steal, and well-suited for VO talent who don't need huge numbers of connections and preamps. You can monitor yourself through the headphone jack, so you don't need a mixer.

Others Who May Know More - am I wrong about this?

I'm seriously considering buying one as a cheap upgrade to my Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro and Echo Mia sound card. ...Or I can buy a 2 year old Mackie 1202 Onyx mixer with FW interface for $450 from a local guy, but the Satellite seems to have everything I need for now... until I upgrade to a John Hardy M-1...
_________________
Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[Jon Morss]

Tom,

I would reconsider purchasing a Mackie Onyx Satellite if I were you. I bought one of these back in Sept. for $159.00 and I have had nothing but problems with it. I'm in the process of having mine replaced at this time. The issue is that when I use the Phantom power with my Studio Projects mic I get a high pitch squeal on top of my recordings. I have read that since the unit only produces 38 volts and not true 48 volts it will not work with a TLM 103, so the issue is with the unit and not my mic. To avoid the squeal, I am using a Behringer MIC100 for the Phantom source. Also, the unit keeps dropping the firewire connection to my PC and sometimes I get distortion with my recordings. I have to shut down Sound Forge and disconnect the Satellite and then reconnect it a few times before it starts to work again. This can make for a long and frustrating session. And, there is no support for Windows Vista at this time for this unit.

It does seem to be fine with my iMac running 10.3.9 though. Also, if you are running 10.4.10 Mackie has a workaround listed on their site since the Mac OS drops the audio at 10.4.10. I’m not sure if there is support for 10.5 yet, but I’m sure there is something listed in the Mackie forum

Check out the forum at Mackie for the Onyx Satellite and see all of the issues folks are having with this unit. If I could, I would return my Satellite in a heart beat and get a Spike or something comparable. More money but well worth it for something that actaully works.

When the thing does work, it has a great sound. I really like the option it has to be portable and the connections that the base station has to offer. If Mackie could iron out the bugs in this thing they would have a winner. But, until then, I would look at something else.

Just F.Y.I.

Jon

[Tom Test]

Hi Jon,

Thanks you VERY much for sharing your personal experience with the Satellite. I have read about the problems you are encountering on the Mackie forum and on gearslutz.

As it turns out though, for my purposes, this just might work. I do not use dynamic mica, so I'm not concerned about the low voltage issue. I would not use the FW connector, since I'm getting a nice sound card (it seems every FW or USB-based interface has a good number of unhappy owners, so I'm sticking with a PCI internal sound card). Which leaves me with a pair of excellent Onyx preamps and the ability to monitor myself on my headphones.

What I might do is buy a Satellite ONLY if I have an agreement with the retailer that I can exchange it within 30 days (in which case I'd pay the $525 for a Mackie 1220 Onyx mixer).

Again, thanks Jon! Any obvious drawbacks to my plan?
_________________
Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[brianforrester]

[Jon Morss]

Hey Tom ,

Sound like a good plan. And if you are looking for a good return policy, check out Musician's Friend, Music123 and wwbw.com. These guys offer a 45 day return policy with no questions.

As far as using the unit as just an Firewire interface, it is a great device in this respect. The thing that sparked my interest in the Satellite is that you can remove the Brains from the Base station and use the device as a portable interface without tearing apart your main config. You just leave everything connected to the base station and pop out the portable unit and you still have the same interface, minus all of the other connections. Outside of the issue with the Phantom power, the Satellite works great with a Mac system. I can connect and disconnect the unit without any issues. However, it seems to have a Firewire connection issue with Windows XP, or vise-versa. This may be an inherent issue with Windows itself, but it is frustrating. Hopefully the replacement unit will solve my issues.

I'll keep you posted.

Jon