The mackie dl1608 white noise saga! (A new member, who has been a lurker)

[iBloke]

G'day. My name is Phil. I live in Victoria, Australia.
I'm 52 and have been a live sound engineer since around 1987. And have over 1000 gigs under my belt.

My current PA consists mostly of QSC speakers (I love them)
My current mixers are Allen & Heath ZED16FX & ZED10 which I can cobble together to use for larger stage requirements

But I've grown tired of having to splice 2 mixers together and wold like to buy something that can cover at least the ever expanding monitor requirements of modern bands

Enter the Mackie 1608.
I've been reading a squillion reviews on this digital iPad mixer and have mostly found positive reviews.
I'm a huge Apple fan. I love iOS. And currently own 2 iPads. An iPad "3" with 30 pin dock connector, and a new iPad mini retina with lightening port.

My plan would be to buy an older version DL1608 with a 30 pin dock and leave my iPad 3 plugged in all the time.
And use my iPad mini as the wireless remote interface.

Still with me?

Ok so I've just noticed several Australian online vendors have drastically cut the price of the DL1608 and because of the relatively huge price drop it's made me wonder "WHY?"

Is Mackie about to release a new version of the DL1608 ?

I've googled that question a few times and have come up with no answers.

Anyone here know the reasons behind such a massive price drop ?

[WK154]

Welcome Phil. By massive cuts what do you mean $ or Au numbers would help here. In the US the Map is $999 and I've seen it as low as $799. I doubt you'll see a replacement of the DL1608 anytime soon. Careful your not looking at DL806 and taking it for DL1608 prices.

[sam.spoons]

Hi iBloke, welcome to the forum.

I have a DL1608 and I love it. If it has sufficient I/O for your future needs then go for it. If there's a risk you'll need more in the future then consider (I seem to be turning into Jerry Lee here  ) some flavour of Behringer X32. In Europe the X32 Rack is £180 more than a DL and has double the capability and huge expandability. I will be buying an X32 soonish (probably the Compact but maybe a B stock full console direct from Music Group) but I'll definitely be keeping the DL for smaller gigs and backup.

If the DL is enough then buy it, it's a great desk.

[iBloke]

Welcome Phil. By massive cuts what do you mean $ or Au numbers would help here. In the US the Map is $999 and I've seen it as low as $799. I doubt you'll see a replacement of the DL1608 anytime soon. Careful your not looking at DL806 and taking it for DL1608 prices.

G'day and thanks for the nice welcome

Yes I mean Aussie $$ and the biggest price cut I've seen is $363
We pay a lot more for everything down here and the DL1608 generally retails for around $1449.

Anyway while typing this reply I've just received an email from the shop where I saw the largest price drop. They tell me it's a 3 day end of the financial year stocktake sale and they discount a lot of their stock. The sale ends at 6pm tonight.
So I've got a few hours to make up my mind, although I haven't quite saved up enough money yet so I'd need to dip into my credit card a little.

Hi iBloke, welcome to the forum.

I have a DL1608 and I love it. If it has sufficient I/O for your future needs then go for it. If there's a risk you'll need more in the future then consider (I seem to be turning into Jerry Lee here  ) some flavour of Behringer X32. In Europe the X32 Rack is £180 more than a DL and has double the capability and huge expandability. I will be buying an X32 soonish (probably the Compact but maybe a B stock full console direct from Music Group) but I'll definitely be keeping the DL for smaller gigs and backup.

If the DL is enough then buy it, it's a great desk.

Thankyou also for your welcome

Yes for my purposes the DL1608 is more than enough. I rarely need 16 channels, and the most monitor sends I've ever used is 4, but at least one more would make things a bit easier.

And as far as Behringer goes, yes I see quite a bit of it used at various gigs and rarely see a breakdown. I use 2 Behringer B215 speakers as sidefill and they get the snot flogged out of them running drums, bass guitar, vocals etc and they just keep on ticking.
One of my regular bands owns their own PA and it's all Behringer except for the subs. It's a great little rig and sounds pretty reasonable.

Anyway yes I've also read a lot of positive reviews on the X32 line.

I better go and count my pennies to see if I can afford the DL while it's discounted

Cheers

[Fluddman]

G'day iBloke.

Did ya get it!!

I'm also from Australia and have been waiting for prices to drop so I can buy a backup unit.

Cheers

[iBloke]

G'day iBloke.

Did ya get it!!

I'm also from Australia and have been waiting for prices to drop so I can buy a backup unit.

Cheers

G'day Fluddman. I've read literally hundreds of reviews of the DL1608 all over the internet, and "Fluddman" rings a bell. I'm almost sure I've seen your nickname attached to this mixer?!

Anyway yes I have bought one. It simply didn't make any sense to pass up the opportunity to save $363!
And if I don't end up liking it I won't lose as much selling it.

Cheers

[Fluddman]

Good one. I am sure you'll be impressed. There's nothing wrong with the Zed mixers but the DL just offers so much more as a mixer with all the EQ options, compressors, gates and on top of that wireless mixing using an ipad.

Sounds like you got a good price too. Enjoy!

[iBloke]

The only thing I really have any concerns about is the router I'll be using for wireless. It's a dlink and it's proven to be a bit obstinate on various occasions.

Oh and I gotta swap my standard XLR connectors for TRS phono plugs to suit the AUX outputs.

A few beers steadies my shaky old hands whiles soldering 

[Fluddman]

I bought a few of these. Very handy!

http://www.swamp.net.au/mic-cable-XLR-male-to-1-4-1m.html

[iBloke]

I bought a few of these. Very handy!

http://www.swamp.net.au/mic-cable-XLR-male-to-1-4-1m.html

Haha it was only a cuppla weeks ago I made a few insert leads to be able to patch both my A&H Zeds together.
Looks like I'll be converting them to fully balanced rather than their current inset lead status

[CyberHippy]

Good move going digital given your context!

Biggest difference you'll notice right off the bat is the preamps - the A&H boards tend to have a really "hard" red-line, that is, they suck the moment something hits red. Mackie's Onyx preamps are much more forgiving, you can be well into the red before you start hearing anything, and it's subtle at first. The metering's different too - the 1608 will show a signal that "looks" hot enough, but you'll probably want to go hotter than you're used to.

Mine only makes it out to a few shows a year - most of what I do is for sound companies with their own mixers, or fixed installations. But it works every day in my "day job" as an in-line compressor for my voice, and I'm constantly getting compliments on the quality of my voice while talking with customers (Heil PR40 on the front, mucho voice-training for that "radio announcer" style).

The times I've used it with my buddies QSK K-series gear has been especially stellar, you won't be disappointed!

[iBloke]

Good move going digital given your context!

Biggest difference you'll notice right off the bat is the preamps - the A&H boards tend to have a really "hard" red-line, that is, they suck the moment something hits red. Mackie's Onyx preamps are much more forgiving, you can be well into the red before you start hearing anything, and it's subtle at first. The metering's different too - the 1608 will show a signal that "looks" hot enough, but you'll probably want to go hotter than you're used to.

It will be interesting to compare sound quality. I've pretty much loved all the A&H's I've used over the years. Really the only times I see a clip light wink is a ferocious snare hit or even more rare is the kick drum channel. Apart from that my mixes are red LED free.

The times I've used it with my buddies QSK K-series gear has been especially stellar, you won't be disappointed!

I'm really hoping so. I absolutely love my QSC gear 

[sam.spoons]

I use my DL1608 with a pair of QSC K12s and a single EV sBa750 sub. Always get complemented on the sound quality.

[iBloke]

I use my DL1608 with a pair of QSC K12s and a single EV sBa750 sub. Always get complemented on the sound quality.

I use my QSC PA gear as a stereo in my man cave between gigs. 2x Ksub, 1x KW181, and 2x K10 mid/highs.
It's nice having all that power as a stereo. Crystal clear and VERY punchy!

The man cave before I fixed it up a bit



And after a bit of a sweep and general tidy up

[Harpman]

Welcome Phil. By massive cuts what do you mean $ or Au numbers would help here. In the US the Map is $999 and I've seen it as low as $799. I doubt you'll see a replacement of the DL1608 anytime soon. Careful your not looking at DL806 and taking it for DL1608 prices.

G'day and thanks for the nice welcome

Yes I mean Aussie $$ and the biggest price cut I've seen is $363
We pay a lot more for everything down here and the DL1608 generally retails for around $1449.

Anyway while typing this reply I've just received an email from the shop where I saw the largest price drop. They tell me it's a 3 day end of the financial year stocktake sale and they discount a lot of their stock. The sale ends at 6pm tonight.
So I've got a few hours to make up my mind, although I haven't quite saved up enough money yet so I'd need to dip into my credit card a little.

Hi iBloke, welcome to the forum.

I have a DL1608 and I love it. If it has sufficient I/O for your future needs then go for it. If there's a risk you'll need more in the future then consider (I seem to be turning into Jerry Lee here  ) some flavour of Behringer X32. In Europe the X32 Rack is £180 more than a DL and has double the capability and huge expandability. I will be buying an X32 soonish (probably the Compact but maybe a B stock full console direct from Music Group) but I'll definitely be keeping the DL for smaller gigs and backup.

If the DL is enough then buy it, it's a great desk.

Thankyou also for your welcome

Yes for my purposes the DL1608 is more than enough. I rarely need 16 channels, and the most monitor sends I've ever used is 4, but at least one more would make things a bit easier.

And as far as Behringer goes, yes I see quite a bit of it used at various gigs and rarely see a breakdown. I use 2 Behringer B215 speakers as sidefill and they get the snot flogged out of them running drums, bass guitar, vocals etc and they just keep on ticking.
One of my regular bands owns their own PA and it's all Behringer except for the subs. It's a great little rig and sounds pretty reasonable.

Anyway yes I've also read a lot of positive reviews on the X32 line.

I better go and count my pennies to see if I can afford the DL while it's discounted

Cheers

Hey iBloke, 

I run very similar configuration. IPad 3 docked and an iPad Air remote. Get yourself an Apple Airport Express and you will never have WiFi issues. Also, it supports dual band 2.4 and 5 GHz

The only thing I really have any concerns about is the router I'll be using for wireless. It's a dlink and it's proven to be a bit obstinate on various occasions.

Oh and I gotta swap my standard XLR connectors for TRS phono plugs to suit the AUX outputs.

A few beers steadies my shaky old hands whiles soldering