Mackie dxb 200

[dirkenstein]

Hi,

 

I discovered a while back that these Mackie consoles are being sold for very nearly silly money, around £3K, by Thomann in 'refurbished' condition.

 

The paper specs on these always looked very good (the idea of using the desk as a VST host appealed), but I've never had any practical experience with one, nor have I heard any open endorsements by people.

 

When I first saw the offer, it was very tempting, but went for a known quantity (2nd hand Yamaha) instead, but recently wondered if my money had been well spent with regards to features rather than usability/reliability, where I've had no complaints.

 

As far as I know, the digital x bus series is a discontinued, or nearly discontinued product line since at least 2006?

 

Also, I keep on hearing whispered rumours along the lines of these being even less reliable than some d8b software variants were, with numerous system crashes likely during a single recording session, and various features simply not working. In fact the rumours state that the 'refurbished' consoles are the returns from disappointed prior users who could never get them to work properly (and thus never paid for them)...

 

Am I maligning a product that simply never achieved the degree of popularity it deserved or is this really a 'don't even touch with a bargepole and rubber gloves' scenario? Has anyone ever used one, and lived to tell the tale?

 

Oh, and along a similar line- is the TT24 discontinued as well? Or is that another ugly rumour that's been making the rounds for the last 6 months?

 

Is Mackie getting out of digital mixing entirely, for both recording and events?

 

I guess that leaves Tascam, Roland and Yamaha at the low end? Anybody else? I'm kind of ignoring Digico and Midas, because they simply don't have anything in my budget range, and they concentrate solely on events use.

 

Is the entry-level digital recording studio desk market just not that lucrative anymore, given how much work is being done on DAWs now? I guess control surfaces are still marketable, just not the DSP horsepower to do mixing, except for live and event use.

 

Thanks,

 

Dirk

[MarkPAman]

We've got a TT24 at work, so I pop into the Mackie forums from time to time. A while back, somebody suggested that the TT was discontinued following a fire at the factory and nobody from Mackie would deny it.

 

As for the DXB - their forums seemed to suggest loads of problems with it.

 

It may be worth you looking for yourself (here's a link), but IIRC posts only last 3 months on that forum.

Edit:

 

Forgot this bit:

I guess that leaves Tascam, Roland and Yamaha at the low end? Anybody else?

Yes, Allen & Heath

[chelgrian]

I guess that leaves Tascam, Roland and Yamaha at the low end? Anybody else?

Yes, Allen & Heath

 

Yes, Soundcraft. The new Si Compact series are in the low, that is to say 4K to 10K, price range.

[soundfreak]

Hi there, I have many years of practical experience with the Mackie DXB 200 and 400and the extended version. Too much mud were thrown on the table, but its design andhandling is very good, I've heard better, even with MIDAS. The table had a few minorerrors such as too weak capacitors on the base plate and the overheat, especially if you climb the table, otherwise, wonderful interface, such a table of higher degreesgive a smooth 20 kilo. See the photo of etended version ...

MACKIE DXB 600 and 800

 

[TimmyP1955]

Given Mackie's hit-or-miss support over the years - especially on the TT24 - I'd never buy a Mackie product that cannot be readily repaired - without factory help - by the local fix-it shop.