When it comes to live sound, the margin for error is tight. Nobody knows this better than regional sound professionals, medium-sized venues, and houses of worship. Unlike the major touring and live sound companies, these hardy folks must make a difficult choice when buying a live sound console; it’s the age-old tradeoff between channel count and sound quality. Pay for quality, and you have to find some way to cram all your mics and instruments into 16 or fewer inputs. Go cheapo, and you know it’s only a matter of when—not if—the console fails at some crucial moment, plus the age old trouble of re-patching continuously throughout each performance, gig or service.
A NO-COMPROMISE DESIGN
Priority one for the Onyx 80 Series was to create a live sound console that made absolutely no sacrifice in sonic integrity at any stage of the design. So the Onyx 80 Series engineers started with the highest quality analog components available—from premium op-amps to IC chips costing exponentially more than previous designs. By utilizing semi-discrete eight channel modular circuit boards, the Onyx series combine the flexibility of single PCBs for each channel, with the cost advantages and minimal cabling of large-scale integrated circuit boards.
No corners were cut; Every Subgroup, Left, Right and Center main bus is electronically balanced for an uncompromised signal from input to output. All-new summing bus circuitry was designed from the ground up to maximize master section headroom, while minimizing noise and crosstalk. And most notably, we developed premium Onyx mic preamps and Perkins EQ circuitry specifically for optimum performance within the total Onyx system.
They also went overboard on the "toughness" factor, even by Mackie standards, building the Onyx 80 chassis with beefy aluminum extrusions and steel bulkheads for over-the-top physical protection of the technology inside.
ONYX MIC PREAMPS
Creating the flagship Onyx mic preamps presented a unique challenge. On one hand, they wanted to deliver traits more commonly associated with boutique studio mic preamps: a tight, focused high end, superior ambience retrieval, detailed lower bass octaves, and highly textural midrange—no matter what you plug in. On the other hand, knowing Onyx mic preamps would have to function in the real world of live performance, which often includes high levels of radio frequency and microwave energy, long cable runs and the occasional “hot-patched” cable.
We think they got it right and the Onyx desks are always on display in our demoroom.
CHANNEL STRIP FEATURES:
• Premium Onyx microphone preamps on all 40 channels
• 4-band Perkins EQ with hardware bypass
• 48V Phantom Power, Mic/Line, 100Hz High-pass, and Polarity switches
• 8 Auxiliary sends with Pre/post switches
• Aux. Stereo Link feature for IEM applications
• Direct Outputs on DB-25 connectors (8 channels per connector)
• 4 segment LED level indicators
• Smooth, long-throw 100mm faders
• Mute and PFL Solo switches
• Balanced XLR mic and 1/4" line inputs
• View Channel Section
MASTER SECTION FEATURES:
• 8 Stereo Aux Inputs w/60mm faders, 4-band fixed Perkins EQ and 4-segment LEDs
• 8 Aux. Send Masters with balanced 1/4" output, 1/4" insert, Mute and AFL Solo
• 8 Groups with 100mm faders, balanced 1/4" output and insert, Main Mix assign, Pan, Mute, and AFL Solo and 4-segment LEDs
• 8 Aux Master / Group Flip switches
• 10 In x 2 Out Matrix with balanced 1/4" outputs
• 4 Mute Groups
• Balanced XLR Talkback Mic input with routing to all Aux Sends, Groups and Main Mix
• Dual 100mm Main Mix faders
• Phones / Monitor section with Solo, Monitor and Phones level
• Main Mix to Monitor / Phones switch
• Big pair of 12-segment tri-color LED meters dedicated to Main Mix and Solo levels
• Power Indicator LEDs for +15V, -15V, +48V and +12V power supply rails
• Rude Solo Indicators
• View Master Section
POWER FEATURES:
• Built-in "Real World" power supply 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz, 105W
• Optional rack mountable redundant power supply
Always In Stock. Call 0845 200 9413 or order online before 2pm to guarantee next-day delivery!!