MACKIEMix8 Mixer

This is a really easy to use bit of kit. No noise and sounds really good. Quality is very good. I couldnt find anything that wasnt top class. No faults and a seriously cheap price. Better than other made in china mixers. Yes I know its an Anerican brand, but its not made in USA, just designed there. But still, its great

Great item, not noticed any noise, even when upping the gain noise stays clear. I'm using this with a couple of cheap group loop isolators which while further reducing electrical noise never noticed any without them, quality wise it's fantastic. Metal construction with nice dials. Was previously using the M-Track 2x2 and this is so much better on every level.

After researching mixers and using Behringer, this was definitely a step up. A very well made unit, solid performer and can handle a wide range of microphones.Great quality - has an Aux connector which is good for mix minus and low noise.For the budget, this is a great all rounder and Mackie has a great reputation.

It's a long review, so here is a TL;DR:GOOD: It's exactly the right mixer for the entry level user. It does do a mix-minus setup (for Skype as an example). The sound quality and the features are spot on for the price.BAD: It doesn't have a power button of any kind. The gain doesn't go as high as some people might want. The AUX send is POST mix - you must have every channel in your main mix if you want to hear it in the AUX send.-----------------------------------------------------------------------How do you get audio from a XLR microphone, put some EQ on it, and pipe it into your P.C?A mixer.How do you get two audio outputs (two sound cards) into one pair of headphones and a pair of speakers?A mixer.It all seems so simple when you leave the world of simple 'gaming headsets' and take the first tentative steps into better audio.Very quickly though you realise that, as you look through the dark halls occupied by the audiophiles, mixers get very complex VERY quickly.The price starts to rise at a rapid rate as well. It can get very hard to find out exactly what it is that you need for your setup, and then find the lowest price for that equipment and still maintain a quality you can be happy with.When I first looked for a mixer I had a simple theory:Get my XLR mic into a mixer. Get my sound cards into THE SAME mixer. Have my mic going back into my P.C. Have the sound cards going into my headphones and my speakers. Have a small mixer do all that because I don't have a lot of room left on my desk.I knew nothing about mixers back then, let alone a thing called 'mix-minus'. After a lot of searching I came to the incorrect conclusion that I wouldn't be able to separate my mic from my sound cards, inside one mixer, without paying well over £100 for a large one that wouldn't fit in the limited space I had available. Frustrated I decided that my only other option was to get two separate cheaper mixers that would fit the space.BIG MISTAKE!I got two Behringer Xenyx 502's and as soon as I got them plugged in I realised that there was an issue. With only headphones attached they still had noise generated. Not just a little bit at the highest volumes/gains, leaving all knobs at the midway 'zero' value produced clearly audible static from the headphones!As they were the only thing I could think to use, and use right there and then, I found levels I could accept and did everything I could not to touch the knobs. There is still a LOT of dust on those mixers!Once I was at a point I could justify (and financially sustain) purchasing another mixer I redoubled my efforts to understand how I could make my setup work. At this point I came across the term 'mix-minus'. This changed EVERYTHING!I'm not going to fully explain a mix-minus. The simple part people need to know is that the term actually is the basic explanation - it's all your inputs/channels MIXed together, MINUS one or more inputs/channels.To do this you need a completely different output on the mixer. These are usually (from what I've understood) labelled as AUX send or FX send. This mixer uses AUX and can do a mix-minus setup pretty well. It is also amazing that it can do it, while keeping erroneous noise to a minimum, for such a low price. Mackie know their craft!So, if I'm so happy to get the mix-minus setup I wanted all along, why only four stars?There are a few little things that people out there say it needs, like a power switch, but none of them stopped me taking a chance of buying it.What I was upset about is the fact I couldn't see any information anywhere that says this mixer sends to the AUX output AFTER the mix.As I have a mic going in on channel 1, which it's designed to do, I can't send the mic out to only the AUX. I have to have the mic playing through the main mix (into my headphones or speakers) in order to have it going to the AUX send.With some very careful tweaking it isn't very noticeable so I can live with it until the time I want to add extra inputs but I would have liked to know this important information before I made the purchase.

Bought as an intermediate input stage into my studio (I'd run out of inputs on the multitracker) and selected because I already have some Mackie gear (a "Big Knob" monitor controller that is built like a tank and which has survived having mic stands dropped on it) this has already seen a lot of use and it has more than lived up to expectations. It's compact, it's robust, it's low-noise and it does what I need it to do and more. And it's moved me from just using Mackie gear to - given the opportunity - actively recommending it.

Used for a village hall situation and covers all our needs. The controls are clearly laid out, helping those new to mixing. Sound quality and general facilities exceptionally good. Solidly built and I suspect will be very reliable. Highly recommended.

Just needs an on/off switch!

I love this little mixer. Sound quality is superb for the price, and it's really built like a tank. The knobs feels very solid. The sound quality is great, very clean. I have this with a couple of krk in my home studio, and it's a joy to mix with it