Onyx mic preamps.
Creating our flagship Onyx mic preamps presented a unique
challenge. On one hand, we 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, we knew 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.
The analog engineering staff here at Mackie is always ready
to sink its teeth into a juicy design problem, so the Onyx mic
preamp builds upon our already-impressive XDR mic preamp
design, and adds custom high-performance IC chips developed
specifically for low-noise, high-headroom audio. Onyx preamps
provide a level of accuracy and transparency unsurpassed even
by some expensive esoteric designs.
Onyx mic preamps deliver oustanding, verifiable specs like
130dB total dynamic range, –129 dBm Equivalent Input Noise,
and 0.0007% Total Harmonic Distortion—for real. Their superior
design also addresses problematic issues like input impedance
and linearity, maximum input level handling at low gain settings,
shielding and grounding effectiveness, overload recovery, and
radio frequency interference. And because Onyx mic preamps are
designed for use at “real world” gain settings, they’ll easily handle
anything from +22 dB line level down to microvolt-level signals
from a ribbon mic, without adding noise.
Onyx 80 Series consoles offer individually switchable, true 48v
phantom power on every preamp. That’s because, despite the
widely-held notion that dynamic microphones don’t “see” phantom
power, the presence of phantom power where it’s not needed can
adversely affect overall sound or even damage sensitive ribbon
mics. We provide individual phantom power on every channel.
Problem solved.
But published specifications and technical talk tell only part of
the Onyx preamp story. The real test comes when you plug in a
multitude of the various mics that pop up in live performance
situations—everything from a high-end condenser to the cheesiest
harmonica mic. Listen to the depth, headroom and immense detail.
Then plug those same mics into any of the competetion. We think
you’ll agree the Onyx preamp gives you transparency and fidelity
on par with any console preamp on the market. But hey, don’t take
our word for it... just listen to what Monty Lee Wilkes, FOH Engineer
for Britney Spears, had to say: “Holy crap! ... I have to admit that the
Onyx preamps sounded phenomenal.”
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