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Mackie Onyx 400F (No Longer Available)

FireWire Audio Interface - Rackmount Preamp/Interface with Four Onyx Mic Pres and FireWire I/O

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Item ID: Onyx400F

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Mackie Preamp Doubles as Audio Interface!

It's a mic pre! It's a FireWire interface! The Mackie Onyx 400F is all that and more! Mackie has developed a great way for you to add four premium mic preamps to your computer audio setup, hard disk recorder or analog rig! The Onyx 400F is a high-performance 4-channel rackmount mic preamp with simultaneous analog and 192kHz multi-format digital outputs.

Mackie Onyx 400F Mic Preamp/Audio Interface at a Glance:
  • Ideal mic pre or front end for computer audio
  • Four channels of fantastic-sounding Onyx preamps
  • 24-Bit/192kHz digital output
  • Versatile 10 x 10 DSP mixer
  • Instrument inputs plus all the control and I/O you need

Ideal mic pre or front end for computer audio
There are plenty of FireWire audio interfaces on the market today. But only the Onyx 400F Studio Recording Preamp was jointly designed by the analog engineering experts at Mackie and the digital gurus at Echo Digital Audio. This means the Onyx 400F performs equally well as a high-performance studio mic preamp and a superb 192kHz FireWire interface.

Four channels of fantastic-sounding preamps
The Onyx 400F is equipped with four of Mackie's flagship Onyx mic preamps - which meet or surpass the fidelity and dynamic range of ultra-expensive one- or two-channel models, but at a much more reasonable cost. And how does it sound? Onyx preamps are clear and extremely detailed, with a full-spectrum sound that's absolutely faithful to whatever microphone you're using. The mic preamps offer 48-volt phantom power for condenser mics. Balanced TRS inserts on inputs 1 and 2 allow for inserting compression, EQ, or other external processors.

24-Bit/192kHz digital output
The Onyx 400F allows you to choose up to a 192kHz sample rate, or use an external clock from the rear panel. The next-generation AKM 24-bit/192kHz A/D and D/A converters offer dynamic range and clarity that was previously only found on much more expensive gear. Plus, the Onyx 400F can sync to external Word Clock, so it easily fits into your existing digital studio. The dual FireWire ports make it easy to daisy-chain the Onyx 400F to hard drives and other FireWire equipment.

Versatile 10 x 10 DSP mixer
With the Onyx 400F's 10 x 10 matrix mixer, you can connect any input to any output with near-zero latency. Powerful internal DSP provides custom Control Room/Headphone mixes, and Control Room and Dual Headphone Outputs have independent level controls.

Instrument inputs plus all the control and I/O you need
Because Mackie engineers can never leave well enough alone, the Onyx 400F features two high-impedance instrument inputs so you can connect an acoustic, electric, or bass guitar directly to the preamp, eliminating the need for an external direct box. Front-panel controls on the Onyx 400F include control-room output level, dual independent headphone outputs with dedicated level control, dual instrument inputs, and four-segment metering for the mic inputs. The rear panel includes four combo mic/line inputs, balanced TRS sends and returns for the four mic inputs, four line inputs, eight line outputs, Control Room outputs, Word Clock I/O, MIDI I/O, SPDIF I/O and two FireWire ports.

The Mackie Onyx 400F comes complete with a bundled copy of Mackie's own Tracktion, the simplest professional audio/MIDI production and CD mastering software in the world. Add it all up - Onyx preamps for premium sound, 192kHz digital converters, near-zero latency monitoring, 10 x 10 matrix mixer - and the Onyx 400F makes perfect sense for any studio!


Mackie ONYX 400F Mic Preamp/Audio Interface Features:
  • Premium FireWire-based studio recording preamp/audio interface
  • 4 flagship Onyx mic preamps with unrivaled fidelity and dynamic range
  • 4 additional balanced line inputs; 8 balanced line outputs
  • Superb next-generation AKM 24-bit/192kHz A/D and D/A converters
  • 10 x 10 DSP Matrix Mixer: connect any input to any output at near-zero latency
  • Powerful internal DSP provides custom Control Room/Headphone mixes
  • Balanced TRS inserts on the four mic Inputs allow for inserting compression, EQ and more
  • Control Room and Dual Headphone Outputs with independent level controls
  • Dual FireWire ports for daisy chaining and direct connection to Mac or PC MIDI
  • Word Clock and S/PDIF I/O
  • Includes Tracktion 2 Audio/MIDI production software
  • True 48-volt phantom power for use with microphones

The Mackie Onyx 400F Mic Preamp/Audio Interface is a clear winner for your studio!
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Reviews
based on 12 customer reviews

New 3.2.8 Drivers Complete the Promise of the 400F

by Bill Williams from Williamsburg, PA
July 14, 2007
Music Background: Recording Engineer
Everyone knows how great the sound is, but with this new driver release it becomes the unit it was always hyped to be. Very stable. Can't be beat for the price.

Awesome!

by Jacob from Vallejo, CA USA
March 9, 2007
Music Background: Keyboardist, Live Sound and Recording Engineer
I've been using the Onyx 400F for the past several months doing live recording and music playback on a Powerbook G4. The sound quality is amazing and I've had almost no problems with drivers or Track... read more [+]tion. The Onyx mic pre's are as clean as advertised, and are many times better than those in my old mBox. The headphone outs are especially clean and hiss-free. Although there have been many complaints regarding a phantom power whine on the unit and driver problems, I've experienced none of these issues. The drivers (built into OSX) seem very stable and rarely have problems unless the computer sleeps with the interface connected. In fact, the drivers seem more stable and flexible than the drivers for my mBox were. My unit does have a slight whine that is only audible at ridiculous amounts of gain on the last mic input, and has never affected any of my recordings. It seems very solidly constructed of heavy gauge steel, and all the jacks have a firm feel. As a former Protools LE user, I was also worried about Tracktion's possible lack of features. However, Tracktion has proved to be an excellent recording program, recently flawlessly cranking out 8 tracks of 44.1kHz audio on my Powerbook while the same computer was running Powerpoint slides for a live show. The included Mackie plugins for Tracktion are also excellent, especially the Final Mix mastering plugin. I don't miss Protools as much as I thought I would. I've also used the built-in DSP mixer occasionally for some low-level signal splitting and mixing. I would strongly recommend the Onyx 400F firewire interface. close [-]

the holy grail

by b wayne from nyc, ny
February 22, 2007
Music Background: songwriter, multi instrumentalist
2/22/07
i have this product for about 6 months, and i felt you all should know that this is finally the interface that could be perfect. the sound is pro, the quality of the hardware is nuclear... read more [+] rock solid, and there are no negative issues or trade offs. if you like to play music with out your computer, important for me, it delivers crystal sound as a standalone. i have tried, sent back or sold multi pieces as inadequate, flimsy, just didn't work, or were too complicated. i know some people have had issues [check forums] , but i am not one of them. oh yeah, sweetwater is great, as well. no issues threr either close [-]

Perfection!

by Mike Bernier from Duluth Mn
December 7, 2006
Music Background: Producer, Engineer, Musician
I have this unit in front of a creation station and I am super happy with it! It performs just like it is supposed to and sounds great! I have had zero issues with it in over a year now. If you are co... read more [+]nsidering purchasing this unit I can tell you that you will be making a solid decision. The value for the money is incredible. The only thing I regret is that I did not wait for the 12 channel version which I am looking at buying in the near future. Buy it! close [-]

A Great Piece of Equipment

by Kyle Krupinski from St. Louis MO 63122
July 15, 2006
Music Background: Bass Player, Recording Engineer and Live Sound Engineer
I purchased an Mbox 2 6 to 7 months prior to purchasing an Onyx 400F and I was amazed at the increase in quality. I have had little to no trouble using the 400F with Sonar 4 and I would greatly recomm... read more [+]end a Sonar + Onyx unit. The day I bought the 400F I had a session with a musician new to the studio scene and he was amazed at the professional sound quality of the Onyx pres. I highly recommend to this for any system. close [-]
Read more reviews

Mackie Onyx 400F

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Our Customers Say...

I can talk to my Sales Engineer about any piece of equipment, and he always steers me in the right direction. He truly knows what he's talking about, and he never tries to over-sell me on anything. If he worked in the Nashville area, I'd probably owe him about 20 dinners by now!
Michael Erin Woody, Brentwood, TN

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