Drawmer MC3.1 Active Monitor Controller Reviews

I've had an SPL unit for years that over time hasn't functioned well, probably all the moves. This unit is amazing enabling new monitoring use cases.
Adding a sub that can be used with any set of monitors
a low mid high cut filter to mix check
The sound quality is awesome.
Very happy with the purchase.

Just wanted to add that I also replaced my Presonus monitor station with the Drawmer MC3.1. Big jump in quality of sound and it's built like a tank. Long over due purchase.

I "moved up" from a Presonus Command Center. My monitors are Focal Shape Twins (which are amazing BTW). At first I wasn't as impressed with the Focals as I thought I should be - and looked at my signal chain - and replaced the presonus with the Drawmer. HUGE difference. Clarity - volume - actually more logic layout of controls - and flexible. CAUTION - there is a preset button that will override where the volume knob is (so you can go to your favorite mix level whenever) it comes set to FULL volume. There's a little trim control in the front - just turn that (off in my case) down before using it or you could blow you monitors out. The Drawmer is a first class, well made product and I am really please with it.

TJ Jackson my sales engineer always hooks me up with great gear.
When I go for an upgrade and it's always an improvement but usually it's pretty subtle. I think if every step in the chain improves then the overall chain get a lot better.
The Drawmer MC3.1 was a Big improvement. I'm using Focal 6Be for my main monitors and the Mids and Highs are so clear I had to adjust my perception a bit. The Presonus made the bass a lot boomier. I think it masked some of the Mids and Highs. At fist I wanted more bass but it's very clear I was just not hearing all the details. I really liked the presonus and all it's features and thought upgrade to the Drawmer and see how it goes. It was one of the best purchases I've made. I'm running mu Kemper and Helix through it and they sound so much better. Also the Features on the Drawmer are right on par with the Presonus. Maybe the next Generation will have monitor levels, 4 headphone jacks, move the aux input from the top to the back or side, and blue toothl. That's a lot to ask but as it is I'm 100% satisfied with it. I love the band solos section.
Thanks TJ

Man! I don't know what converters are in this unit but man this thing sounds amazing! Hooked up to my focusrite clarett 8pre usb going from the s/pdif to xlr digitally made the monitor outputs just pointless and now I've got 2 more open outputs. The monitor outputs were just so aggressive sounding in comparison and that aggression didn't suite the unit nor payback very well either. Plug in that digital cable and listen as your world opens up on a near mastering grade (if not) level of clarity and space at least for me. Gonna throw some hardware in there on the back end (SSL Buss Comp) and really get things going.

Phenomenal controller. Sturdy, fully featured and sturdy. I've tried 3 others before over the years and none came close.

What's good:
It's all-metal; solidly built; knobs and buttons aren't cheap or plastic and do feel like they'll stay on the unit with heavy use; trims and all the routing and "mix check" features work as advertised and are pretty convenient. Smaller footprint than you'd expect. No hiss or noise on main monitor outs, at least until you push it to "stupid loud" - so don't do that. Digital conversion from AES sounds surprisingly clean - I didn't buy it for that, but I'd say it's on-par with my Aurora.

What's OK:
It's not passive, so you'd think there would be some coloration, but I can't detect any. The unit runs a little warm while powered on - might be a bad idea to leave it on all day. The talkback circuit has a really loud relay or something, so it clicks and you can definitely hear it on the receiving end - not bad for me, since I don't mind subtly alerting listeners that I'm about to blab at them, but worth mentioning.

What's not OK:
Drawmer advertises preventative measures against the nasty power cycle "pops" that might spike any equipment attached. Well, they're half-truthful. While the main outputs have this feature, there are no such protections for the headphone outs, so when you power cycle this unit, you will get some speaker-eating pops through your headphones. Take care to unplug your cans before powering on or off.

The lowest 20% range of the headphone pots are useless - tune into that range, and you'll get interference from any surrounding equipment and even pick up radio stations regardless of whether you've got your wiring and earth properly done. And you will definitely notice the noise floor after you push past 25%-ish, so there's a very tiny threshold where headphones can be used effectively for monitoring with this unit. This isn't an issue on the main monitor outputs, but I honestly expected more consistent shielding for a unit of this price.

My advice: just don't use the headphone outs.

More info:
The TRS jacks on the front are nickel, the XLR jacks on the back are gold (including AES). Don't mix your metals, kids.

It definitely makes a difference in listening to playback.I never heard my sub like this before.The only thing is when setting up with the pink noise you are to have all trims down. There is still a decent amount of volume bleeding through.before I even turn them up.In the manual it says you should not hear anything. Other than that I like it.

The features on this unit are amazing. Great functionality, allows you to connect 3 sets of speakers and an additional Sub, built in talkback and a cue routing system that is very effective.
HOWEVER, I've had two separate units and had to send one back. The first unit had a weird noise issue with the cue send. So I sent it back and Sweetwater sent me a replacement. Both units have an issue where the master volume knob causes a scratchy noise, but only if it is turned while audio is playing. It's dead silent when no audio is coming out the unit. Very weird, and sometimes embarrassing during a session. It also appears that the unit routs audio to my speakers from the cue send. Anytime I select a cue input, it will also send that input to my speakers, very quietly, even if I have no main source selected. Not a huge issue, but it appears the source selectors for the cue and mains aren't fully isolated from each other, which is kind of inexcusable at this price point.
Lastly and most importantly, both units had/have the worst paint job. The paint/silkscreening appeared to scratch of with normal, gentle use. A lot of the markings have come off with normal use, and I feel this is unacceptable. I got mine in 2017 and the paint started to come off pretty much immediately. Again, for the price, these sorts of issues are unacceptable.
The features of the unit rival most other monitor controllers, so I'd recommend the unit based on those alone, but beware of the build quality. It appears to be sturdy, and heavy but there are obvious flaws as soon as you've had the unit for a while.

I would normally give this unit a 5 star, but I cant. The unit is amazing, sounds seamless and does everything you would expect.
This is really a warning to anyone who buys the unit. There is a PRESET VOLUME button. There is a preset volume pot that you adjust with a screwdriver. Make sure before you ever use the unit, you adjust the volume all the way down on the preset volume pot. Logically it would make sense that this should be done at the factory, but instead they have set to max! I did not know this and blew up my genelecs.
So I want you to know, it is a great unit, just mae sure you adjust that pot before pushing the preset volume button!

There are a lot of nice features on this unit, but the build quality is inferior. I've now had to return two of them. The first one lasted about 7 months before the talkback button started sticking and then got stuck during a paid drum tracking session. The talkback dims the playback and live mics, etc when it is engaged (as designed), so I couldn't precede until I either 1) removed the Drawmer MC out of the path or 2) got the Talkback unstuck and set up an exterior Talkback through my DAW. My client's time was being wasted and I was about to give up and just take it out of the chain but I finally got the button unstuck after trying a few of the smallest sharp objects I could find. I contacted Sweetwater and they agreed to send me a new unit. However, within a few months and only about 8-10 sessions the Mono button got stuck during a guitar overdub session (with the same client the last unit failed on, ironically). I got the button unstuck, though a part of it broke off in the process, but at least my client didn't have to sit there another 20-30 minutes while I tried to disengage another button. At this point, Sweetwater agreed to allow me to send it back and apply the purchase price to another brand of Monitor Controller, which I did. Although, the credit to my account for the Drawmer was for $100 less than I paid for it. But at least I'm rid of the Drawmer.

I've had to replace the main volume pot twice already. The pot gets scratchy sounding in a short period of time and replacement parts have been slow to come by presumably because of supply chain issues. Also, the printing on the unit rubs away very easily. This might be fine for a project studio, but I can't recommend it for a professional facility. It's been an unreliable disappointment. If you order it, order several backup volume pots to have on hand. You'll need them.

Forgot to review this when I bought it a couple of years ago. Loved this unit when I first set it up. In less than a year of very light use I had the exact same issues as mentioned by others; the scratchy volume knob and the poor paint quality (scratches and dents way too easily for a unit of this price point).

The scratchy knob issue is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. I called Drawmer about this and the person I spoke to tried to make it seem like my audio was the issue (I am lucky enough to own many top-of-the rage converters so that was total BS), however, did admit that it was not the first time they had heard of this issue. I have NEVER had any other issue with any monitoring device previous/post using this unit and ended up replacing this with a Dangerous ST (which actually does not have a key feature that the Drawmer has, which is the ability to engage multiple outputs simultaneously).

Anyway... I've had this put this away in it's box for years thinking I may revive it at some point, however, for the last 3 or so years it has essentially been used as a paperweight. What a waste of $!

Within 6 to 9 months, the Talk-back button became stuck, effectively dimming the overall output. OK, we can work around that...

Now, a year out from installation, the power button will not stick. Replacing with something from another manufacturer, probably the Audient Nero.