Mackie Mix5 5-channel Compact Mixer Reviews

This little mixer works fantastic. Nice fidelity and very quiet unlike some cheaer stuff I've used. The Mackie Mix 5 is a great value. The only criticism is that the phantom power is on all the time but it does not affect how I'm using the mixer so I'll give it a pass. Highly recommend to anyone needing a small compact mixer!

Works well, solidly built especially for price point. I've been using 2 now for a month with no issues and happy musicians.

So far, I prefer this product over the Behringer model at a similar price point, of which I've owned 2 in the past.

Needed a mixer for my home studio. My needs are basic. I did not need the option of having more than 4-6 channels, and/or the added 'bells and whistles' that I would probably never use. I have a very simple (uncomplicated) set-up in my home studio. The Mackie Mix5 was a perfect fit for my needs. Here is what I like about it... #1 -small footprint, #2 -simple to use, #3 -the build quality seems to be fairly heavy-duty, #4 -affordability (price point, especially for musicians that don't have the luxury to afford the items they would like to have). I wish this mixer was able to provide 48v of phantom power for condenser microphones without having to use a 48v phantom power supply, but hey, that is not a negative about this product at all! As that old saying goes: you get what you pay for. So on that note: if you need a basic no-frills mixer that is inexpensive, the Mackie Mix5 is a good choice.

Works great for a variety of live settings or hobbyist/basement recording. Well built, fairly easy to figure out. Knobs, buttons and jacks feel sturdy. Like most mixers, it also shines for making harsh noise via 'no input mixing' and running the growly, squelchy unpredictable sounds into a chain of pedals and out into an old buzzy amplifier. I didn't purchase the Mix 5 as an instrument, but that's its primary place in my gear setup. I'm interested in the Mix 8, which I may buy for recording and mixing 'actual' music. But the Mix 5 is a rock solid tiny terror and will be used for feedback loops, textures and all around weirdness. I'm happy with my purchase.

I primarily use this mixer to mix 3 headphones sources to one headphone so I can check all these sources during our worship service. It gives me a clear, clean sound so I can check the sources honestly. It is a great mixer for the price.

Bought this on C.J.'s recommendation when I wanted to expand the functionality of my HX Stomp. In short, I wanted to use the effects loop in the Stomp for pedals but also wanted to be able to plug an ipod into the Stomp's return to play along with a Spotify playlist. Unfortunately, you can't do both with the stomp, because both utilize the return i/o. With the Mix5, I can keep my effects loop for pedal use and use the mixer for ipod and headphones. The Mix5 can accommodate my stereo pedalboard, stereo-inputs for the ipod, a dedicated headphone out with its own volume, an XLR/mic input for vocals, and independent volume control for all. Includes global EQ and gain controls, too. The Mix5's compact size lets me keep it on the floor next to my board - something a larger mixer wouldn't be able to do. The unit does much more than what I use it for, but it's relatively low price and compact size make it ideal for expanding the functionality of the HX Stomp and enhancing my guitar playing experience the way I want to. Thanks for the recommendation C.J.!

Wish I had chosen one with USB for more flexibility, but it works as expected!

i attend on buying a 2nd oone because it's performance is just what i needed for playing back my HUUUGE vintage
jazz and blues collection of discography, artist and out of print albums, - I tell you the truth i am historically happy and excited

Fits my needs perfectly. Mixing multiple drum modules and music source. Works great.

This little mixer was exactly what I was looking for. Sounds great, works perfectly, and was exactly what I was looking for...

Mackie mixers are simply one of the best values on the market: great quality, great features, and extremely reasonably priced. I already own two other Mackies (a 1202-VLZ3 for my keyboard rig and an 802-VLZ4 for my guitar rig) so I didn't even consider another brand when my latest use-case arose. I needed a personal monitor for my bass at rehearsals with my current band. We don't use amps - guitar, bass, keyboards, electronic drum kit and vocals all go straight to the board from each person's rig and out two PA speakers. Between my bass being blended with the entire rest of the band and the fact that our rehearsal space is rather ambient (two-car garage converted to a dedicated studio) I was having difficulty hearing my bass with the clarity necessary to make sure I'm playing accurately. Now I use a splitter cable and send one feed to the board and one to the Mix5. I plug a set of headphones into the Mix5 and listen to my bass through that, where I can adjust the EQ and volume without affecting the signal being merged with the band. It's great! The sound is so warm and clear. At home I run my bass into Channel 1 and the stereo outs from my PC into Channel 2/3 so that I can play along with recordings in complete headphone isolation and not bother anyone. Best $... I've ever spent.

This is an easy-to-use, high quality mixer for simple, home use. Exactly what I needed for bass practice.

Simple to use mixer. It is nice having 2 stereo inputs. The mic channel is good as well. Be realistic when you order it and you will be happy. I use it on my desk to mix simple sources. It is very clean sounding like a Mackie, which was the main reason I decided on it.

...this thing is extraordinarily good. I use it as a line level sub-mixer in my home studio so cannot speak for the mic pre (which I'm sure is perfectly serviceable, albeit lacking phantom power); nevertheless, this thing works so well in my setup that I bought two! Clean and quiet with plenty of headroom -- what more do you need? Highly recommended.

Everything you need in a mini mixer at a unbelievable price!

Seriously, for $50? I'm putting this in my PA gig bag primarily for use as a keyboardist monitor mix.
It's perfect. Typically, most players bring 2 keyboards for organ/piano and which I generally run through a DI box to the FOH PA. A typical monitor send for their keys with vocals is a tug of war, as most players want control over their own mix. Many will opt for their own powered speaker or keyboard amp, which works, but they still need a monitor to hear vocals, and frankly there's not always space for both. With this little mixer, it's a breeze to give the keyboard player control of their own monitor mix. I'm sure there will be many more situations I'll be pulling this from the gig bag, but for $50 I can't go wrong!

All I needed was two stereo channels for my bedroom audio system: TV, Alexa and a pair of powered monitors. It does the job perfectly and sounds great.

I needed a small utility mixer but at this price point I was very hesitant. I mean, how good could it be for the $ right? Turns out it's very good. I've been using this little Mackie for a couple of months now. It is very quiet, simple to use, and built solidly. Nothing feels cheap despite the price point. If you need a utility mixer for a variety of tasks you cannot go wrong with this product.

BTW, shout out to Delvin Wolf who's been my sales consultant at Sweetwater for many years now. Great company and people to do business with. Never had a complaint over the years.

I purchased this for an unusual application. I am using it with a Behringer 4-channel headphone mixer on an effects send from my A&H mixer, and sending the headphone outs to several looping pedals. These then are returned to a stereo channel on my main mixer via this Mackie Mix5 mixer. As long as I keep the levels at reasonable levels, it has been working well & allows me more flexibility with limited effects sends.
The only issue I'm having is that something is out of phase in the signal path, causing cancellation of the source when the fader is up. Haven't been able to isolate the out of phase issue; using a pre-fade send and turning the channel fader down is a workaround. Thanks for the great Sweetwater service and thanks to Kenney Bergle!

This Mackie has a perfect balance of amazing sound quality, minimal noise, great portability, and rugged design. It feels quality. Perfect alternative for those who are a little tired of Behringer silver mixers everywhere. Probably one of the best deals you can get for $50.

It does lacks proper 48v phantom power and a dedicated power switch, but these aren't dealbreakers for me and they must be key factors to keep the price down. Best for all, you get balanced I/O, which is essential for pro use.

If you must have the on/off switch and the 48v phantom, I'd recommend the 402VLZ4. Twice the price, sure, but you get two great premium preamps and even better built quality.

You just can't go wrong with a Mackie.

it's perfect for what we wanted to do mix our guitars and some drums etc into one source for jammimg in my grandsons room when i stop by really 4.75 stars knocked off for no on off switch

Hey Ben mixer problem solved no interruption plays for the hour Thank for goin the extra mile

This is for my minimized home studio setting, (though the core recording program echos my main studio setting), so it is just for ideas.

This was perfect. It is simple, clean and allows me to monitor the work I do inside the computer, yet also allows me to do a simple vocal and guitar recording if I need to. Generally unneeded though, as my Focusrite goes right into the computer so this is more for simple monitoring.

That said, it also takes up so much less space on the desk compared to my previous desktop mixer for home. That is perfect and allows me to put it in a better spot to reach, as opposed to finding an out of the way spot for it. Because of that it does double duty for my laptop.

Loving this so far!

Small and handy...

Typical great Mackie quality & features, but it only has 15v phantom power. The CloudLifter CL-1 mic activator won't work as it requires 48v. Will be exchanging it for the Mix8 w/48v pp.

I have two 15" PA speakers which in conjunction with the mixer we use for a temporary Bass Rig. It does the job quite well. 4 outa 5 five stars because the damn thing doesn't have a power switch.

I wrote a review saying that I like the layout and footprint of the Mix5, but I bought it to route several computers to either studio monitors or headphones -- and you cannot have the headphone volume up and the monitor volume down -- headphones are a subset of the main mix.

I found a replacement, for anyone who might find this an issue: the Yamaha MG06. It's pretty much the same footprint as the Mackie, has solid build quality, and separate main and phones knobs. AND it has a power switch, which the Mackie does not.

It's too late for me to return the Mackie and I'm happy to have it as a little mixer for other applications -- just not what I originally bought it for.

I bought this to boost microphone levels. It does this, but sound levels have to be cranked up almost to the max. This leaves little power in reserve. The EQ works good. The panel layout is clean and easy to read. It fits on a mall, open spot on top of a file cabinaet. For ease of use.

It’s a good value for the money.

This mixer has the exact configuration I want to send 2 computer sources to a pair of powered speakers or headphones, with the ability to add an additional mono input -- and it has a fairly small footprint on my desk.

A few issues: one is the lack of a power switch. Other reviewers mentioned this so I knew I'd be unplugging it daily, which is weird but fine.

The bigger issue which will make me search for a replacement is that the headphone volume is a subset of the main mix volume, instead of being an independent control. So if I want to switch from speakers to headphones, I can't turn the main mix/monitor volume down and headphones up -- I have to turn the speakers off. Not cool.

Also, when I have one of my sources turned down to very quiet, it cuts out entirely. So there's no very quiet option for a loud source -- just somewhat quiet, loud, or silent.

It was almost my perfect little desk mixer, but I think I have to go for something with a bigger footprint than I want and more features than I need.

The chief advantage of the Mix5 is the balanced main outs. That's unusual in a $50 mixer. It's pretty stripped-down-looking for a Mackie product, though that's not exactly a surprise, given the price. Just don't expect anything brick-solid, like the 402VLZ4.

The Mix5 doesn't have any noise Issues that I can tell. It seems to be a direct competitor to the Behringer 502, which gives the impression of being a nicer unit, frankly. The Mackie board will make a decent bench test unit, though.

Based on my past usage of Mackie gear I bought this unit as a basic headphone amp to plug my computer and two keyboards into. When I got the box I noticed the Mackie name can't be found anywhere on it. Should have seen this as a sign of their faith in it and sent it back immediately. As a mixer it is serviceable, barely. The mic preamp sounds like the mids are scooped and is harsh. Some EQ tweaking makes it "serviceable." The mains output sounds clean, but the headphone amp is just terrible. It is harsh. Very harsh. I don't think I've heard an amp that sounds this bad ever. I'll be returning this.