I own three of these patch bays and very happy with them. One of them is on my wireless rack so I don't have to reach in to a congested 6U rack with 2U drawer. The other is on my Midas M32C / DL32 stage box to get to the pair of Klark Teknik AFS units. The Midas DL32 aux/mix outs are front mounted and Klark Teknik D1000 are rear mounted. Not a fan of multiple connections and cables but all are high quality and keeps it neat. The third is on a Pod Cast rack to get microphones into ART Tube mic preamps and ART VLA Tube compressors. Rear mounted it keeps the front clean. Making custom cables for the headphone outputs and a reverse XLR (Non Shielded cable) up to the desk for headphones.

Very solid and capable XLR patch bay for an affordable price. It was exactly what I needed, all the way through to the four female outs on the front. I'm using it in my IEM stage rack in conjunction with some Hosa Modular units (which I also love) and the Black Lion feels just as robust, and it's packed with as much I/O as possible. I did see some mixed reviews on this unit from others, so I felt like I was taking a bit of a chance with it; but I am personally very happy with this unit, and would definitely recommend it to others. I might even open up to other Black Lion products from this great experience.

The other negative review here is not misleading. Today during it's very first use my brand new pbr xlr had signal issues with one channel and seized one of my mic cables in another (pictured). The latch on the male connector broke when I went to unplug everything after the session. I wasn't rough with it, the thing just snapped. Another 3-4 of the male input connectors I plugged into did NOT want to let go of my cables either. The mic cable stuck inside is also new and from a brand I trust and use all the time. Between that and the fact that the cable isn't the piece of equipment with moving parts that failed, I have no reason to suspect it is at fault.


This is the second unit they sent me. A replacement. The first had half the inputs installed in the wrong direction (pictured).


These patchbays look incredible but the quality and quality control seem to be far from it. I will note I haven't had any issues with the TRS PBR I have, but I highly recommend anyone reading this avoid the XLR model.

Read More Show Less

Looking for a straight pass-thru rack mounted patch bay to support a Behringer X32. This did the job, quick and easy and exactly what I needed.

My routing isn't crazy so this was the perfect size and functions/performs well for my home setup. I run an xlr snake out of the PBR into the db25 connector of my 500 series chassis. The rest the 8 outs go to other rack units. This thing is very cost effective and perfect for my workflow at home. The 4 front facing outputs make patching a breeze.

This unit was exactly what I needed, and perfectly fits my use-case. I can patch directly into my x8, and with 12 female and 4 male (front) patches, I've got tons of room to grow. I looked at a competitor that had "reversible" patches, but opted for this unit after thinking it through and realizing that the last thing I needed was to have to break down my entire setup, pull out the unit, and manually reverse plugs if I needed it. This totally takes care of that. The construction is absolutely solid, and I've had no issues at all with rather heavy use testing multiple mic (though I'm currently only patching bays 1-4 into my x8).

I feel I should address what I consider a "misleading" review, as it prompted me to contact my rep before buying. This is well-built for the money, and I'm 100% satisfied with my purchase. The photos of the "cheap parts" post clearly shows significant internal scratching on the chassis of the inside-top of the unit, indicating it's been disassembled and abused previously. And if someone hasn't seen a part break on used/mistreated equipment in "30 years of playing and recording music," I feel the value of their review is dramatically reduced. But that's just me. I wanted to say something because the review was concerning, but purchased this anyway after speaking to my rep Ben.

If anything changes, I'll post back :)

Read More Show Less

Very nicely constructed, rugged and good connectors used. Connectors are soldered to a printed circuit board and everything is totally boxed inside a rugged case.

These are very well built and fit a single space in a rack perfectly.

Thumbs up!

This thing is simple and awesome... or is it simply awesome?

It's just a rock-solid studio workhorse that gets the job done and looks good while doing it. The connections all feel perfectly secure... but the best part is that I don't have to climb under my desk every time I want to change some routing now!

It just works. I was surprised that it turned out to be so nicely made considering the price.

I'm upset with this purchase because 1) it is EXACTLY what I need 2) it's made by a brand I thought I trusted and 3) it broke in the middle of its first session.
The latch release on one of the XLR inserts broke internally, seizing a cable. I sent photos to Black Lion before opening it up, no reply. Finally, I had to open it up, cut the cable out, and return to Sweetwater. The insert"PUSH" release looked like it is made of very thin pot metal, considerably less substantial than my other gear with similar-style connectors. In the 30 years I've been playing and recording music, I've never had that happen before. It's too bad because, like I said, it was exactly what I need... just made poorly. Unless they go back to the drawing board with better materials... do not buy. [If you are listening, Black Lion, you can get Neutrik XLRF 1/4" TRS Combo Jacks for less than a dollar. I would gladly pay double.]

Read More Show Less