Item Reviews for: Mackie Onyx Blackbird Firewire Recording Audio Interface  -  MAC ONYXBLACKBIRD LIST
Mackie Onyx Blackbird Firewire Recording Audio Interface
review title:

Very, Very Nice!!

By: Gerald N.      Submitted: 3/18/2015

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2 people found this review helpful.
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Product Rating Product Review Great interface. I bought mine used for cheap, it has Onyx preamps, very clean and clear with my Neumann TLM-67. The Focusrite ISA One I use is great, but seemed to colored with the 67. The Cirrus DA/AD converters are excellent, check the specs! Very satisfied with the sound quality. Nice build quality and I love the onscreen mixer/router, super easy and effective. The only thing I don't like is I believe its not true ADAT expandable, only SMUX and with another Blackbird, so I've read , but I'll have to see if I can get it to work with my Behringer ADA-8200. Don't hesitate to get one if you need clean preamps , great conversion, and a firewire interface.
review title:

Good looking Solid interface!

By: Tim Harris from Madison, MS, USA      Submitted: 2/6/2012

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Oh yes, this AI is extremely well put together, solid, dependable and built like a tank. Had it for about a year with zero problems. It's AD converters is the #1 reason i bought this AI, because normally i wouldn't have wanted one whereby you couldn't run a mic preamp directly into it without the AI's preamps being in front of the chain. Haven't toured with it as it just sits in my home studio, but so far it's performed flawlessly. This unit has just about everything. Too many features to list (read the AMS info on the left :) ). The best feature though would have to be the Blackbirds monitoring controls on the front. They're just "right there" in your face with two firm hard rubber knobs for the headphone volume housing a powerful amp built in which some units skimp on. It was SO easy hooking this unit up. Very user friendly. The knobs are easy to turn, not because they turn "thin" but because they have a nice feel to them as they have a "thick" turn and stick out from the panel just the right distance. All buttons seem to be just in the right place geometrically speaking and the ones by the two main channels even have a cool guitar graphic on them letting you know it's the one to push for high-z inputs such as a guitar. Just leave it out when you're using a condenser mic, for example. The overall value is good on this product mainly because of it's high quality AD converters (which is what we're all after). It's a good looking unit geometrically, not necessarily color wise. It sports three colors - black, white, and silver. BUT it's "shape" makes up for it's colors by looking really "futuristic", for lack of a better word. And if you have BLACK as you main theme color for your studio then you're good to go. And it does have the small red lights which most all AI's have.
review title:

a dream come true

By: Skykingzent/djotomusic from philadelphia, pa      Submitted: 11/16/2011

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everything on this item is awesome, really dependable, not heavy, really strong, one of the best items i have seen this year from mackie, it has his own digital mixer which is awesome, it works really well for cubase 6 and sonar etc. super easy to use, plus customer service is one of the best in the business this item overall is one of the best i have seen wow, it changed my music studio appearance completely plus the colors can match any room.
review title:

Well worth the money!

By: KoreyH from Brooklyn, NY      Submitted: 10/14/2011

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Yes the quality of this product is very sturdy, nothing looks cheap. The pre's have a very nice feel to them. Firewire is the most important aspect of this piece of gear, in my opinion. If I could I wouldI would use a different insert scheme. The inserts are hardwired to Inputs 1-2. I wish it were possible to be able to insert in on any channel. This product (if on a mac) is as easy as plugging it in via firewire and restarting your DAW. I use with logic and have had little to no commuincation issues. Once in a while I will get it is not recognized, but a simple restart of Logic and the blackbird will show up. Yes, if this were a DIGI product it would be twice the price. The 003 is a rip off. Very sleek.
review title:

Killer piece of equipment

By: Scott from Fullerton, Ca      Submitted: 2/22/2011

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Seems bullet proof. So far it's dependable. It's Mackie, what else would you expect? Everything. Don;t know what I would add. Very easy to use. Downloaded the software - plugged it in and it worked. Yes. Looks killer.