Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2x2 USB Recording Interface

I was worried from reading the other reviews that I would have problems. (including reviews outside of Amazon)After doing a lot of research I realized that it was probably the right fit for what I want.I have a MAC Power Book - OS 10.6.6I had been using only the 1/8th inch jack on the side for input and that, obviously, wasn't cutting it.I wanted to use an electric guitar and a near field mic for vocals - specifically a Sure SM57- because I'm recording in a place where I can't control the outside sounds and if I want to get a clean sound without a lot of background noiseand a low noise floor, I knew I would need the less sensitive and more directional mic.The Sure SM57 needs a pre-amp that generates at least 54db to 60db, because it's a dynamic mic.The Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2x2 USB was the only USB box I found who's pre-amp was that strong.Since I have a MAC there was no "driver" problems talked about in other reviews.I plugged the box in, went to the System Preferences >Sound > switched the "Audio In" to Onyx Blackjack, started up "Logic" and it worked instantly.No issues at all. Good quality sound. No Clicks, No Latency. Simple and Perfect for what I want it for.I tested it on Electric Guitar and then vocals with the SM57, and with some larger diaphragm mics.It does the job I want it to do, and I give it 5 stars.UPDATE: I am no longer using the SM57 mic. The Onyx is a great unit for that mic. However, I've upgraded my studio since then.Now I'm using the Focusrite Scarlett 2i/2 2nd Generation. It has a much lower noise floor. I also want to mention that the sample rate of Onyx is 44.1 and 48kHz. This is fine for most uses. However, most mastering these days is preferred to be done in 96kHz. If you intend to have your music professionally mastered you should record it in 96kHz, and the Onyx is NOT the right USB interface for that.

I recently bought this as a replacement for my old audio interface. Let me start off by saying that I do not use this audio interface expecting professional studio results. I simply use this audio interface to run my microphone for podcasting, streaming, and playing with friends. I will occasionally record instruments, but its just to get ideas put down quickly.With all that being said, I want to start off by saying that this audio interface does everything it says it does and it does it properly. I have absolutely zero complaints as far as something not working. The build quality is nice, and setup on a computer is flawless. Honestly on some computers you dont even have to predownload drivers, as your computer will do it automatically as soon as you plug in the interface.Anyways, on to the reasoning behind 3 stars. As I just mentioned, the interface does its job. But thats it. It doesnt go above and beyond. It comes with small little nuances, and this interface is basically a living definition of "average".Ill start off will all the little nuances Ive had with it.1. Condenser mics absolutely work well, but I found that on some of my high quality condensor mics I have to turn the gain up all the way up. All my low quality and low power condenser mics do not have this problem, but it does result in lower quality recording.2. This interface is obviously tailored and geared at home pc desk setups. What i mean by that is that the only input in the front is the headphone input. This allows the rest of the cables to be routed behind a desk and concealed well so the desk can look nice and cable free. Except the problem is that the interface is at an angle. So even though all the cables plug in at the back, you can still see them jutting out since they are angled upwards. A bit counter intuitive.3. Ive only run into this problem 1 or 2 times before, but in my case ive had the recording issues just because the usb wasnt sitting in a perfect position in the PC. All it took was a little jiggle and it worked again. I can see this being pretty annoying for anyone with a pc with a hard to reach usb connection input.4. I do get a bit of background noise and a slight decrease in quality. Obviously its considerably less than something like a usb mic, but ive used other interfaces like tascams and presonus usb interfaces that gave me slightly higher quality.In conclusion, this interface is good. Its decent. But there is nothing about it that would convince me to absolutely pick it over other high quality usb interfaces.

I bought this to use in conjunction with my JBL LSR305s studio monitors and Audio Technica ATH2100 microphone. I don't do any music recording, I only use this for recreational listening and voice comms as well as the occasional stream. If you are looking to buy this for home music editing/recording save yourself the time and read the next review.-Build Quality-Superb! The casing is very sturdy and has a nice heft to it. The rubber feet on the bottom don't quite 'stick' to the desk like I would like, but they won't be wearing out and coming off. The knobs are made of a high quality plastic and turn smoothly. I have actually tried to take them off in the past, but they are secured extremely well. The slight slant for the controls is also ergonomically pleasing and a nice change to the usual front facing controls most interfaces use.-Drivers-As soon as I plugged the thing in it was recognized and my computer was downloading the necessary drivers. With a lot of audio interfaces the drivers can be a hassle, but luckily Mackie has done an excellent job here. I am currently running windows 10 as well, so I am thrilled to see it supported.-Audio Quality-I have noticed no hissing or interference through my JBL LSR305s or my DT990s even when listening for it. The DAC Mackie is using in here appears to be of decent quality which is nice to see. I also appreciate the inclusion of TRS outputs for the studio monitors on such a budget audio interface. The mic pre-amp has sounded clear through my listening of my mic, but I don't do any recording with it so I'm not the best judge of strength here.Compared to other options in the price range I think Mackie has knocked it out of the park with this one, highly recommend for anyone needing to power a XLR capable mic and studio monitors.

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Me encanta ! Compacto (Mas pequeño que los FOSCURITE correspondiente en gama), de aspecto muy sólido por su carcaza en aluminio y con un sonido excelente! Se alimenta via USB. Con lo cual con enchufarlo al PC/Mac ya está!. Y para mi eso es un plus sin duda. Lo hace mucho mas fácil de llevar a donde sea sin que tener que tirar de regletas etc. El otro punto a su favor e que los XLR y Jack están detrás. Par mi se me hace mucho mas cómodo. Nada de cable que pasa por encima de la mesa. Va detrás y por debajo de la mesa.... Pero claro eso dependerá de cada uno y de como plantea usarlo.En definitiva. Lo recomiendo. Nada que envidiar de sus competidores! Y lo digo por haber probado algunos.

Warning for Windows User's:Initial setup was a bit difficult on Windows 10. The Mackie driver is fairly out of date and the minimum ASIO Buffer Size it would let me set was 256 samples. This was still low enough to record live guitar/vocals, but considering I have a fairly powerful PC I expected to be able to set the buffer size a lot lower for less latency. Seems like the out of date driver did not mesh too well with Windows 10 and for some reason I couldn't get the buffer size lower without a bunch of clicking and distorted noises. I was able to download ASIO4ALL for free and that worked a lot better after tweaking it for a while. I was able to get an ASIO buffer size as low as 64 samples without any clicks or distortion. The live instruments/vocals have no detectable delay at all below 128 samples on my setup. Even with ASIO4ALL, things can still be a bit buggy and not always work. I found restarting my computer and trying different USB ports seemed to fix any issues. Would be nice if Mackie updated their driver's so everything would work smoother, but if you don't mind spending a couple hours figuring it out it works great once you get everything set up! Anyone having trouble getting it working on Windows 10 is welcome to message me for help.Apple User's:I also have a Macbook that I initially tried setting it up on. Plugged it in and it worked right away since Apple has their own built in drivers. Highly recommend the Onyx Blackjack if you have a Mac, set up shouldn't be an issue for you and it works great!Quality:The physical construction of the interface is very solid. It should hold up for a really long and feels like a piece of professional equipment. The sound recording quality is very good. I have tried running an SM58 (dynamic mic) for vocals and that worked well. I have also run an AT2035 (condenser mic) for vocals and recording acoustic and that works even better from my experience. Much crisper/clearer sound with the condenser mic, just remember to have the phantom power turned on for the condenser mic to work! An electric guitar plugged directly into the interface with the Hi-Z switch engaged also sounds very good. I've also recorded electronic drums using the interface, which also sounded very good. Since you have two inputs you can record the electric drums in stereo, which is a really nice feature to have!

MacBook Proにて使用しています。Macの場合は専用ドライバーが必要無く、インストールの手間や設定といった面倒は無く繋げてすぐに使えます。MIDI I/Oが無いのと、他社製品によくあるWeb配信等に便利なループバック機能はありませんが、それらの機能は必要無いと割り切っているなら十分使えます。また入出力端子が全てリア側についているという点が気に入っています。他社の同クラスかワンランク上の製品のほとんどはフロント側にモニター可能の入力があるため、個人的にあまり取り回しが良くないといった印象を受けます。

De taille très compacte, cette petite interface USB est parfaite pour une configuration mobile, par exemple :- maquettage guitare-chant, duo guitare, etc : un switch Line/Hi-Z permet d'adapter l'impédance et se passer d'une DI pour brancher une guitare ou basse.- enregistrement piano ou clavier : deux entrées pour les deux canaux gauche-droite.- captation d'ensembles acoustiques avec 2 micros sur alimentation phantom, ou même captation de concert en combinant micro d'ambiance et sortie de console.- enregistrement de podcast : un micro voix et une seconde source audio sur le deuxième canalPossibilité d'y brancher des enceintes de monitoring en jack en plus d'un casque, chacun avec son potard de niveau de sortie.Pas de problème de drivers pour Windows 10. Fonctionnement parfaitement et stable, testé avec succès sur SoundForge, Cubase, Nuendo..Matériel robuste et qui a l'air fiable sur le long terme.