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I was looking for a compact mixer (below 16x16 inches) and someone pointed me to try looking into Digital mixers specifically the PreSonus 16.0.2. That thing looks amazing on paper! It has almost everything that I want (EQ/compressor/Effects/Gate/Limiter/etc).

I only wish it had a)inserts b)subgroups c)USB d) SD Card to record songs and e)Feedback eliminator (for a last resort thing).

Anyway, my questions are:
1) How would you rank PreSonus as a mixer? Is it within the same league as Allen& Heath? Soundcraft? or with Behringer, Mackie, etc? If possible can you rank them for me from 1 as being the best.

2) Has anyone here used the PreSonus 16.0.2? Can you comment on the quality of its pre-amp and effects? Is it better than the Zed-10fx (currently using this)?

3) What other digital mixers are out there that are within 16x16 inches that can compete with the PreSonus 16.0.2?

Thanks

Comments

kmetal Sun, 08/25/2013 - 03:27

i've used the 16.4.02, numerous times at gigs i think it's decent. in the digital realm the brands you mentioned are all in the same league. the next step up would be something from yamaha, or midas. i haven't used all the offerings from those brands, so i can't rank them. i'm personally very curious to try the allen and heath ou-16.

the pre's sound good, they're quiet, they're transparent, i mean i wouldn't say they are special in any way, they just do what they do, cleanly create gain for a microphone. the only effect i've used the reverb, in small doses, i think it's a bit lackluster, just a little bit goes a long way.

all those gates/eqs ect, aren't usually necessary live, but useful to have in a studio setting. so it depends what you primarily want to use it for. i'd say it's a definite must-try, but i personally wouldn't buy one. i don't like the lack of metering when using the ipad app, or the way the graphic eqs are accessed thru the board. i suggest you try all the digital mixers in your price range and judge quality, and just as, or even more importantly, workflow. workflow is huge in digital mixers especially.

p.s i inquired a few months ago about whether 'feedback eliminators' are worth it, or work, and basically the answer was no. from everyone. it was basically a big no. and the discussions led to better use of techniques.

Boswell Sun, 08/25/2013 - 05:38

You are really narrowing your choice of digital mixers by specifying a 16" x 16" footprint - the Presonus is about the only one of any quality that fits in that space.

However, it's a good mixer for what it offers. The pre-amps are above average and the digital facilities are good. However, it lacks analog inserts and motorized faders. You didn't say how many analog inputs you need, but I'm assuming 16 is sufficient.

In the next league up is the A-H Qu16, but it's slightly bigger (17.5" x 20").

As kmetal said, don't put any weight on having a "feedback eliminator". I personally would rule out any quality mixer that professed to have that sort of gizmo.

BobRogers Sun, 08/25/2013 - 06:25

I own the 16.0.2 and agree with most of what was said above (though I have not used many of the other digital units, so I can't say anything there.) It really should be called a 12.4.2. They call it 16 by having four stereo channels (with line inputs) controlled with a single fader. There are only 12 mic preamps and twelve channel faders. With that said, and with all of the limitations noted above, it's a great mixer for what I want it to do. The small footprint is a godsend is so many situations. I have a larger analog A&H mixer and the 16.0.2 gets most of the work.

joms Sun, 08/25/2013 - 07:20

Don't laugh but I intend to use it for our home karaoke sessions only =D The reason I am constrained in using the 16x16 footprint is because I need it to fit my audio/video rack in our small living room. As of now, we are only using 3x mics and 1x karaoke player so 16 inputs very much covers all out bases. Sometime we might hook up a guitar or keyboard but that's it. I really only need an 8 or at most a 12input to be honest but there's not much digital mixers out there that caters to 8 or 12 input (note: I don't want the digital mixers that needs an ipad to operate).

joms Sun, 08/25/2013 - 15:17

Thanks for all the replies again but I'm now trying to figure out something.
I've tried reading the manual but i got overwhelmed with all the data. I know that what I need is somehow possible but can you double check for me if it really is before I bite the bullet and purchase this thing (if ever).
What I want to happen is this:
Karaoke player to input of mixer (RCA via stereo channels 13/14 of 16.0.2)
Mic 1 to input channel 1 of mixer (XLR)
Mic 2 to input channel 2 of mixer (XLR)
Mixer ---> sends all music only (no vocals) to my home theater system via my home theater amp RCA input
Mixer ----> sends vocals only to my QSC K10 powered speakers (however, I want it to have the option to include the music with the vocals with a push of a button)
Mixer ---> send a master mix signal to my Tascam DR100MKII recorder to record our session (is this a good way to record or is it better to record via firewire to a laptop?)

Is this possible? If so, how do i set it up?

audiokid Sun, 08/25/2013 - 18:12

joms, post: 406989 wrote: Why can't I add a space? I cant format my replies lol. Anyway how do I "ring the aux monitors" if the 16.0.2 doesn't have a GEQ in their aux output? Do I need to buy a separate 31 band GEQ?

reply,

space

reply

space

space

Try using "Enter " works everytime. :)

forget about using some format. keep it simple.

BobRogers Mon, 08/26/2013 - 03:34

Anyway how do I "ring the aux monitors" if the 16.0.2 doesn't have a GEQ in their aux output? Do I need to buy a separate 31 band GEQ?

Yeah, that's another limitation that wasn't mentioned. The GEQ can't be assigned to the AUX channels. I hope they upddate the firmware to allow that. (More GEQs would be nice, but if they only have room for one, it would be nice if it was assignable.)

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