bon je reponds a ma question, ca pourra servir a d'autres....elle sort a priori (s'il ne change pas a nouveau la date) entre la mi octobre et fin octobre...donc tres bientot!!
Citation:
Here is my lunchtime review of the Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2x2 interface.
To get started, I freed the interface of it's cardboard and plastic prison. The build quality is great, it's a nice metal box, the angle is perfect to get to the knobs, the connections are in the back and out of the way of my workspace. The knobs are as smooth and secure as a Mackie Onyx mixer, they've kept to those standards and I like it. I'd feel real comfortable tossing this into my backpack and taking it on the road, a plane, etc.
The interface didn't come with a driver CD, which saved me the task of tossing it and it's sleeve into the trash. Who doesn't prefer to download drivers these days? So I download the "universal driver" from the Blackjack page at Mackie.com, and go to install it only to realize it's PC only. So I load up the audio/midi preferences in Snow Leopard, plug in the USB cable, and sure enough - instant detection of the blackjack in core audio, no install needed. NICE.
Next I plugged in a mic, my Shure E5 earphones, and fired up Ableton Live. Here is what things look like so far:
The first thing I look for in an audio interface is the latency and stability of the driver.
27ms at 512 samples (44.1k), not bad. I cranked it down to 128 samples and the overall Latency was 9.59ms. Adjusting the "TO MON" knob produced only a very slight flanging effect. This is great, but let's throw something at it other than an empty session.
Here is the beast that is my band's Ableton Live set. There are ten songs loaded into this set, each with their own tempo changes. Every song is made up of a different combination of elements, including soft synths and pre-recorded audio tracks. There are also 9 input monitored audio channels that are fed from our mics used at rehearsal and on stage. Here is the track listing of the entire session (the track number is in parenthesis, description following it including the tracks contained within the track if applicable):
(01) Soft Synth - Click track (drum rack with hihat and kick drum samples)
(02) Group Track - Backing tracks (four stereo audio tracks
(07) Group Track - recorded keyboards (our keyboardist moved to Japan, contains two audio tracks)
(10) Group Track - Synths (6 ableton soft synths, mix of Operator and Analog)
(17) Group Track - Percussion (4 soft synths, all drum racks/samplers)
(22) Group Track - Live Drums (Audio tracks, input monitor on. Kick, Snare, Overhead. From my acoustic drum kit, used for IEM monitoring, recording shows, and even some real time FX sends)
(26) Group Track - Live guitars (Bass, Guitar 1, Guitar 2. Just for monitoring and recording)
(30) Group Track - Live vocals (1 lead and 2 backup, one prerecorded track for reverse vocal effects, and a dedicated FX channel that takes it's input from the lead vox. The FX channel has an audio effect rack that includes parallel chains of Thickening/detune (four voices), 6 delays of varying times (tempo based of course), and a TC powercore VSS3 reverb. All of these have automation lanes that are programmed for each song. (And if you're wondering, this is a shoegaze band so vocal effects are king).
(36) Midi Track - has a single max 4 live midi plugin that consolidates the sends of key channels for in ear monitoring. It also has an iPhone interface which can be pretty handy.
(37) Audio Track - "Tracks Out". Anything that goes to the house PA has it's output set to this track. So this is basically a sub master, and gives me quick control of which output I use to give the house our backing tracks.
(38 ) Audio Track - "FX Out". Same thing but for FX. Redundant right now as I've removed the drum effects sends I was using previously, they need to be redesigned and are a low priority.
And then there are (3) sends, one is IEM for the lead vocalist, one is for my IEM (I'm the drummer), and then one is for an external TC M300 rackmount FX processor that I use with Ableton's analog FX interface plugin.
I normally use this set with a TC Konnekt interface that is clocked to an Apogee. Just writing this up on my lunch while at work, I wasn't able to compare the sound of the two side by side, but what I will say is this - the Mackie interface is very stable. I record the live mic channels during rehearsals, so I set those channels to monitor playback and set the lead vocal to input 1 on the Blackjack. At 128 samples and a 9.59ms system latency, I had a clear, uninterrupted vocal channel, stacked with real time automated effects, and it sounded awesome. At 64 samples, yielding a 6.69ms overall system latency, I still was able to run through tracks with no audio dropouts, and crystal clear sound. Even more impressive, I set the ableton global quantization to none, and was able to in real time jump back and forth between songs while singing and get no dropouts. Even with different soft synths and audio tracks being utilized on each song. Playback never dropped out, and the sound both from the mic and from the headphone amp were great.
It can’t be emphasized enough how harrowing of a task it is to randomly click on the timeline of a set like this during playback and have no dropouts. It’s not something I would do while performing, but it has some seriously awesome implications when it comes to live DJs and electronic musicians who need rock solid performance in a live setting.
Because of the complexity of the task, most people doing what I'm doing would probably rather use a Mackie Blackbird, and a review using all of the real time inputs and the monitored outputs would require one. But while the Blackjack is going to be marketed to live performers and recordists who have smaller I/O requirements, if it can keep up with the demands of a session like this then it can keep up with anything.
One of the big features touted about these new interfaces is the sound quality, which with my limited time (on lunch at work) I didn't really delve into. That said I have an Onyx mixer in my studio and am familiar with their sound, and you get the exact same sound with this interface. A good clean signal with just the right slight hint of coloration that makes it sound really good while being very versatile. The band used the Onyx pres in our board to record most of the tracks on our last record, and just yesterday I was speaking with our mastering engineer who paid us a very high compliment, saying the record is one of the best sounding records that he had worked on this year.
The converters are rated and spec'd better than it's competitors (m-audio and presonus). As mentioned I didn't have time to do an a/b against my TC clocked to my Apogee, but given the price points and the introductory interface label on this thread, I don't think that'd be too useful. I will say that with a Shure Beta 57 plugging into the interface, monitoring in Shure earphones, everything sounded great to my ears.
My verdict? If I was in the market for a 2 channel, bus powered USB interface, this is the one I'd buy, hands down. Stability, durability, and great sound.
