Comments on: In Dev Review: Mackie Onyx Blackjack Interface

By: Roulette

Roulette — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:48:29 +0000

It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

By: Blackjack

Blackjack — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:45:00 +0000

I do accept as true with all of the concepts you’ve introduced to your post. They’re really convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very short for novices. May you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thank you for the post.

By: jimmy c

jimmy c — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:23:26 +0000

I bought it! And it is really everything you could want at this price point. It truly is better than all of my other dac/headamps at a similar price-point. 5t would be interesting to see how much more you’d have to spend to get a better just a standalone DAC, standalone HeadAmp, pre-amp etc.

thanks again,

By: Feki

Feki — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:51:29 +0000

BlackJack no funktion driver w7 !!! ASIAO4LL – OK It is a shame Micke

By: Dev

Dev — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:54:58 +0000

Mackie Onyx vs Scarlett 2i2 shootout is in the works! Stay tuned!

By: Marc J

Marc J — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:55:09 +0000

Lets compare mackie blackjack the focusrite scarlett 2i2 and the tc electronic desktop konnekt 6

By: Marc J

Marc J — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:05:57 +0000

Yea!! Dev Im also torn between the mackie blackjack and the focusrite scarlett 2i2 Im interested in the pres, converters and stability Im on a 08 non unibody macbook pro 2.4 6gb of ram i need an honest comparison

By: Stan Wu

Stan Wu — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:21:13 +0000

Mackie Blackjack versus Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. What would you recommend Dev? I think the preamps are the most important to me if everything else is equal. Thanks.

By: Dev

Dev — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:45:22 +0000

To answer your question Jimmy, in a nutshell, if you want a DAC/AMP combo, the Blackjack is easily the best one I can think of at the price, bar none. It’s a fantastic piece of gear for what it costs, and well worth the price of admission just as a DAC/Pre/HPA (the headphone amp is FANTASTIC for a buss-powered built in, better than some standalone headamps I’ve heard, I don’t know why they don’t advertise it more. As a point of reference, it will push my K702s and HD-600s without breaking a sweat). As far as the preamp phantom power issue, I hadn’t heard that before, and for what it’s worth, I’ve never had issues. Do you have a specific failing to point to?

By: jimmy c

jimmy c — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 08:44:51 +0000

Can anyone think of a better item (in this price range) if I was to use this for just USB/DAC to headphones/monitors? I don’t need the recording capabilities.

Thank you ahead of time!

James

By: proaudio

proaudio — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:58:14 +0000

Blackjack seems to have a hardware problem related to the preamp’s phantom power. It will reject certain types of condenser microphones, by introducing an extremely high amount of noise into recording.
Beware!

By: jimmy c

jimmy c — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:07:46 +0000

Hi Dav – I’ve just recently stumbled across your site here and am really impressed! I especially like the bottom line/brooklyn minute video.

One quickie – if I was looking for a headphone amp/USB DAC with potential to run a pair of studio monitors out of it would this be ideal? I don’t need to record at all – simply listen to music (headphone and monitors). Thanks a million!

If there is better (BabyFace?) and it’s worth it (just for conversion and playback) then please suggest. Otherwise I’ll go for it!

James

By: Dev

Dev — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:38:41 +0000

I personally like the pres better, though the Apogee Duet pres are really fantastic in their own right, very open and detailed. The Onyx pres just have a little more character to them, their a little warmer, a little richer. The Duet’s converters are definitely a cut above, but that’s to be expected. Basically I’d say, all in all, if you want to spend Duet level money on a portable interface, save up a little more and buy the RME Babyface (which I’m in the process of reviewing right now). Not to ruin the surprise, but it’s a showstopper. But if Pro Audio Star is giving these away for 150 a pop right now, that’s an absurd deal. You could buy three and have money left over for lunch vs buying a Duet, and it’s definitely a real competitor as far as I’m concerned.

By: stockhouse

stockhouse — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:24:07 +0000

hi dev, the test is great.
what do you think, the sound quality of mackie blackjack (mic pres, ect.) beat the level of apogee one?
thanks.

By: Dev

Dev — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:59:39 +0000

Ok, so Mackie has universal drivers that should solve the ASIO issues, here’s the link: http://downloads.mackie.com/drivers/digital_audio/V1.9%20Mackie%20Universal%20Driver%20and%20Installation%20Instructions.zip

By: Dev

Dev — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:33:08 +0000

I’ll have to look into the ASIO issues; my tests were done using a Mac and Logic, so I didn’t run into those. Thanks for the head’s up on that folk!

By: charlesvk

charlesvk — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:12:31 +0000

Yeah, same here. I can make a clean recording with it, but there´s just no way I can listen back through the Blackjack, not even with the buffer setting at 1024!

They´ve got to fix it (unless there´s something I don´t get)!

By: Miendez

Miendez — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:01:18 +0000

I recently purchased a Mackie Onyx Blackjack what is happening with the driver Mackie I’m experiencing the same driver problem that many people! simply do not work! I tried on different pcs mackie is worth repairing the driver problem

By: pedro

pedro — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:08:56 +0000

Thanks for the great test.

I have the BlackJack and I am very satisfied with the sound, although I have not alot of comparison. Maybe the RME babyface would certainly be a good solution (three times more expensive).

The ASIO driver of the bj is a disaster. I have to use ASIO4ALL.