Comments on: An Audio Interface for the Studio and the Road: Mackie’s Satellite http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/07/11/an-audio-interface-for-the-studio-and-the-road-mackies-satellite/ The latest gear, software, and techniques for electronic music production and performance Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:12:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Peter Kirn http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/07/11/an-audio-interface-for-the-studio-and-the-road-mackies-satellite/#comment-17239 Peter Kirn Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:50:07 +0000 http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/07/11/an-audio-interface-for-the-studio-and-the-road-mackies-satellite/#comment-17239 Yes, but that would require two separate interfaces. And whatever the cost to Mackie, the $400 or so street cost to the customer here is competitive (particularly within their Onyx line), given you have these additional monitoring outs, talkback, etc, which most mid-range interfaces lack. I don't think it's for everyone -- it looks good for surround monitoring and studio setups, not so great for extensive multitrack recording -- but for someone, I expect it'll be just right. I can easily see it working well for an academic institution, for instance, that has a studio and then needs to take a simple line in / line out interface for use onstage. (erm, except that someone might steal the pod -- better install that security camera.) Given the number and variety of good audio interfaces out there, I can't imagine that *something* doesn't work for just about anybody. Yes, but that would require two separate interfaces. And whatever the cost to Mackie, the $400 or so street cost to the customer here is competitive (particularly within their Onyx line), given you have these additional monitoring outs, talkback, etc, which most mid-range interfaces lack. I don’t think it’s for everyone — it looks good for surround monitoring and studio setups, not so great for extensive multitrack recording — but for someone, I expect it’ll be just right. I can easily see it working well for an academic institution, for instance, that has a studio and then needs to take a simple line in / line out interface for use onstage. (erm, except that someone might steal the pod — better install that security camera.)

Given the number and variety of good audio interfaces out there, I can’t imagine that *something* doesn’t work for just about anybody.

]]> By: Mies van der Robot http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/07/11/an-audio-interface-for-the-studio-and-the-road-mackies-satellite/#comment-17233 Mies van der Robot Wed, 12 Jul 2006 17:07:09 +0000 http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/07/11/an-audio-interface-for-the-studio-and-the-road-mackies-satellite/#comment-17233 The concept is not bad, but the whole "plug it into a dock" aspect strikes me as more marketing-driven than actually useful. Seems to me you could achieve the same effect (and possibly at lower cost) by just selling "cabling extenders" for existing firewire interfaces. You'd just pass a firewire cable from the extender to the interface, and decouple them to take the interface on the road. Yes, the docking station looks cooler, but it probably costs more to manufacture, too. The concept is not bad, but the whole “plug it into a dock” aspect strikes me as more marketing-driven than actually useful.

Seems to me you could achieve the same effect (and possibly at lower cost) by just selling “cabling extenders” for existing firewire interfaces. You’d just pass a firewire cable from the extender to the interface, and decouple them to take the interface on the road.

Yes, the docking station looks cooler, but it probably costs more to manufacture, too.

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