ProAudio Review - May 2008 - (Page 49) counterparts, the large number of broadcastready features and the on-air error-free performance (and resulting peace of mind) they enable can easily justify the cost. For this review, I put the SixMix to work for “live-to-tape” (well, computer) duty in my own production studio and for “live-toair” duty at the National Press Club. In both applications, a Dell Duo-Core laptop running Sony Sound Forge 9 was used to record the program mix output via the console’s built-in USB interface. Because the SixMix codec uses the broadly supported USB 1.1 specification, the SixMix requires no special drivers (it instantly showed up as “USB Audio Codec” on my computer and used the “Windows Classic Wave Driver” in Sound Forge) and should be compatible with any USB-enabled computer. Audio quality of both the analog mixer and AD/DA sections of the SixMix was very good and decidedly clean; though I didn’t get to do any head-to-head comparisons with the console set mentioned above, I would suspect the SixMix boasts better noise performance since it lacks the non-fully bypassable EQs and aux/sub returns found on many of the aforementioned project-studio and live-oriented console ranges. In fact, not only does the SixMix have no EQs, pan knobs, aux sends, aux returns or subgroups, it also has no master bus output control. For some, this may be taking the streamlined-operation and spartan-mix-path thing one step too far (myself included), but I recognize that for others, the less controls in the hands of the on-air broadcaster (and perhaps the more overall control ceded to the Technical Operations Center), the better. Note that the two mic inputs do have preamp gain trimmers, and TRS (send/return loop) insert points for processing with external EQ, compression, etc. What the console does have are plenty of features that allowed me to be up and running with a full-featured on-air broadcast setup virtually anywhere in just a matter of minutes. In addition to the aforementioned talkback-interruptible phones bus, the SixMix provides the console operator with a full auto-switching cue monitoring system (with dual-color LED indicators for PGM bus and cue bus assign) plus auto-muting of the control room monitor outputs when a mic is open (user-programmable via internal switches) and built-in tally light (“On-Air”) support for the more permanent installations. Other features I found most welcome on the SixMix were: dedicated balanced “Air Monitor” confidence inputs that can be quickly auditioned in the CR monitors via the PGM/Air switch; a handy front-panel input (duplicate of rear-panel 5A RCA inputs) on a stereo mini jack for iPods etc.; a S/PDIF digital out connection (computer L/R output signal), though oddly on a 1/8inch jack; and an unbalanced parallel output of the main balanced outputs (“Rec Out”) on mini. Also of high value for many potential users is a dedicated mix-minus output for use with telephone hybrids. The “minus input” (from hybrid) can be internally set to use either channel 2 or 3. Note that a special wiring scheme is implemented whereby the mix-minus output signal appears on the tip of a TRS output jack; this is, of course, so Henry could cram even more functionality into the mixer, namely a dedicated mono output of the cuing bus on the ring of the connector. This is especially handy for feeding a dedicated cuing speaker when headphone previewing is not possible (like during hectic video satellite media tours when one’s ears must be available to hear orders barked from many directions at all times). Definitely on my wish list—should panel surface real estate somehow be freed up or expanded, that is—are built-in phantom powering and actual knobs instead of trim pots for setting mic preamp gain. Program bus inserts and some kind of output control would also be appreciated (though a trusty Aphex 312 Compellor—with its excellent metering and linked output control—solved both of theses “wants” for me). | SUMMARY The deceptively small SixMix console adeptly fills a large and long-standing void in the market: a reasonably priced, small-format mixer with much of the cuing, mixminus, IFB and auto-switching/muting/tallying functionality required of larger on-air broadcast console counterparts. Add in its no-muss USB computer audio interface and at-a-glance color-coded controls and Henry Engineering has not simply filled a need, but also produced a winner with the SixMix. PAR Studio Editor Stephen Murphy has over 20 years production and engineering experience, including Grammy-winning and Gold/Platinum credits. His website is www.smurphco.com www.proaudioreview.com May 2008 | ProAudio Review | 49 http://www.smurphco.com http://www.thatcorp.com http://www.thatcorp.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
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