Allen & Heath ZED 10

[jamison162]

About to pick up a new mini-mixer for my personal solo gigs. I can get a brand new ZED 10 and try it out for 45 days for $200. I have a couple of other mixer available that I can compare to (Carvin 2444, Alesis MultiMix, Soundcraft EFX12), but just wanted to ask is there ANY other mixer in this price range that I should be considering based on the sound quality of the preamps only (not needing a lot of features or bilt in FX). Mackie, Yamaha??? Or is A&H a sure bet?

[alohachris]

Aloha Jamison,

Among the small mixers, the A&H ZED FX & Soundcraft EFX & MFX series offer the best quality & control, IMO, - specifically their onboard mic preamps & very, very good EQ (sweepable mid's really help in many rooms).

However, Soundcraft mixers provide onboard, 24-bit digital Lexicon FX that sound far better to my ears than anything else in the under-thousand dollar priced mixers, IMO. That's the deal breaker & also the best value, IMO.

I own an MFXi-8 for the rare occasions where I need more LIVE inputs (I play mostly solo). Works very well. That's my recommendation. But the EFX series is more portable (smaller), w/ fewer features, but also excellent as well for live sound reinforcement.

The main thing is the quality of the EQ, Jamison. That's the best way to control your Heil PR35 in many types of venues for LIVE applications, IMO. Either of those brands/series will work well to do that. And they are very affordable.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/deta...FShgMgodb24ATw

All the best.

alohachris

[jamison162]

Aloha Chris & thanks,

I'm not in need of onboard fx really and didn't care for the effects on the Soundcraft EFX 12 when I was messing around with it the other day. I'de rather use other sources. I've been running a TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb in the FX loop of the PADI and it sounds amazing and is loaded with tons of different reverbs and controls. Way better than any built in fx's I've ever used.

The Soundcraft board does sound good but I found the eq knobs to be VERY sensative. I'm really looking fwd. to comparing the tonality of the A&H and Soundcraft preamps for both vocals (PR-35) and my Taylor 810/K&K/PADI setup.

[Spook]

Off board effects are better but for those times when you want to move the bare minimum of gear it's nice to be able to fall back on the board. I just got a Zed 10fx and I like it. I have not been happy with Mackie reliability on the last few years.

[Bobby1note]

I agree 100% with Chris. I've got a bunch of mixers, ranging from 24 channel digital and analogue consoles (PreSonus StudioLive-24 and A&H GL-2400) to a 16 channel A&H MixWiz, and a bunch of small format Soundcrafts (EFX-8, MFXi-8, and Notepad 124FX. For acoustic gigs, I usually go with the EFX-8. (I just bought the MFXi-8 last month).

One of the things I specifically like about the EFX-8 (and MFXi-8), is the EQ. I've found it to be quite "musical" actually, and very predictable as well. I'm also completely satisfied with the Lexicon FX. The effects are infinitely tweekable, and you could probably spend weeks, just tweeking those parameters.

I've owned the EFX-8 for roughly 5-6 years now, and never a hiccup.

[Aaron Smith]

I have a Zed10 and like it. It sounds good, and is good from a flexibility standpoint. The mic pre's are clean, and it has plenty of headroom.

Minor quibbles: the fx are good enough, but not great. I prefer faders to knobs for main level controls. The EQ sounds good, but I like the EQ on my old Mackie 1202 more.

If I didn't want onboard effects, I would have gone with an old Mackie 802 or 1202 VLZ. Great mixers, those.

[hamofgod]

I have a zed10fx, and purchased a Zed14 for Church. Love them. Fantastic sounding and working boards. Do it!

[alohachris]

Aloha Jamison,

I don't use mixers for FX when gigging either. I use a TC Electronics M-2000 stereo, dual-engine, one-rack space, FX rack unit for my gigs. Lotsa choices & flexibility plus super quality FX. I use FX very lightly in most cases.

So I'd say whatever gives you the most control is the mixer to go with. Can't go wrong with A&H or Soundcraft, IMO.

alohachris

[lschwart]

If you're not interested in onboard effects, don't forget that Soundcraft also makes the EPM and MPMi series. More or less the EFX and MFXi series, but without the effects. I'm a happy user of the ZED10FX, but I agree that you're best off looking at something with 8 XLR inputs for your purposes. Look at the Soundcraft EPM8.

Louis

[jamison162]

Anyone have any comments on how the Mackie Onyx preamps compare to the ZEDs?


Only other question on the A&H ZED 10 is the lack of channel inserts. If I want to add compression to my vocal, how could I do this....using the aux S/R?

[hamofgod]

The smaller Zed's really do limit you with no inserts, and the routing of the led meters, and various sends, can be a pain. I'll have to take another look at my Zed10 to see if there's a way to do it. Personally, I'm considering a TC Mic Mechanic for my vocal mic, and then running that in to the zed.

I found both the pre's and the eq to be a lot more natural and organic sounding on the A&H zeds than the Onyx. The onyx sound good, but when you ab them, it makes the onyx sound a little "plasticky". I don't have any fancy scientific way of describing it to you, other than that.

[jamison162]

I'll have to try both out..one dealer who sells both says the Onyx preamps are definitely a step up from the ZED's.

[briggleman]

Don't forget, Peavey makes great little mixers that are high quality, low noise, units. Great bang for the buck. I have owned two, presently have the pv10. Now the Allen & Heath is also a great unit but it does limit you a little. Less inputs is a deal breaker for me.