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17

Owner’s Manual

Owner’

s Manual

Rear Panel

The rear panel is where you make all your analog and 

digital audio connections to the Onyx 1200F (except for 
the headphones and the high-impedance instrument 
jacks on the front).

21. MIC/Line Inputs

These are Neutrik combo connectors, which accept 

balanced microphone inputs from an XLR connector or 
balanced line-level inputs from a 1/4" TRS connector. 
The microphone preamps feature our new Onyx design, 
with higher fidelity and headroom rivaling any stand-
alone mic preamp on the market today.

The XLR inputs are wired as follows: 

 

Pin 1 = Shield or ground 

 

Pin 2 = Positive (+ or hot) 

 

Pin 3 = Negative (– or cold)

The 1/4" inputs are wired as follows: 

 

Sleeve = Shield or ground 

 

Tip = Positive (+ or hot) 

 

Ring = Negative (– or cold)

22. INSERTS

These 1/4" TRS jacks provide a send and return point 

for channels 1-2. Use the CHANNEL INSERT jacks to 
connect serial effects devices such as compressors, 
equalizers, de-essers, or filters to each individual channel.

The INSERT points are after the GAIN controls, and 

just before the analog-to-digital converters. The SEND 
output is low-impedance, capable of driving any device. 
The RETURN is high-impedance and can be driven by 
almost any device.

Tip:

 Since the inserts are before the A/D converters, it’s 

a good place to strap a compressor on an unruly singer 
to avoid overloading the A/D converter without having 
to turn down the GAIN control a whole bunch.

17. Output Level BYPASS

Turn the BYPASS switch on to remove the OUTPUT level 

control from the signal path. This ensures that the signal 
at the eight balanced line-level outputs is the same as the 
DAW’s source channels. The indicating LED next to the 
BYPASS switch lights when the bypass function is on. This 
might be useful for sending a two-channel mix to a record-
er, or for using these outputs (along with some line-level 
inputs) as sends to a signal processor during mixdown.

18. MONITOR Level Control

Use this knob to adjust the signal level at the CON-

TROL RM MONITOR jacks on the rear panel. It adjusts 
the signal for both the left and right Control Room Moni-
tor outputs, ranging from off (

) to unity gain (MAX). 

Connect the CONTROL ROOM MONITOR outputs di-

rectly to the inputs of a pair of powered studio monitors. 
No mixer required!

19. MONITOR A/B Select Switch

Use this button to select the CONTROL RM MONI-

TOR A or CONTROL RM MONITOR B outputs [24]. The 
LEDs next to the switch indicate whether Output A or 
B is selected. The MONITOR Level Control [18] acts on 
whichever Monitor output is selected.

Note:

 This function is duplicated with the MON A/B 

FOOTSWITCH jack on the rear panel.

When connecting two pairs of control 
room monitors to the Onyx 1200F, it is 
most effective to balance the sensitiv-
ity of the monitors so that they are 
the same loudness when switching 
between the two pairs. Active moni-

tors usually have a sensitivity control on the rear panel. 
Passive monitors can be adjusted using the power 
amplifier level controls.

20. Power Switch

This is self-explanatory. When the POWER switch is 

turned ON (up), power is supplied to the Onyx 1200F.

~100-240 VAC

  50-60Hz 45W

FOOTSWITCH 

TALK 

BACK 

MON 

A/B 

ADAT 

IN 

OUT 

1

2

SEND 

RETURN 

MIDI 1 

IN 

OUT 

MIDI 2 

IN 

OUT 

 EXTERNAL 

WORD CLOCK 

IN 

OUT 

TALKBACK 

MIC 

(48V) 

OUT 

S/PDIF 

IN 

8 CHANNEL BALANCED 

LINE LEVEL OUTPUT 

12 

11 

10 

AES/EBU 

OUT 

IN 

FIREWIRE 

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

ON

YX MIC PRE  

CONTROL RM MONITORS 

INSERTS 

(BALANCED) 

Summary of Contents for Onyx 1200F

Page 1: ...O W N E R S M A N U A L STUDIO RECORDING PREAMP with 192kHz FIREWIRE INTERFACE...

Page 2: ...d by LOUD Technologies Inc could void the user s authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules 19 This apparatus does not exceed the Class A Class B whichever is applicable limits for radio noise...

Page 3: ...Onyx1200FFeatures 14 FrontPanel 14 1 SignalLevelIndicators 14 2 48VPhantomPowerSwitch 14 3 LINESwitch 14 4 ChannelGAIN 14 5 InstrumentInput 14 6 InstrumentSwitch 15 7 PHONES1 4Level 15 8 PHONES1 4Out...

Page 4: ...LINELEVELOUTPUT 21 32 MONA BFOOTSWITCH 21 33 TALKBACKFOOTSWITCH 21 34 ACPowerReceptacle 21 Onyx1200FConsole 21 InstallingtheSoftware 21 ComputerRequirements 21 ANoteaboutHardDriveSpeed 21 Installingth...

Page 5: ...OUT connectors are provided for sending and receiv ing MIDI information The Onyx 1200F is designed to be a transparent audio interface for direct tracking to a DAW recording applica tion on a PC or M...

Page 6: ...the ever popular hook up diagrams that show typical setups for recording Then when you have time read the Features Descrip tion section This describes every knob button and con nection point on the On...

Page 7: ...or that channel 5 Open the Onyx 1200F FireWire Console software application 6 Connect the S PDIF output from the Onyx 1200F to the S PDIF input on a CD recorder or other S PDIF compatible recorder Set...

Page 8: ...lay your heart out Standalone Mode 1 Now you can use the Onyx 1200F in Standalone mode by closing the 1200F Console and disconnect ing the FireWire connection from your computer It retains the setting...

Page 9: ...nyx 1200F Inputs FireWire from DAW FireWire to DAW FireWire to DAW Onyx 1200F Audio Outputs 34 Onyx 1200F DSP Mixer ON 30 34 Onyx 1200F Inputs Onyx 1200F Audio Outputs FireWire from DAW Onyx 1200F DSP...

Page 10: ...8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 MASTER FADER BANKS EQ INSTRUMENT PLUG IN TRACK SEND PAN SURROUND VPOT ASSIGN GROUP MARKER NUDGE REC REWIND FAST FWD PLAY STOP RECORD ASSIGNMENT TICKS SUB DIVISION BEATS BARS SMPTE BEAT...

Page 11: ...IC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE CONTROL RM MONITORS L 2 1 R INSERTS BALANCED Mics Stereo DAT Recorder with S PDIF Input Headphones For Engineer To Monitor Recording Mics Electric Guitar to Instrument...

Page 12: ...FireWire Hard Drive MIDI Keyboard Controller MIDI Drum Controller USB MIDI Interface USB MIDI MIDI Stereo Compressor Out Out In In Bass and Electric Guitars to Instrument Inputs 11 and 12 on Front Pa...

Page 13: ...tings panel and routed to the DAW software application on a laptop or desktop computer via the FireWire connection 100 240 VAC 50 60Hz 45W FOOTSWITCH TALK BACK MON A B ADAT IN OUT 1 2 SEND RETURN MIDI...

Page 14: ...out since the gain control provides a wide range of control over the input level However if you have a particularly hot mic or line level signal push in this switch to reduce the overall gain by 20 dB...

Page 15: ...and unique mix WARNING The headphone amps are designed to drive any standard head phones to a very loud level We re not kidding They can cause permanent hearing damage Even intermediate levels may be...

Page 16: ...tivity on the MIDI 1 and MIDI 2 OUT connectors 14 TALKTOPHONESLevelControl The talkback feature allows the engineer to communi cate with the talent through the PHONES 8 outputs using a microphone conn...

Page 17: ...AW s source channels The indicating LED next to the BYPASS switch lights when the bypass function is on This might be useful for sending a two channel mix to a record er or for using these outputs alo...

Page 18: ...r the Control Room Monitors in the Console Settings window 25 MIDIIN OUT 1and2 These are standard 5 pin DIN MIDI connectors for sending and receiving MIDI commands When a MIDI controller is connected...

Page 19: ...r each other and are always active 28 S PDIFIN OUT These are RCA connectors that send and receive two channels of digital audio in the S PDIF Sony Philips Digital Interface format The S PDIF inputs sh...

Page 20: ...nels on digital A and eight channels on digital B TIP If you are recording a live show you can use the second ADAT OUT to make a backup recording to a separate independent recorder just in case At 88...

Page 21: ...ferably a 7200 rpm drive with an 8 MB cache but you should check with the manufacturer to make sure 31 8CHANNELBALANCEDLINELEVEL OUTPUT This is a DB25 connector which provides balanced line level anal...

Page 22: ...1 Insert the CD provided with the Onyx 1200F into your CD drive 2 Click Start Run Browse and navigate to the CD drive Double click the file named SetupOnyxFSeries_xxx exe where xxx is the revi sion l...

Page 23: ...ard drive to whatever location you prefer i e the Applications folder 4 Double click the Onyx Console zip file that you just copied to your hard drive and OS X automati cally unzips the Onyx Console f...

Page 24: ...s in the Tracktion Installer to complete the installation To install Tracktion on a Mac running OS X version 10 3 9 or later 1 Insert the CD R or DVD R into the CD or DVD drive 2 Double click the CD o...

Page 25: ...u can also select the sample rate in the DAW application Note When the Onyx 1200F is connected to a computer with a FireWire cable you cannot change the sample rate with the front panel Sample Rate se...

Page 26: ...rio is for overdubbing where you are adding another track to some tracks already recorded which are routed from the DAW to the 1200F via the DAW Outputs Digital Input This selects whether the S PDIF d...

Page 27: ...The buffer size in the ASIO control panel should be the same as the buffer size selected in the Onyx 1200F Console Note The DAW software application s ASIO control panel has priority over the Onyx 120...

Page 28: ...own tab so make sure you have the cor rect one selected before making any changes Note The mixes you create in the Console matrix mixing section apply to the physical outputs on the Onyx 1200F analog...

Page 29: ...48 for the two outputs and a left and right meter 49 to indicate the signal level at the outputs Overload OL indicators 50 let you know if you need to reduce the Main Mix level control There are also...

Page 30: ...level input signals the meters should indicate signal is present in the Onyx 1200F Console Make sure the correct audio interface is selected in the DAW In Tracktion this is selected in the Set tings t...

Page 31: ...ter Reinstall the drivers from the CD Glitchy Distorted Audio into your Computer Increase the buffer size This can be done in your DAW application Repair For warranty repair or replacement refer to th...

Page 32: ...EVE RCA Unbalanced Wiring Sleeve Shield Tip Hot XLR Connectors Inputs 1 12 accept 3 pin male XLR connectors on the Neutrik combo inputs They are wired as follows according to standards specified by th...

Page 33: ...to the balanced input low cold con nection only In some cases you may have to make up special adapters to interconnect your equipment For example you may need a balanced XLR female connected to an un...

Page 34: ...dB to 40 dB Phantom Power 48 VDC Rated Output Line 4 dBu Maximum Rated Output 21 dBu balanced line level outputs Appendix C Technical Info Onyx 1200F Specifications Frequency Response Mic Input to Co...

Page 35: ...onnector for AES EBU output Two 5 pin DIN connectors for MIDI output Two Toslink optical connectors for ADAT output DSP TMS320C6713 Floating Point Digital Signal Processor operating at 225 MHz deliver...

Page 36: ...p XDR Preamp Mic 0 to 60 dB Line 20 to 40 dB 2 3 1 Insert A D Converter 24 bit 192 kHz Ch 1 12 48V Phantom Channel 11 12 Mic Line Gain Mic 0 to 60 dB Line 20 to 40 dB 2 3 1 Instrument Mic Line Line 20...

Page 37: ...J24 Bal Line Out 1 Bal Line Out 8 D A Conversion Out 1 8 Outputs 1 8 Level Out 1 8 Bypass ON OFF Digital Level Control DSP a k a BRAIN Digital Audio Mixer Router 30 input x 34 output OL 10 20 30 Firew...

Page 38: ...NYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE ONYX MIC PRE 1 PHONES 2 3 4 O O MAX O MAX O O MAX CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS 1 8 A B SAMPLE RATE 176 4k...

Page 39: ...for those units deemed by us to be under warranty Note You must have a sales receipt from an authorized Mackie dealer for your unit to be considered for warranty repair IMPORTANT Make sure that the S...

Page 40: ...Road NE Woodinville WA 98072 USA United States and Canada 800 898 3211 Europe Asia Central and South America 425 487 4333 Middle East and Africa 31 20 654 4000 Fax 425 487 4337 www mackie com E mail s...

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