mackie onyx blackjack 2x2 usb recording audio interface

At 3/4 gain, the output of my SM-57 is very low. Once I get past about 3/4 channel gain (~50dB) the noise really goes up. I can't get enough clean gain on my Blackjack to use my SM-57 for voice work. Now I'm using the Focusrite Scarlett 2i/2 2nd Generation. Furthermore, the Mackie is a USB Audio Class 1.0 device, which every major OS (including Windows) supports natively with the built-in USB class driver. The 'higher sample rate (above 48 kHz) = better quality' meme is a myth that only applies to poorly designed ADC/anti-aliasing filter combinations where the anti-aliasing filter removes either too little or too much from the frequencies around 20 kHz, which only happens in naive interface designs that don't use a higher intermediate sample rate for the AD conversion.Ī lot of complaints about the Mackie suggest poor Windows drivers, but those are supposedly fixed in the latest version. This means that, following from the Nyquist-Shannon theorem, the original 20 Hz - 20 kHz signal can be perfectly recovered and digitally converted to higher sample rates without any loss of information in case postprocessing/mixing is to be done at a higher sample rate.

Now the Mackie does feature a Cirrus Logic ADC which samples the signal at a frequency of several MHz to give headroom to the anti-aliasing filter and then downsamples digitally to the desired sample rate of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, removing all the frequencies above 1/2 fs. The only 'drawback' also ends up being moot: the Mackie can only record at up to 48 kHz while the Focusrite goes up to 96 KHz (1st Gen) or 192 kHz (2nd Gen). Now most people seem to suggest the Scarlett Focusrite (2i2 or Solo), but on paper the Mackie Onyx Blackjack looks better in every way that matters: Lower Noise at min gain (–112.0 dB vs -100 dB), higher Dynamic Range (114 dB vs 105 dB), higher max Gain (+60 dB vs +46 dB), higher max input level (+10 dBu vs +4 dBu). I am looking for a very low-noise audio interface that is about <150€. TL DR: Some reviewers say that the Mackie Onyx Blackjack has a bad SNR, even though its specs seem to suggest otherwise.

Mackie onyx blackjack 2x2 usb recording audio interface