Hey, maybe the Mackie Big Knob will get "BLACK LION-ED" heh

http://www.blacklionaudio.com

I have used a Mackie BK for a while and found its feature set to meet my needs perfectly but it has been getting noisier and often drops a channel requiring connector fiddling. The sound quality was never great but I was used to it.

I've ordered a Presonus Central Station but the BK got so annoying that I connected the monitors (Adam A7s and an Adam Sub8) directly to my (BLA Signature modded) Digi 002R while waiting for the CS. I had not used the 002R monitor outs for some years and never since the BLA mods.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how much better the sound was directly from the 002R. (cue stereotypical "removal of blanket" analogy) If I didn't need some more inputs, outputs and talkback I'd be perfectly happy with using the 002R.

It'll be interesting to see how much better (if at all) the CS DtoA will be than the BLA modded 002R. When I'm using external A2Ds (API A2D and Mackie 800R) the 002R is clocked via spdif from the API A2D which is clocked from a BLA MicroClock but when I'm mixing, I just use the 002R's internal clock.

I agree. I don't think these units color the sound too much. Especially if it is a passive unit. What does happen with these cheaper products is they fall apart. Buttons get stuck, the stereo image starts to drift, ports go dead or crackle, etc. If you invest in something more expensive like a Coleman Audio product you are going to get something that will last near forever.

Keep build quality as well as sound in mind.

Well I just got the new UA Apollo, fantastic btw so far the DA beats the Aurora IMhumbleO, I'm telling you this because I didn't notice any difference while I was using my big know with it. Now that i've compared both sources, not only it colors the sound but narrows the stereo field in a significant way. I'm gonna use for monitoring as a headphone amp and B monitors, but I'd never mix with it again-

Colman ls3 is the best one to get. I love it

Also worth having a look at the Radial MC3.

Radial MC3 Monitor Controller

I stopped using my Mackie Big Knob also because of the annoying noise that started getting louder over the months. I am upgrading to this in the summer: The Dangerous Monitor ST - Dangerous Products - Dangerous Music

I use the central station by presonus for several years.
To my ears it does not colors the sound, but the build quality of the outside parts, knobs, metering, case etc. is very cheap china stuff..... I wonder myself about this every time touching it. A+H for example with the mixing boards is delivering real quality from china- a thing that presonus cant match for reasons I do not know.

They have a cheaper version in their arsenal based on the central station.
If you can live with cheap build case, knobs etc. the inner life is very good at this price point.
I was not able to measure any factors that should color the sound.

One thing that is really bad at my central station is the main monitor knob just starts to work right after I raise it 1/3 of the potentiometer way....
before this it has left right issues which I can compensate on the main out of my desk.

In this price range you cant expect high quality parts.
If you want to go the last mile buy a dangerous-d-box but this is 1200 Euro so not in the range of a big knob.

Anyway I hope the info helps you to pick a unit that suits your needs.

Presonus Monitor Station - Thomann UK Cyberstore

PS:
You also could try the new copy of SPL by Behringer but its Behringer you can get a good unit or a faulty one.

Behringer Xenyx Control 1 USB

Well this could be a great idea!

I currently use an Avocet II and I love the sound, but honestly I don't like its user interface.

I like the Big knob, everything is on hand, practical, but as you already mentioned, its made out of poor components.

I would kill for a "high end" modded Big knob!

Interesting read haha.

I have the nano patch at the min as I have a small speaker set up. I'm looking at upgrading my monitor controller and speakers. The presonus looks good although not cheap also the SPL looks good. I was thinking about getting a mackie big knob, a studio engineer I know has one. Does it colour the sound that bad?

I've worked with a Big knob in the past and currently I'm using an Avocet II, I haven't done an A/B comparison, but I do remember a small amount of hiss on the Big knob.

I already contacted black lion about this, and maybe, I will be the beta tester of the first 'Big knob' mod.

I'll keep you informed!

Best regards.

delcosmos.

I have focal trio monitors and would use my big knob to switch between them and my Ns10. Yesterday I connected my focals to my RME inteface directly and realised how bad I had been hearing the sounds of my monitors for years despite being calibrated with Sonarworks! Unbelievable that how bad this unit can affect the sound in terms of color( so muddy),details, stereo imaging and... Oh God... I consult with my sound engineer friend and he told that you must not have used this cheap active device for your high end speakers and suggested me to get the remote control for your RME or get the big knob Passive. I got the big knob passive and now I can hear the real sound of my amazing speakers. Almost 50٪ improvement in every aspect of sound. I thing the difference is obvious when you have relatively high end monitors and treated room and difference between active and passive one is like day and night. Don't get the big knob active for you speakers, it completely changes everything even the characteristic of you monitor and it's not reliable for crustal monitoring. Get the cheaper Passive one if you can not get expensive monitor suites and controller and out of budget like me

I have focal trio monitors and would use my big knob to switch between them and my Ns10. Yesterday I connected my focals to my RME inteface directly and realised how bad I had been hearing the sounds of my monitors for years despite being calibrated with Sonarworks! Unbelievable that how bad this unit can affect the sound in terms of color( so muddy),details, stereo imaging and... Oh God... I consult with my sound engineer friend and he told that you must not have used this cheap active device for your high end speakers and suggested me to get the remote control for your RME or get the big knob Passive. I got the big knob passive and now I can hear the real sound of my amazing speakers. Almost 50٪ improvement in every aspect of sound. I thing the difference is obvious when you have relatively high end monitors and treated room and difference between active and passive one is like day and night. Don't get the big knob active for you speakers, it completely changes everything even the characteristic of you monitor and it's not reliable for crustal monitoring. Get the cheaper Passive one if you can not get expensive monitor suites and controller and out of budget like me

Resurrecting this post a bit because i am looking for my first monitor control.

The whole debate about big knob is so confusing because on some places on reddit people will say its perfectly usable , does not color sound since passive, and they use it for year, and then here or other places, people will say the opposite, and it colors sound, lowers quality, starts making noise, breaks.

I am a professional, allbeit in an untreated room with monitors that are not great (very good headphones), i am more on the writing/production side than engineering/mix/master, but i still dont want a monitor control to alter my sound in any way versus direct to interface connection so i guess i will look elsewhere.

What about the Heritage Baby Ram? its $149 instead of $69 Big Knob, but it has a Stepped volume control that people say doesnt have the issues that the rotary knob has on the Big KNob?

You have likely made a move by now, but just in case, I'll resurrect your resurrection:
Sorry, I cannot help you with the Baby Ram, but I currently own the M-Patch, the Big Knob Studio Plus, and the Drawmer MC2.1.
The passive M-Patch was mentioned earlier in the post favorably, and I have to agree. If you don't require phase reversal, talkback, dim, or more than 2 sets of monitors, I'd go with that. It's even rackable, which I preferred over desk space. No coloration. The only reason I'm not using it now is that I found myself needing those additional options.
So I got the Big Knob Studio plus. It had the features I needed, and more. But it definitely colored my sound. Perhaps not all units do that? A few folks I respect use them. Alas, it was a no-go for me for other reasons, as well. It was huge on the desk, and it ran pretty hot. Resting skin on it gets uncomfortable pretty quick. I also found that balance integrity was very poor at lower volumes. I monitor at relatively low volumes. Critical fail.
So on to the Drawmer. It has all the capabilities of the Big Knob, sits on the back shelf of my desk instead of the main surface, and I absolutely love how it sounds. Unfortunately, the MC2.1 costs $500 used and close to $800 new.
If my budget was less than $500, I think I would stay passive and look for features. I've never had a passive BK, but I'd certainly choose it over the active BK, having owned the active and found my unit wanting.
Anyway, I hope you ended up satisfied.

Best,
Frank

I have the version with the 4 inputs and the 3 monitor choices and the buttons that sometimes don't latch. It's feature-rich with features I use a lot, and it's got the Mackie Squink but I can listen around it.

It may have sounded like I ditched mine pronto, but I used it for 2 years before I finally went on to the Drawmer. I mentioned current used prices for the MC2.1. Unfortunately, the best I could do when I purchased mine was $650. For me, that was a big jump up from ~ $250 for the BK Studio Plus. The BK is actually more feature-rich than the MC2.1, with a pair of decent pre's and USB interfacing, but the footprint trade off was worth it for me. I rarely used the pre's or the USB functions, but I got a LOT of desk back.

Trading gear for space doesn't sound very slutty, but sometimes it's a reality.

I hear that. I mostly use my 500 rack standing "upwise" these days. And sometimes I use my Apogee One interface while it's residing in my pants pocket.

I use one now but I would recommend it though Mackie replaced my failing one.
The buttons were going out. Now, a year later, these buttons are going out. I think they are getting these made cheaply to be honest.
It has a perfect feature set for my studio and doesn't seem to color the sound for me that much.
I have the Studio + version.
I have the Antelope Zen Go for recording though the mic pre's aren't that bad to be honest on the Mackie. The Antelope is a little cleaner. Though I wouldn't recommend the Antelope at all either. I'm thinking of going with UA for my next purchase.

Hope this helps, Marc