The 16-channel 1640i is the flagship mixer of the series featuring a full 16 mono mic/line channels each with 4-band dual sweep Perkins EQ, a whopping six aux sends each with pre/post and solo capability, 4 sub groups and a powerful master section. Despite its large channel count, the 1640i is compact, rack mountable and features our renowned flexible RotoPod™ design, allowing the mixer to be housed in any configuration – from custom studio furniture, live sound installs or even post production machine rooms. The 1640i’s full-featured 16x16 FireWire capability allows the user to route all channels, aux sends, sub groups and master L/R to their favorite DAW. However, the true power of the 1640i lies in its ability bring back the full 16 channels of FireWire output from your computer directly into the channel strips – for a true tape style mix down. DEEP FIREWIRE INTEGRATION The Onyx 1640i is the flagship mixer of the series, boasting a full 16x16 FireWire interface, allowing for something that a DAW could never do alone: A true tape-style mixdown. If you are doing a real analog mixdown, you will surely benefit from the premium features that the 1640i provides. Send all channels simultaneously to your DAW, get them recorded and apply your plug-ins. Once you have everything edited and ready, you can simply route up to 16 streams straight back into the 1640i’s channel strips. You can choose to apply some of that lovely Perkins EQ if you wish. All of these signals hit our premium, high-headroom custom summing bus. It combines the best of both the digital and analog realm to create seamless workflow that makes your sessions faster, easier and better sounding than ever possible before. Wet or Dry? — Every channel on the mixer can be routed pre or post EQ to the computer, allowing you to choose whether to implement ‘EQ to tape’ or not. Studio Quality Effects—All aux sends are routable to the computer, allowing you to utilize your computer as a powerful FX engine by implementing your favorite plug-ins in a live scenario. Preserve Your Mix — Master L/R is routable to the computer for recording your analog mix. Burn and sell CDs of the mix at the end of the gig! Mix Integration — Up to 16 sources from your computer can be routed to either the control room for instant monitoring or right back into the channel strips for mix integration. Latency-Free Overdubs — Having a “real” mixer has its benefits. Latency-free overdubs are simple since you are using an analog mixer. No more wasted time dealing with the complicated “DSP” mixers commonly used on standalone interfaces. PREMIUM ANALOG MIXER When it comes to the high pressure environment of a recording session or live performance, you simply cannot beat the stability and reliability of an analog mixer. With features honed over 20 years of design by some of the legends in the industry, the Onyx-i Series mixers are simply the best sounding full-featured analog mixing boards available to the modern sound engineer. The 1640i has a plethora of analog features that are sure to please. Sixteen full-featured channels each feature Onyx mic preamps, with a reputation as some of the best boutique quality preamps available today. Every channel features 48V phantom power, a low-cut switch and dedicated 4-band, dual-sweep Perkins EQ, offering a highly musical Q filter without sacrificing the precise control the Mackie EQs are known for. Six aux sends provide pre/post control over additional dedicated mixes, including monitor mixes and effects loops. The 1640i features true 4-bus architecture, offering four subgroups that are perfect for managing your mix or for zone control of multiple PA setups. There are built-in DIs on the first two channels for direct connection of guitars or bass and a dedicated talkback section with a built-in mic that lets you easily communicate with band members while on stage or recording. With all these proven, great-sounding analog features, it is easier than ever to create a memorable mix. ULTIMATE LIVE EXPERIENCE WITH WAVE’S MULTIRACK The Onyx 1640i is an ideal mixer for live sound, with plenty of inputs to get the whole band hooked up and tons of premium analog features like flexible EQ, aux sends and subgroups to properly mix the show. Then there’s the built-in 16x16 FireWire interface, allowing you to create easy multi-track recordings for later mixdown…completely independent of the house mix. But, when integrated with Waves’ MultiRack plug-in platform (available separately), the 1640i becomes a live sound superbeast, with talons of awesomeness and teeth of solid power. Ok, maybe that’s a stretch, but it will change the way you think about live sound.  You can read more about MultiRack on their site, but here’s the down and dirty: Your favorite plug-ins: Use your favorite Waves plug-ins in a live environment in a convenient user interface that offers the look and functionality of a full rack of outboard gear Ultra-low latency: Tested in real world applications with latency equal to standalone digital consoles Clear the clutter: Just your Onyx 1640i, a FireWire cable and a laptop running MultiRack Snapshot Recall: From individual plug-in settings to full recall of racks and sessions, without turning a thousand knobs The Onyx 1640i is uniquely capable of unleashing the full potential of this software, with powerful processing available on each and every channel, not to mention auxes, groups and the master L/R. You can forget about cheap digital mixers with inferior effects. Premium analog mixer. Premium processing capability. All of this is available now with the Onyx 1640i and Waves MultiRack software. SMACKS OF QUALITY The Onyx 1640i offers a tremendous collection of professional analog features and extremely deep DAW integration, but it is so much more than that. The sleek, modern design might even tempt you build a museum quality display for your engineer friends to admire. Plus, since it’s a Mackie, you can be sure that it is “Built-Like-A-Tank” and will survive years of abuse. Any audio company can cram a bunch of inferior components into a chassis and, believe us, a lot of them do. This is never the case with a Mackie mixer. Everything about the Onyx-i Series smacks of quality, because only the most quality, high-end components are used throughout the entire signal path. At the front end, you have the pristine signal boost offered by the Onyx mic preamps, which will likely get routed through the legendary Perkins EQ. The signal then passes through a series of sealed rotary knobs, which keep dust and grime out of the potentiometer. Then your mix hits the summing bus, which has been custom-designed to offer the highest possible headroom while preserving the sonic quality offered by the aforementioned components. Maybe you assigned the signal to stream across the FireWire outputs. If so, your signal will glide effortlessly out of (and back through if your returning streams) the ridiculously high-end Cirrus converters. These converters are the best Mackie has ever specified, and can be found in some of the most esoteric (and expensive) interfaces out there today. From start to finish, no matter how you use it, the 1640i offers the quality demanded by industry professionals.