Mackie is nowhere near the class of what we're talking here.
Mackie's are bottom-of-the-line, entry-level consoles. When money
is an issue, they'll do, although
Allen and Heath are better sounding and far better feature sets in a similar price range.
In the class we're discussing here, just wait until you get your ears and hands on any of these pro-level consoles, and you'll understand why so many professional riders specify no Mackies
And, again, even if it weren't
Mackie, it's a brand new
console. I'm always of the mind to let other people be the first to test out a new
console when it hits the free market. And, going back to the
Mackie thing, it was not pretty the last time
Mackie tried a large format
console; the 8-buses were, as a general rule, a disaster. Those who didn't rush to buy a brand new item were saved the hassle of seeing a
console with bad ribbon cables that caused all sorts of issues almost right out of the box, not to mention idiotic EQ section layouts and lots of other ill-conceived features.
To put it in terms of cars,
Mackie is the Kia of the sound world; Midas and Cadac,
etc. are more along the lines of BMWs, or even professional race cars. Both will get you there, but to compare them directly isn't quite fair to either one.
--A