The Base Station provides additional I/O, monitor control and Talkback
with a built-in mic. And the system comes with a full-featured copy of
Tracktion 2 music production software with Mackie Mixing and Mastering
tools, so you can go from initial idea to final CD. (Of course, with WDM,
GSIF, ASIO and Core Audio drivers, Onyx Satellite can also be used with most
major audio software on Mac or PC.)
UNSURPASSED SOUND QUALITY
When developing a FireWire audio/recording interface, it pays to know your
stuff. So it's worth noting that Mackie started as a professional audio
company, not a software or computer peripheral company. As such, we
engineered Satellite with a focus on crucial components like mic preamps,
superior analog circuitry, and A/D and D/A converters.
Instead of me-too, off-the-shelf mic preamps, Satellite offers our premium
Onyx mic preamps-giving you dynamic range and noise specifications
rivaling much more expensive standalone mic pres. (Click
here to read some of the glowing reviews.) All the analog circuitry was
designed by the veteran Mackie engineering team in Woodinville, WA with
higher headroom and lower noise
specs than
anything in its class... by far. And we specified professional AKM-brand,
phase-accurate 24-bit/96kHz Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog
converters, to ensure that what comes in, is what goes out, and back in, and
back out.
THE GO-ANYWHERE SATELLITE POD
In addition to the aforementioned Onyx mic preamps, the robust aluminum-and-steel
Satellite Pod features Neutrik Combo input connectors on Channels 1 and 2,
which allow you to use either a 1/4" TRS connector or an XLR connector. A
global 48V switch applies phantom power to both XLR input connectors, so you
can power your studio condenser mics. Channels 1 and 2 also feature an
Instrument Select switch, which lets you connect an acoustic, electric, or
bass guitar directly to the 1/4" input, eliminating the need for an external
direct box. The Pod also has a stereo Control Room output and two stereo
Headphone jacks, each with separate level controls (the Control Room and
Phones 1 outputs share a level control). And of course, there's a FireWire
connector for jacking into your desktop or laptop. Because the Satellite Pod
is bus-powered via FireWire, there's no need for a separate power supply.
THE SATELLITE BASE STATION*
When the Pod is docked to the Base Station, it gains additional features and
expanded I/O capabilities. Namely, a separate XLR connector, two 1/4" TRS
line-input connectors, and a 1/4" TS instrument connector for each channel,
with Select switches for each input source. Plus Insert jacks for Channels 1
and 2, letting you send and return the signal to an external processor
(like, say, a killer vintage outboard compressor/limiter you bought from
some dude on
eBay for like
$100 bucks because he didn't know what it was).
The Base Station also gives you six channels of analog balanced line
outputs, provided on 1/4" TRS connectors. Two of these can be used as stereo
Control Room outputs, with an A/B Switch to route the signal to two separate
pairs of monitors for comparison. For communicating with studio talent, the
Base Station also serves up a built-in Talkback microphone, that can be
routed to the Phones/Control Room output or to the DAW for slating.
And like the Satelitte Pod, the Base Station can be powered directly from
the FireWire bus (when using a six-pin FireWire connector), or from the 12V
DC power supply included in the box.
http://mackie.com/products/satellite/index.html