Karaoke Forums

Hi all. Trying to decide on possible upgrade of my mixer. Currently I have Mackie 1402-VLZ Pro. I am looking at two mixers, Mackie ProEFX12 or CFX12.mkII, both with effects built in so I can carry one less equipment. Other than the price differences, Does the CFX give that much more features/sound performance than that ProEFX line? What are main differences? Appreciate the answers in advance.

_________________

Seize the day and SING!!!

The VLZ series all the way down from their smallest to the biggest models are actually better sounding (much better preamps) than either the CFX/ProFx series. I never realized how much cleaner they were until I had to have my VLZ cleaned & put my CFX back in for back up for a few days - night & day difference sound wise, even customers commented that the back up mixer didn't sound as good, which surprised me and reinforced my suspicion that yes the customers DO hear the difference.
So in short, going from the VLZ to CFX or ProFX is not an upgrade sound wise - feature wise, yes & either will do a great job in that respect. They both run pretty much the same effects, the CFX has a better channel strip eq on all channels over the ProFX 3 band on each channel. The CFX has an extra Aux send for an added external effect, plus can have two individual monitor sends. The ProFX does have USB capability turning it into a sound I/O interface for a computer, but if it were me i'd stay with the VLZ series.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I run a Zed14 now.
The 1402 VLZ is my backup desk.
Did try the CFX. Nice FX, no preamp headroom.
Eben you wont like it.

I would suggest going with a A&H Zed 12, I own both the Mackie 1402 VLZ & the Zed 14 and I can tell you, the Zed sounds much better, simply not in the same league

I tried selling the Mackie but it has no value since it's made in China so I ended up keeping it as a back up

Wow, thanks for the info. Not what I expected but glad I checked here first.

As for the Allen & Heath ZED12FX, I looked at the spec and it seems to be a good choice. However, the depth is 17.7", which translates to just over 10U. I had a hard time finding any rack with the mixer spot at the top bigger than 10U. I found one company that had 12U at the top and it seems to be the only choice.

How do you mount your A&H mixer? How many units do you really need to mount it? Thanks again.

_________________

Seize the day and SING!!!

You won't find many slant top cases with a space big enough for that desk. However there are plenty of dedicated cases (i.e. mixer only) available for that mixer. That's typically how you'd see it mounted.

_________________
DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Not true, the 12FX even has a rack-mount kit available. Any case that will hold an O1V should be large enough for the ZED12FX. Here are some good-quality ones to consider. They also have models with doors that have legs and can be setup as table-tops on one or both sides of the rack for your laptop, etc. These are not cheap but they're pretty durable and have a professional look, unlike, say, any plastic SKB/Gator junk.

http://www.audiopile.net/products/Cases ... heet.shtml

_________________
Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I found a perfect case on eBay for the mixer plus 4U or 6U under. It's 11U at the top, which fits the Zed12FX. I probably will get it within next few weeks and save up some money for the mixer.

I just don't want a big racks since I sold my van, I have to haul everything in my little sedan. The smaller racks, less than 16" deep is not deep enough to accommodate the 11U needed for the Zed at the top. If you get the deep rack to accommodate the mixer at the top, then the rack depth is like 22", may or may not fit in to my back seat, not to mention adding to the overall weight.

One of these days, I will breakdown and get a small SUV or station wagon to haul stuff but meanwhile, I need to keep it small and get the best sound I can. Thanks for the advice.

_________________

Seize the day and SING!!!