Mackie Mix5 5-Channel Compact Mixer

I am not going to cover the many uses this mixer has, nor will I regurgitate the product specs. Other reviews cover that information very well. Instead I am going to focus on why I purchased it and how I use it.My main purpose was to expand a Samson Expedition XP150 150-Watt Portable PA. I love that small PA, but it lacked phantom power, and also the XLR inputs were somewhat limited. I expanded it by running the mains out into the stereo channels 4 and 5 on the XP150 and it works perfectly.For smaller venues I sometimes use a pair of Mackie SRM150 5.25-Inch Compact Active PA Systems as mains. Those small speakers (personal monitors actually) are fairly loud, but lack FX capabilities. By fronting a pair of those with this mixer I now have yet another very portable PA that can actually fill a surprisingly large room with sound. Of course I am playing jazz and lighter music, so a dinner crowd of one hundred people can easily be served with such a set up. For a club or bar full of noisy patrons who want to rock out this configuration will fall short, but even if you play loud music this is perfect for a rehearsal space.I love the portability - I carry it in a small laptop bag - and the array of effects and features. With powered speakers you can put together a fairly respectable PA for a lot less than many turn key PA systems cost.One final note: I am using a Samson LTS50 Laptop Stand with this mixer and it is a convenient way to mount it in tight spaces.

Replaced a peavy mixer with this one, its a go between my daw and my interface and my 23 channel mixer and it does the job really well, wish I wwouldve bought this to begin with, very versatile as far as input ouput

The Mix5 is just what I needed for my desktop setup, where I have two computers and a digital piano that I sometimes want to play through the same headphones or speakers. I'm not using it for recording (I have a fancy multitrack audio interface for that).I'm actually using it to mix three stereo sources. I'm surprised that Mackie doesn't claim 7 channels, but maybe having a pair of "tape inputs" that don't contribute to the channel count is standard. As long as you keep the "TO MAIN" button engaged and the "TO PHONES" button disengaged, it just mixes the tape inputs into the main mix (including to the headphones). There is no volume control for those inputs though, so you have to set the level at the source.The "TO MAIN" button should have been labeled "TO MIX", and in fact is is labeled "TAPE TO MIX" in the block diagram in the downloadable manual. The "TO PHONES" button, on the other hand, causes ONLY the tape inputs to be routed to the headphones; the rest of the mix gets disconnected (and the tape input signal gets much louder).Speaking of the manual, there is a much more complete manual online. The box only includes a printed "quick start guide". If you really want to understand the capabilities of this mixer, look at the downloadable manual.A lot of people probably want to know if this is worth the small amount of extra money compared with the Behringer XENYX502, which has almost identical features. I don't have that one, but based on reviews and specs I've found online, I think there are a couple of minor differences:* The Mackie's main outs are balanced TRS. As far as I can tell, the Behringer's are unbalanced. It's hard to be sure, because there are known errors in the Behringer's manual and specs.* One review of the Behringer said it didn't have rubber feet, and so it would slide around on their desk. I'm happy to report that the Mackie has some nice, solid-feeling rubber feet. Of course, you can get cheap stick-on feet, but I've found that those generally don't stay on very well.One thing that seems to be the same on both mixers is that the phantom power is non-switchable and is only 15V. Apparently this works reasonably well with a lot of condenser mics, although of course you don't get the same levels and dynamic range. I plugged in a Behringer C-2, basically the world's cheapest phantom powered mic, and I can confirm that it does indeed detect sound. I can't make any promises about any other microphone. This doesn't really affect me, since I have no plans to use my nicer microphones with this mixer's preamp, and in fact I may never plug a microphone into it again. But I'm disappointed in both Mackie and Behringer for not making this clear in the product descriptions. That's the main reason I've deducted a star.

This is exactly what I needed to connect three synthesizers (one is mono, so I only need five inputs). Simple, affordable, and doesn't take up much space. I do wish it had an on/off switch, but not a big deal.