On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 17:26:55 +0200, Martin Fuchs
wrote:

Hi, I have a question about a comparison between HiFi preamps and
mixers; I consider buying a mixer/poweramp combo for my HiFi system at
home instead of a full HiFi amp (I plug/unplug audio gear a lot, also I
hobby-DJ at times... Still, it should sound "good" in a HiFi set):

I've gone through some technical specs of mixers that were recommended
and looked for parameters that I sort of understand, such as Signal to
noise (S/N) and crosstalk between channels.

Allen&Heath, Rane and Numark mixers looked pretty good there, for
example (S/N -90 dB or better). Denon, OTOH, had S/N specified as better
-80 dB only.

I looked into the briefly a few years ago and settled on a different
solution which has served me well for many years.

Apart from the problem of size and ugliness in a domestic environment,
there are other problems with semi-pro mixers. (Professional mixers
are a different ball game, with prices to match.)

My hazy memory has dragged up the snippet that virtual earth mixing
circuits using op-amps do tend to be noisy, especially when the number
of inputs increases. (cue Jim Lesurf.) What is suitable for a live gig
in a pub is probably not going to be too satisfactory in a living
room.

A mixer with a build-in power amplifier is likely to be targeted at
the bottom end of the market and I personally would need quite a lot
of convincing before buying one. (Separate amplification is simply
more flexible and is likely to preferred by anyone able to afford it.)

My solution to the problem of lots of inputs was to but a pair of 10
by 10 miniature patch panels and stick them in a box with a large
number of phono sockets on the back. Device inputs are connected to
the rows and outputs to the columns; connection is simply achieved by
inserting pins at the desired intersections. This solution is compact,
fairly inexpensive and totally passive - meaning that it has minimal
if any impact on the sound quality. (The difficult part was the robot
for the remote control. :-)


--
Chris Isbell
Southampton
UK