Allen & Heath Mixing Consoles

The Allen & Heath ZED 10 is an affordable smaller mixer that is very portable. It cannot be racked and it has 10 channels with 4 mic inputs. There are 3 stereo channels and t connects to a computer via USB connection for Mac or PC computers. Setting it up with a DAW and a computer through USB connection is very easy no matter what software you want to use with it. There are no faders on this mixer, only knobs all of the knobs are smooth moving knobs. There are no effects and no bells and whistles with this mixer. Most mixers that cost as much as this one does will not offer a bunch of effects and other higher end features. But the EQ on this mixer is very good for the price, there are 3 band sweep able EQ’s on channels 1 thru 4 and 2 band EQ’s on the stereo channels (channel 5 to channel 7).

UTILIZATION

The preamps are warm and have a very low noise, they are not anywhere near the best that I have heard but they are good for what you will pay for this mixer. I have used this mixer with Sonar many times and it has never cause me any problems and worked fine right out of the box. \

SOUNDS

Recording with this mixer has not been a bad experience but I would rather use a mixer that has better preamps. If you have never used a more expensive mixer than this one might not sound so bad but once you have used some of Allen & Heaths higher end mixers you will not be able to use mixers like this one.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a good mixer for someone who is just looking for their first mixer though. It is made well and has all of the basic features one could need.

The ZED 436 is a great mixer to use for a live show or event. There are 32 channels and it can connect to a computer via USB connections quickly and easily. The design of this mixer is one of the best ones that I have ever seen. It is big, but it is sleek with smoothly rounded edges and a beautiful finish on it. There are 6 aux sends in total and 4 sub groups that come from each of the channels. There is also a direct output on each mono channel.

UTILIZATION

You can easily see your levels on this mixer because there is a peak and signal light/indicator on each and every channel. Each channel also has 48 volt phantom power. All of the connections and the controls are right on the main surface of this mixer for easy switching and routing. It is easy to set this mixer up if you have to move it because there is no need to have to get behind it for any reason. It is a well organized mixer and simple to work with.

SOUNDS

The USB connection worked great with Cakewalk which is what software came with this mixer (Sonar LE). This mixer is very easy to work with in Sonar and set up all of the patching and plugging. I am not a huge fan of Sonar but working with it and this mixer has been pretty fun and easy.

OVERALL OPINION

There is a 4 band sweep able hi and low/mid EQ on channels 1 to channel 32, and a 4 band EQ on the stereo channels. There are 4 bus groups and 41 x 100 mm faders. It doesn’t have any effects but if you work in Sonar you can also add some effects as you go just as easy. This mixer is very expensive and is geared more to companies and events that hold live shows.