Little Bear MC5 Mini Portable Stereo 4 Channel Audio Mixer Passive Live Studio Console Recording Low Noise (No Power Needed)

Overall, it does what I needed it to. I have multiple sources sharing a single set of amplified speakers at my (home) workstation. I am able to effectively, and selectively control volume from the different sources, especially when conferencing or sharing from one or another. The line loss is significant, volume is considerably reduced through the device. If you need more volume, you'll probably need a pre-amp. The introduced noise level is very low, so I think amplifying the signal would be an acceptable solution. Overall I like the device. I am going to try higher quality (and shorter) cables to see if that helps. ------ (Edit: After using this for a little while, AND replacing a cable changed review from 4 to 5 stars. It does what I need very well. The controls are very quiet and very good quality. The output needs to be amplified, but that's not a problem with the speakers I'm using.

My use case is probably different from many others. I am into retro-computing and listening to mods on my Amiga while drawing. However, due to the full stereo separation of the Amiga's audio channels listening on headphones was very intense. Ms. MadLemon on YouTube made a device to be able to adjust the mix the L/R channels to soften the experience. I thought, there must be a way to do this without building something. (Not that I couldn't build it I just don't want to at this point.) My first approach was to use PulseEffects on my PC with the Amiga connected to the line in. I made a loopback device with 1ms delay so the Amiga would play through mixed with the PC audio and then adjusted settings in PulseEffects until I got the desired result. This works great except for when I plug in another device that has audio capabilities - then everything "auto-magically" switches to the new device on Linux Mint. After some searching I for a very basic audio mixer I hit on the Little Bear MC5... and I thought and thought about it for a couple of months due to the negative reviews. Finally, I pulled the trigger and got it the other day. I made a short 3.5mm L/R crossover cable to reverse the channels. I plugged the Amiga directly into input 1 and then split and reversed signals into input 2. With input 1 at 100% and input 2 at 75% I get just the right blending of the left and right audio. Better still, my PC goes into input 3 now and I have another one open for one more device on the desk if I am testing. PulseEffects and the loopback aren't needed anymore so I am pretty happy! Pros: Small - Doesn't eat up desk space. Modestly priced. Passive - no extra USB or power cables. Good weight and solid build. I don't detect any added noise through my powered speakers or headphones even when crank the volume on the speakers. (Bose Companion 2 series III speakers also drive the headphones.) Cons: None that I can see. Other thoughts: Now that I have it I would like a version that has a small integrated amp. (Or an add on amp with extended case screws in the same form factor as the MC5 that you can attach to the MC5 and keep it all one package.) I knew this was passive and would not boost the audio. That is NOT the issue. The issue is that I forgot that PulseEffects was boosting the gain from the Amiga's input and the PC's normal sound. This drives the blinking lights on my Sony SEQ-430. Without that amplification the spectrum analyzer can only move on the strongest sounds. Not a huge deal but now it has me thinking about a headphone amp to put inline.

Does it work? Yes, it does. If you are using headphones with no phantom power, all volumes have to be completely maxed out. This would be perfect for a younger person because it's certainly loud enough to hear but will not be loud enough to hurt a kids ears. All in all, it's good enough to use when messing around and the small form factor is nice and matched the fact the Volcas are small. I don't love it, don't hate it. It serves a purpose at times.

Original Review: I've acquired two of these. The good news is, they work wonderfully for a simple line mixer. I've two computers, a keyboard, and phone that I can all use with my monitors. I LOVE that I don't need to switch or toggle anything to do so. The bad news is, I lose so much volume. If any single channel is above 75% it greatly diminishes the volume of all the other channels. I wish the volume of one channel didn't crush the others. 2025 Edit: I'm bumping this from a 3 star down to a 1 star. I've spent two years on and off trying to rack down and remove intermittent signal noise I've had. Different cables, shielded vs non-shielded. Proximity of this mixer to various power and signal sources. It does not matter. I finally tracked my issue down to this device. I'm not sure if its picking up EMI or the components just add noise. I wish there was a way to simply "fix" this device.

This is an excellent little mixer, I'm very happy with it. There is the big caveat mentioned in other reviews - the audio level output (a.k.a. volume) is quite low. This is a passive mixer, it does not and cannot boost the signal of your sound sources. If you are plugging this into speakers with their own power source (such as a battery powered speaker), you should be able to boost the signal enough for it to be usable. Likewise for plugging into an audio interface to record into a DAW. However, if you are plugging into passive speakers (such as the studio headphones in my photo), the volume will be very low. Everything is still audible, and at what I might consider to be a 'practice' volume, but you will be disappointed if you are trying to rock the house. There are two solutions to this - either the resistor mod explained in other comments, or you can add an amp to the output to boost the signal (typically this is called a 'headphone amp' and they can be expensive). With that out of the way, I love everything else about this mixer! The knobs feel good, with firm and smooth action, they aren't scratchy at all, and I've had no issue with using them to live mix my instruments. Audio quality sounds great to me. The mixer sits solidly enough on a table, and the included rubber feet help. Plenty of space between the 3.5mm ports to accommodate fatter plugs. The usable range of the knobs isn't huge, generally 12'o'clock to 5'o'clock (50% - 100%), at least for my various battery powered synths. That's plenty for my needs. If you plan to carry this around in a backpack or gig bag, I would recommend that you either build a small enclosure for it or at least wrap some tape around the sides to keep dust out. Or carry it in the small cardboard box it comes in. Dust and other stuff could mess with the circuitry and degrade the audio quality over time. In my project this will live inside a larger metal box, so I'm not worried about it. I also like that the bottom panel can be easily removed, so you could mount this onto a pedal board, synth face plate, or something else. I plan to use Velcro at first, then maybe something more permanent later. If you are searching for a mini-mixer that won't break the bank, this is it. Don't expect this little passive mixer to move mountains, you'll love it.

I bought this to mix Discord via cellphone and PS5 on my headphones (Philips cans) The mixer works great in terms of audio quality and it's mixing capabilities. However, I was disappointed at the overall volume decrease after passing thru the mixer. I maxed iPhone and PS5 volume and even then needed more volume. I guess this happens in every passive mixer, but I didn't read enough before buying. As I only needed 2 input channels I managed to salvage the purchase by doing the following: A) Ask my buddies to up their microphone input setting on their PCs so I could hear them better on Discord B) Connect a Y-splitter on my PS5 dualsense so I could input the PS5 audio twice into the mixer (now using 3 channels) By doing this I am overall very happy and satisfied with my purchase. The splitter adds a little more bulk than my liking but I can now hear every single enemy step and my buddies perfectly.

So I purchased this to have more control over my electronic devices volume.. my metronome has a beep that is almost uncontrollable in volume so I plug my guitar amp and metronome into this and problem fixed. I then realized I can listen to pod casts and use this to make micro adjustments to my digital devices volume that is only possible with analog pots. I was having a slight issue with ground when hooking up to my monitor and guitar amp at the same time, (Practicing while watching Rick and Morty) so I was getting a bad 60hz hum. I also noticed that there was distortion when turned up all the way on the pots.. I thought why not add a ground being there is no power ran to the board. I took a piece of wire and loosened a screw on the bottom and installed. I used hot glue to secure the wire to the screw and a piece of tape to make sure the wire didn’t go anywhere. The hum went away I haven’t heard any distortion since and the device is 100% what I wanted. The only strangeness some ppl might not understand is because of the circuit design when two or more pots are turned up past 75% they begin to compress the sound and almost cancel out each other.. I don’t mind and keep it at 73-78% depending on which channel I want loudest. I can also listen to meditation music to go to sleep at lower volumes than my phone allows because it’s analog! No replacement for old school tech sometimes. Very happy with this purchase!

Connected a piano and iPad to use it with an app that allows piano practicing. Even at the highest volume for the piano, iPad and turning the volume knobs fully for both inputs and the output, the sound can be barely heard through headphones. If only the volume is louder this product could have been rated 5.