ZEDi-8

I've used Allen & Heath mixing boards for live productions and they are of utmost top quality, but I was skeptical about this 2-channel relatively inexpensive mixer being equal to the other high-end Allen & Heath mixers. But it IS. I was thrilled that it had no noise or static (unlike some other cheap mixers I had previously purchased). It's hookups, fictions, and quality was exactly what I needed and wanted. This is an excellent product and well worth the slight boost in cost over other "equivalent" products. I recommend it most definitely. Well done Allen & Heath.

I've had this mixer for years now and I haven't had any issues with it.It works really well as a sound card for my laptop

I'm using the ZEDi-8 with my computer so I can use good XLR mics for speech recording (narration and communication). I'm not personally doing any music with it, at least not yet, so I don't really need more than a single mic input, occasionally 2 if I want to interview someone in the same room. I had previously been using a the little Behringer Xenyx 302USB model, which was fine for the price (1/4 the cost of the ZEDi-8) and I'd still say that's also a very good mixer for the price. I upgraded because this supports 24-bit audio (only 16 for the Xenyx) and allows me to separate audio so I can also use this for conference calls without echo that can occur if mic and speakers are not on the same line.Aside from being mostly easy to set up (you do need to download their drivers, and the URL in the included instructions was wrong as of June 2021, should be: https://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/zedi-8/ ), the sound quality is shockingly good. I had expected it to be slightly better than the Xenyx, but in a "if you listen closely you can tell the difference" kind of way, because I'm using it at home, not under the ideal conditions of a recording studio. I figured the background noises from computer fans and poorly insulated walls would dwarf the quality differences between mixers. I was very, very wrong. I had always liked and been happy with the Xenyx, but now I realize I never knew how good I could have had it.The ZEDi-8 was much better than the Xenyx, even for working in a home office that is not well insulated for audio work. The noise floor on the ZEDi-8 is so incredibly low, the dynamic range gave me about 8-10 dB more range compared to the Xenyx. I could turn up the gain so noise was at about -70dB and then speaking in a normal voice would drive up to about -12dB. That's 58dB of dynamic range (vs. 48-50 with the Xenyx) without even trying! I suspect with effort, I'll improve that further. That's a HUGE difference and easily detectable even to the casual ear.I think the main reason is not the 24-bit connection (though that might help some), but just a unit that physically produces very little electronic noise. Amazing. I highly recommend it, at least for spoken voice work (but these same benefits should apply to music too).

Overall this is a good mixer. I didn't know much about mixers when I bought it, but I've had it for a cople years now and there are some things I have learned which made me realize this wasn't the best choice for what I need.Pros:* It is well built.* It sounds good.* Preamps and EQ are solid.* It has 4 track USB out, for multitracking.Cons:* No per-track mute button. This is a crucial and standard feature on other mixers in the range.* There are no per-track faders. I thought I wouldn't mind this, I was wrong. For gradually bringing sounds up and down at the same time across tracks, you want faders. For this reason alone, along with the lack of mutes, I will likely be buying a different mixer in the future.* I find more advanced routing on this mixer to be both complicated and lacking. I am an electronic musician and I route to a lot of FX, the way they have this laid out is that the aux send is pre-fader and the fx send is post-fader. Other comparable (even cheaper) mixers in this category let you choose whether to send pre or post fader. When I'm routing multiple channels through FX and then back in, the way this is laid out really bugs me.* The main outs are XLR but there are no TRS main outs. The monitor outs are... RCA?!? Why.* The form factor is odd. The overall size is fine, but there is a lot of wasted space around the edges and then the entire board is crammed into the middle. This makes the knobs very close together. They could have used the available space better and just made it a rectangle.* The onboard FX are not good (personal opinion).

Considering the features included, this mixer is an incredible value for the money. It sounds fantastic, and with 4x4 USB connectivity, it comes in at about 1/5th of what an Apogee Quartet costs. With the appropriate cables, it connected immediately to iPad and MacBook and was useable both in and out with several different DAWs.Many high-end features such as channel inserts, individual channel mutes, and channel faders have been left out, but their absence isn’t really noticed in a home studio context. The features it does include such as AUX and FX busses, DI on 2 inputs, and built-in effects work fabulously.Gripes? Very minor ones. While the unit connects perfectly to iOS devices, it does not charge them while in use. Also, there is no Mute function on the Main XLR outputs, so if you want to use the onboard Monitor outputs to drive a second set of reference monitors to check the mix, you’ll have to turn off your main monitors manually or use an external monitor controller to mute them ($60-$100 for a decent passive unit). As it is, I use the monitor outputs to drive a headphone distribution unit.For small live setups, home studio use, podcasting, or streaming, I can’t recommend the ZEDi-10FX enough, it’s a fantastic unit. It’s solid and well-built, and above all sounds great!