Mackie Big Knob Passive 2x2 Studio Monitor Controller

Muy bueno ,lo recomiendo

Muy bien dispositivo

What I wanted was a fully passive monitor control that switched two stereo inputs into two stereo outputs, AND offers a common subwoofer output regardless of the monitors chosen. I noticed this had some space in the rear panel once the 1/8” jack would be removed, so I got a slightly used one from Amazon warehouse and drilled and soldered. Pic attached. Works fine, although this is a bit of an advanced mod. I used the same 150ohm resistors on the sub outs used on the monitor outs, on both pins 2 and 3.Speaking of which, this unit runs only impedance balanced (it's passive, just using resistors, rather than active balancing or transformer balancing). Sure it accepts balanced connections, but pin 3 just runs 150ohms to ground both in and out, which will net fairly modest noise removal from the cable run. Otherwise they’d need a very fancy potentiometer double dual gang with very strict tolerances. Unbal to monitors with short cable runs not such a problem, but it is somewhat of a volume loss, beyond the loss this unit already has by design. Monitors are typically too loud anyway when driven at line level.There are also a pair of 10uF electrolytics…polarized commodity ones…between input and output. I shunted those off but most people should probably leave them, they don’t hurt the sound much. And 100pf ceramic caps avoiding RF interference coming down the line, perhaps bleeding off a touch of high end in the process. I left those.The next day (not shown in the photo) I also added an On-Off-On toggle under the logo on the back, that offers follow, mute, and solo for the subwoofer, handy for Room EQ Wizard or just hearing what your subs vs monitors are doing. The solo works in conjunction with the main mute button as a fast A/B.Anyway this did solve my problem after modding and the unit is heavy and the knob feels smooth and heavy like a hifi receiver. I improved the signal path a touch and the functionality a ton. I just wanted to show this mod is possible and is good enough to avoid spending more if you can hack it and that’s all you need.

I am using this MACKIE Big Knob for a slightly different purpose. When I first set up my Tascam Model 12 Mixer/Recorder over a year ago I dedicated Channels 9&10 to the Pre-Amp Out of my uTurn Turntable. As much as the Tascam Model 12 is the Hub to my Music Production it is also a part of our Music Rooms listening experience.Now that my set up has grown (with seemingly no end in sight) I wanted to free up those 2 Channels, as the Turntable is not used as frequently (we have a +Audio System in our living room for most of our Vinyl listening).I decided to get a Passive Switcher. In the old days I would have just gone down to my local electronics shop and bought the components and built one but those days of those kind of shops are long gone.I wanted something small. In my research I found a Mackie "Big Knob" Passive Monitor Controller. It is typically used to switch between 2 set of Monitors, like a main and reference pair. But you can also connect two sets of inputs and easily switch between them, which is what I needed.So I just bought one. The build quality is excellent, it is small enough that it fits nicely to the right/rear of my Tascam Model 12. It's out of the way but with easy access.Being passive, the minimal amount of electronics used makes it ultra-low noise and maximum signal integrity. In fact comparing it to the direct signals into the Tascam Model 10 and coming out of the Big Knob there is zero difference, no noise, coloration or volume loss. I don't understand some of the reviews that claim it was either Noisy or The Volume was low. Non of that was the case with mine. I can only suspect "USER Error" or connecting it improperly from those reviewers.It also has some buttons for Mono, Mute, and Dim which might come in handy.Simple, Low cost Solution and based upon my using it I am sure it also makes for a perfect Monitor Controller if that is what you need!

I have two different studio monitor sets: an old pair of iLoud Micro Monitors and a new pair of Kali LP-6's. Having both of them hooked up to this thing is a god-send versus having to open the routing software over and over again to switch between them during a recording or mixing session. It's also quite heavy and very sturdy, which is a good thing when you got several cables hanging out from behind the unit which could overcome units built more lightly if they are all hanging down from back back.The Mono button is great for checking mixes in mono and it also makes listening to old mono recorded songs (with the instruments in the left and right and not "stereo" from the get go) a breeze as well.The Dim button is great even at home as I can set the knob to a specific spot and then just use the button to lower the volume in an instant.As long as you have all the correct cables (I make sure to use TRS cables for the connection from my interface, you can use TS cables but YMMV) and read the manual to make sure everything is hooked up, it's a absolutely worthy buy for the home studio. I have cranked it up as well and I cannot perceive any additional line noise from either speaker, thanks to it being a well designed and fully passive circuit path.