I'm using a custom 48 channel John Oram BEQ-PRO(over $30K, can send pics) and wouldn't think of feeding my audio through it. Regardless of how good your mixer might be, the more connections, cables, pieces of equipment(and their passive/active devices) you send the signal through, the more original information you lose. Avoid the mixer by buying a high-end preamp, and you'll have a discrete playback system. Engineer on one, listen on the other, and in different rooms(if possible). That's unless you have to use the 804's as monitors. I mix with headphones, or Tannoy near-field monitors.
Studio Signal Flow advice 01
I am in the midst of building a new editing studio and am new to high end audio. I currently have a pair of B&W 804s driven by a Bryston 4B NRB. Which so far, to my naive ears, I'm pretty blown away by. My question is am I destroying the benefits of decent equipment by my signal flow. All the audio sources for the room feed into a Mackie Mixer with the mains feeding a pair of Genelec near field powered speakers and the sub going to the Bryston and 804's. Am I destroying the signal by going through a cheap mixer sub output? I am considering going from the mixer sub out to a tube pre amp before going to the Bryston. Will the signal be cleaned up with this signal flow. I don't know how to avoid the mixer. Thanks for any input.
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