Features:

  • Excruciatingly simple 2x2 monitor controller
  • Choose between two sources and two monitor pairs
  • Pristine audio quality
  • Sturdy built-like-a-tank design
  • Classic Big knob volume control
Very well put together tool.

Loving it so far. Very nice and sturdy. Works well for what it does. My only minor gripe is that the volume knob while big, has very little resistance when moving. By very little I mean almost none. It would be nice to have a little resistance for tactile feedback while moving, but as I said before, it's a small gripe. Using for multiple inputs and multiple outs in a recording studio. The dim button works well for alternating between a louder (checking bass and drums) setting and a quieter (balance and tone) listening environment. The mute button does what it says. The mono button is a fantastic tool for checking your mix for phasing issues and for (believe it or not) checking panning and how well everything sits in the mix. No coloration that would affect your mix to the sound as far as I can tell and test. Easy to set up in the studio and will hopefully last a long time.

Passive Big Knob is built like a tank, represents a quality product, and does the job in the studio perfectly every day!

This review is for the Passive version. To this day I still rely on my Mackie Onyx 1640i Firewire mixer in the studio because of its native Core Audio support (ie. no drivers required) and the Passive Big Knob is the perfect compliment. I run the Control Room out from the mixer to the Big Knob and connect Dynaudio BM15a and JBL LSR8 studio monitors on the A/B outputs. For anyone wanting a simple, clean, sleek, quality build monitoring controller on their desk, the Big Knob is great. It's built like a mini tank. A reviewer complained the knob is "too liquidy" and it's easy to accidentally change the volume. Two things to note about that. First, you want to have proper gain staging so you're not turning the knob a half an inch and blowing up your speakers. This is true with any monitoring system. Second, the knob is SMOOTH (ie. liquidy) and that equals quality.

Can be used as an in-line attenuator to reduce gain

I’m not into mixing or creating music, but I love to listen. I had too much overall gain from my stereo preamp+power amp combo and this fixed that. I chose this over traditional in-line fixed -10db attenuators because I liked the idea of having control over the attenuation. I hear no added noise, and no loss of sparkle or clarity from my system with the big knob passive connected. You will need to buy some rca adapters to do this, if you buy it for this purpose. Also, if you just want volume control from a DAC + Power amp combo, this should work (some people don’t like using preamps). I hope this helps.

Must have for a small home studio setup with 2 pair of monitors

Why didn't I buy this sooner. I've only had it connected for a couple of months and don't know how I lived without it. I only have a small home studio so just having the A/B for Source and Monitors is all I really need but I can totally see how the next model up would come in handy for a larger setup. The only advantage it would add to what I have is for the headphone function. So if you have a small setup with 2 monitors you go back and forth from this is great. I also love the mono and mute features for when mixing. My Setup: Source #1 - I record in my DAW (Logic Pro X) connected to an older PreSonus AudioBox USB Audio Interface Source #2 - I also record, most of my audio recordings then tranfered over to my DAW, on a Tascam DP-32SD Digital Portastudio Monitor #1 - Pair of Yamaha HS80M Powered Studio Monitors Monitor #2 - Pair of Samson MediaOne 3a Active Studio Monitors Yes I would recommend the Big Knob to anyone and everyone!!

This thing is sweeet!

I just love this thing. It is so useful and versatile, I have 2 computers side-by-side - one is for work and web and one a DAW for digital audio recording/editing. I connect the Big Knob Studio USB to my work PC and I connect the monitor outs from DAW's multi--channel interface to balanced input 1&2 of the Big Knob. Then I have my 2 sets of powered studio monitors connected to the Big Knob's balanced A and B speaker outs. It is so easy to switch inputs and speakers and it's size lets it just sit on my desk by my keyboard for easy switching and quick volume adjustment. I can even plug my iPhone in to listen to tunes and podcasts. It is exactly what I have needed for several years. Build and sound quality seem very good (its a Mackie, what can I say) and if my other interface goes down during a session, I can instead use the Big Knob as my recording interface with a simple shift of USB cables from my work PC to my DAW.

Clean signal, easy interface, small footprint.

Life Story Ahead: My M Audio BX8's were getting a little long in the tooth, so I replaced them with the new Adam Audio T5V's. I wanted something that took up less desk space and those amazing Adam ribbon tweeters! Once I got them, I instantly missed having a bottom end. I ended up keeping the BX8's just to reinforce the lows. This revealed a problem with my old Steinberg UR44 interface, it couldn't output to two sets of monitors! I then stumbled across the Mackie Big Knob Studio, and despite the silly name, it's proving to be a quality bit of kit. It does everything I want in a monitor controller. My only wish is that there were more resistance in turning the wheel. It moves very freely, and is easily bumped. I think most importantly with something going between your audio source and your monitors, is how clean the signal passes through. Given the clarity of my Adam monitors I can tell you this is passing through a signal without adding noise. Overall, I very happy to add this to my studio.

The Big Knob rules

The big knob lets me choose between two interfaces and two sets of monitors. Just what I needed to switch between my audiophile interface and my eight track interface w/ out unplugging everything and changing it each time I needed a different input. Great job Mackie as usual.

Direct-through 2x2 switcher - no distortion, no gadgetry.

Simple and passive. I thought maybe a bit expensive for such a simple thing, but it's solid, nice and heavy so it doesn't slide around, and the Mono, Mute/Dim switches are very useful. Good ergonomics, the knob itself is a gem, I never expected to use it so much with so much pleasure. Funny, eh? Don't go for the active ones, preserve the sound quality you worked so hard to achieve. And forget the active ones with a "professional USB audio interface". Notice how some of those don't ever tell you the resolution, and you get a $5 consumer grade 16 bit circuit. Simple is best.

Patton Tank that steers like a Caddy.

A massive passive volume control. You pick up the box and ask yourself, what can weigh so much? It just hooks up a couple inputs and outputs and attenuates. Like all Mackie gear (and I've owned 2 of their mixers, one of which I still own and this Knob replaced) it's built like a tank, with grabby jacks and silent switches with a buttery precision feel to them. The Knob is silky smooth and infinitely variable. Some reviewers say too sensitive. Whaaa? Good, stout build and a pleasing tactile response is what I paid the big bucks for. Yes, it's pricey, but worth it. And the Mute button comes in handy for silencing those pop up video ads when you're net surfing. Mono switch very handy for checking an audio mix for phase problems, etc. Overall, it overachieves at what it was designed for. Typical Mackie. Great addition to my home studio and computer setup.

Game changer

I need a way to separate monitors and headphones while recording. I also wanted a master volume and mute control and this does a wonderfully simple job of making my recording process more efficient and with minimal set-up, I quickly had this up in running in less than 5-minutes. If you have headphones and two sets of monitors, this handles that too - A/B controls are great, but I have not had to use the function yet. I see no reason why that would work flawlessly. Get it, use it, be a happy engineer.

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