d8b Forum

Hey Guys,

How many of you have had your D8B for 14 years or more? I got mine in 1997 - i think that was the first year they came out.

Funny how an old piece of gear like the D8B still works as good as anything else made today (I think). That got me thinking, what has come along that is really better and more powerful at the same price point?

I used it with my 3-4 ADATS back then, waiting for the HDR wich I eventaully got.

I know today the trend is DAW surfaces, but I like a mixer that actually passes audio.

Over the 14 years, I've only had 2 problems. Power Supply went out - did some research and replaced it my self and while it was open i put in a new faster CPU, cooling fan, and more RAM - all info from the d8b Tech Site.

The only other problem - my BIOS battery is dead so I have to make a few changes to my bios when I boot up. At some point I will pull out the CPU to fix that.

It's amazing to see these things sell for $1,000-$1,200 on eBay. Wow what a heck of a sub-mixer or backup to keep in the closet. I'll wait till they're $500 and pick another one up.

I am now looking to use it as the front end of a ProTools 9 system and may get the RME PCIe solution others have suggested on this forum. Again, what a heck of a front end to a computer DAW. This will probably extend it's lifespan
for another 5 years or more.

Any one else had theirs for 14 years or more?

Star AV wrote:Any one else had theirs for 14 years or more?

Yep. Still doing the d8b/HDR combo with a bunch of outboard.

Had mine since 2000 so 11 years ain't bad. It's hard to find anything now that comes close. SSL's Nucleus looks interesting but still... you gotta hang a whole lotta stuff off that to come close. The d8b was just very well thought out. My only concern is the floppy thing but I've still got a Mac that can boot into OS 9 if necessary and make fresh disks on a USB drive. Oh, and a spare new floppy drive for the d8b CPU. I wish the software could be put on a CD-R and that the d8b could accommodate a CD drive.

Peter

Like Peter, I have had mine since around mid 2000 and after some initial hick ups and a problem a couple of years ago (can't even remember what the problem was) and unmerous taking off the bottom tray and re-seating the cables, it has worked like a charm and I am hoping that it continues to do so for a few more years yet --- will probably throw in the towel then!!!!!

It is fully equipped and I have extra boxes of cards in storage that I can change if necessary.

Great desk, it is just a shame that Mackie got their fingers burnt with the DXB and had the factory fire (?????) that killed the TT-24, and were taken over by another organisation who obviously could not see what they had acquired (my gripe for the day!!!!!), otherwise they might still be making great desks, that other manufacturers could only dream of making.

Latest D8B recording (artist) to be released in about five weeks, but will post more info on this at that time ---- especially one bit of information that will be of considerable interest to all on THIS forum.

David

Mine didn't last nearly that long....unfortunately, I probably didn't even get 500 total hours of use out of it before it went "belly up"...

SteveT

Only 9 years here... just a newb.

I've had mine since Dec. 1998

got mine last year for 200 bucks, w/ Apogee card.
The guy had it in external sync and thought the mic pre's were broke - i switched it back when I got it home! Reminds me of buying a Roland V Synth for cheap from a rap guy - it didn't make beats because he had it set to midi clock.
Clocking can be used for getting great deals!!!!

yeskeys wrote:got mine last year for 200 bucks, w/ Apogee card.
The guy had it in external sync and thought the mic pre's were broke - i switched it back when I got it home! Reminds me of buying a Roland V Synth for cheap from a rap guy - it didn't make beats because he had it set to midi clock.
Clocking can be used for getting great deals!!!!

I got one for $35.00 for our 2nd studio site. The Apogge card for it was more but not by a whole lot as I think I got that for $80.00 if I recall.

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:48 am
Mine didn't last nearly that long....unfortunately, I probably didn't even get 500 total hours of use out of it before it went "belly up"...

Steve, are you sure that you were not trying to make it do belly rolls, nose dives or something!!!!!!

David