Maker hart Loop Mixer 8 3.5mm/6.3mm JACK/Bluetooth/Phono EQ Pre-amplify/microphone Compatibility/audio mixer for UK

Maker Hart is a brand that is new to me, I’ve never heard of them before receiving this mixer to review. This is their 8 channel mixer, the Loop8…I will explain why its called that a little later. It is an 8 channel compact audio mixer, I’m not 100% sure what market it is aimed at, possibly karaoke, possibly podcasting, possibly for general home use, not sure. The first 4 inputs are mono 3.5mm jack, inputs 5/6 and 7/8 are stereo inputs with 6.3mm jack sockets (4 in total) Main output is a pair of 6.3mm jack sockets, there are no aux outputs. The reason it was called Loop 8 is because of the unique looping function it has, using what looks like a display pot connection it has the ability to loop out of this mixer to another Loop8 mixer, and onto another etc etc, this basically shares the inputs to all connected mixers…..for example lets consider band practice, each player has their own loop 8 mixer..….The vocalist plugs into channel 1 of his Loop 8 mixer, the bass player plugs his bass into channel 2, guitars go into channels 3 and 4 and the keyboards go into channels 5 and 6…..now each member of the band can make their own mix using their own mixer, its like having a monitor engineer at every gig, no more asking the engineer for more bass, turn it up yourself til you have the perfect mix….its a great idea, however the manufacturers have yet to release the cable to do this so it is kind of redundant until then The input channels can take assorted inputs….all inputs have a mute button and volume slider. Channel 1 is for microphone as it has an adjustable echo control and switchable 48 volt or 1.5 volt phantom power for mics that require power. The echo is quite poor quality, is has no clarity and sounds quite muffled. Channel 2 can be switched to receive a bluetooth signal, pairing is quote simple to do and lets you play music through the mixer, I found it to be quite noisy if the phone is very close to the mixer. There is a EQ control for low or high tone Channel 3 has a phono stage for connecting to a turntable, or it can be switched to standard line input, it has an EQ control for low or high tone Channel 4 has a gain and eq control Channels 5/6 and 7/8 have a gain and balance control, no eq. The master section just has master level and headphone volume The case is metal and feels pretty sturdy, on the bottom of the mixer is a 1/4 inch screw thread for fixing to a camera tripod or mic stand, bringing the controls to the fingertips of players.

Use this for simple audio editing, and for my needs it’s fine. You don’t get to hear what’s being played back on the computer through the speakers i still need a solution to that one. If you leave channel 2 switched to Bluetooth and turned up, whilst using a Mike on channel 1, there is significant cross channel contamination.

What is it? The loop 8 is an extended version of the previous loop 5. It's a compact versatile sound mixer with a built in audio interface and a bluetooth receiver. There are 8 inputs in mono mode but they can be configured as 4 mono and 2 stereo channels if required. The mixer is small, portable, but not battery driven, unless you want to setup your own 9VDC power bank. In the box comes a small 9v mains power supply with an UK plug. The interesting thing about the loop, is that you can 'chain' other loop mixers together and form a type of network of separate, but connected sound sources. Think of this a bit like a series of send/ return loops that bring all the inputs into the one mix as a modular system. A drummer might use one loop mixer as an input source for all his drums, sending the combined mix to other players. They in turn can monitor his mix on their own loop 8 mixer while adding their own mixed sound sources. Cool eh! It's not foolproof, as noise accumulates in the combined signals and interference can occur wit unscreened leads and poor routing. Take a look at my user manual image in my review to see how this routing can work in practice Other features The mixer is small and compact, but packed with features that aims to give a basic but quality control center for a small band. Microphone input is provided on channel one and supplies both 48V phantom , 1.5v for condenser as well as dynamic Types. An XLR to mini jack adaptor is included in the box. The microphone channel has a built in echo effect via a pot on the channel strip. Channel 2 has a bluetooth receiver, and channel 3 can accept a phono input signal. Channel 4 has a standard gain control. On each of the channels 2-4, a tone control knob allows for simple equalization. Each channel also has an illuminated mute button and a short level fader. There is also a built-in 24 bit / 96 kHz USB audio interface providing signals to and from the mixer and a computer via a USB interface on the side. In use The mixer is mainly metal, reassuringly weighty and laid out with clear easy to see controls. The knobs have center indents and the small volume sliders do have a rough feel to them. Generally this mixer is cramped and requires careful handling to access the controls without nudging another by mistake. Who would want this? Maker Hart is a Taiwan music gear company who follow a tradition of small portable devices that a 'fun to use' good quality, but appealing to a 'throw and go' market. Young enthusiastic musicians and producers who travel light, work spontaneously together and want to create a sound that works, without the complications of heavyweight professional kit. There are many use cases for this type of equipment from the one-man-band to multi-user productions. I personally think it's expensive and there are better specified mixers available at this price point. However, you are paying for a flexible and portable piece of kit that if carefully used will provide some extendable configurations and brilliant sound production, although lacking professional quality.

For twelve years I was DJ, so I have a love of all things like this, even if it’s for nostalgic reasons. However, I really do have a need for a simple mixer like this for controlling audio in my man cave. I have a TV, a PC, a security camera and lots of Bluetooth devices. I wanted all of them to connect to my soundbar and this mixer does the job with channels spare. The description and even the user manual are not clear about which channels are mono and which are stereo. From running a few tests, it appears that all but channel 1 are in fact stereo. When you see things like CH5/6 and CH7/8 one would assume that only those channels would be stereo. What they have done is made those channels mono and stereo. If you only plug a jack into the right channel then it will switch to mono, plug a jack into the left channel as well and it switched to stereo. Channels 1 to 4 use 3.5mm jacks. Channel 1 is a mono jack and the rest are stereo. So, channel 1 is assigned as a microphone input and can supply 1.5V and 48V phantom power for mics that need them or can be switched off. There is also a knob for adding echo. Channel 2 is a stereo channel that can also double up as a Bluetooth input. A switch sets which mode you want. The Bluetooth is easy to pair with all the devices I have available. This channel has a tone control as well. Channel 3 is a stereo input that can be switched into phono mode if you wish to add a turntable to the mix. This channel also has a tone control. Channel 4 is a stereo input and is a general-purpose line input. This has a tone control and also a gain control for preset purposes. Channel 5 through 8 are as described above. These have a balance control and a gain control. All the channels have a mute button that lights up when muted. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack with its own level control. Unfortunately, this only duplicates the mixer's output and there is no way to listen to just one channel input. There’s a MicroUSB socket on the side of the mixer that can be connected to a computer where it’s digitised and available for recording. Finally, there are two loop sockets for daisy-chaining units together for those that need it. Overall, it has many great features for small mixing needs. Hope that helps.

I Could Write Pages Regarding How Satisfied I Am With This Product ! Very Well Constructed, Well Engineered, Variable Applications, And Easy To Operate* * The Enclosed Instructions Are Well Written, With Excellent Illustrations, Easy To Use For The Novice And / Or The Professional. The Quality Is Evident As Soon As One Observes The Connectors, Mostly Placed On The Rear Of The Unit*, As Well As All The Switches, Knobs, And " Faders " * The Headphone Jack Is On The Top Panel Of The Unit With Separate Volume Control. All Markings On The Unit Are Clear And Concise, And Each Of The 8 Channels* Can Be Muted By Depressing A Button Which Illuminates When Engaged. *Two Of The Channels ( Inputs ) Are " Paired " 5 & 6 And 7 & 8. Channel 1 ( One ) Is A Dedicated Mic Input With A Three-Position Switch. Top Position 48v ( Phantom Power ) For Condenser Type - Mid-Position For Dynamic Type - And Lower Position For 1.5v "Electret " Type Mic.. This Channel Includes An " Echo " Knob. The Headphone Jack Includes It's Own Volume Control. Channel Two ( 2 ) Includes A Dedicated Bluetooth Switch ( On / Off ) On The Panel. There Are Also " Balance " Knobs, Along With " Gain " And " EQ Function Knobs.* * With Graduated Increments . The Master " Slider / Fader " Includes Two ( 2 ) Overload Indicators. There Are Four ( 4 ) 3.5mm Ports At The Rear Along With Four ( 4 ) 1/4 Inch Ports - Two ( 2 ) External Speaker Ports, Two ( 2 ) Aux Ports And One Port To Connect Te 9v Power Supply* ( * The Power Supply / Adaptor Is Included For U.K. Applications ) Also Included Are The Following: 1 x USB Cable 3.5 To XLR Cable ( For Desk-Top Mic ) Six ( 6 ) Individual " Faders " With One " Master " Which Controls All Other Volume Functions. Again, For The Price ( About £ 140 ) And The Variety Of Functions And A Wide-Range Of Applications, In My Opinion, This Unit Is Superb...... Out-Performing Far More Expensive Desk-Top Mixers. Nice To See ( And Own ) A Well Thought-Out And Engineered Product. Very Happy Indeed !

Maker hart Loop Mixer does exactly what it says it will. I picked this up for a friend as they make lots of music and have been struggling to get it out during lockdown, so this has been ideal they have been able to mix the sounds and get it out, they are very impressed with how easy it is to use and also the sound quality, I don’t think it would be very good for professional quality, but if you are just an amateur like my friend then this is ideal. They also plan to start a podcast and think this will help them mix a more professional sound until they can afford the next level of tech.

Does what it says on the tin. Nice and compact.