Allen & Heath WZ3 16:2 DX

The WZ3 16:2 DX is made by Allen & Heath. It has 4 band EQ’s and features a dual mixing mode. There are some effects built into it as well. There are a total of 32 effects on this mixer which was a huge surprise to me when I had the chance to mix with it at a local club and when I found out the price of it being under a grand I was amazed. I have used many mixers that have no effects and have about the same features as this mixer does for twice that price.

UTILIZATION

There are 16 channels with this mixer and it has 19x100 mm faders. There is no talkback features but it can be rack mounted if the user wants it to be. It is only about 19 inches wide and 19 inches deep. It is lightweight and pretty portable if you needed to take it somewhere.

SOUNDS

The sweep able EQ bands (4) are for hi and low frequencies, they are on all 16 channels and they work really well. You can even set it up to use a foot pedal to trigger the effects on the mixer. This mixer is actually pretty stylish too, it has a slimmer build to it than most of Allen and Heaths other mixers do. It is built tough though and after using it for hours on end I do not see where it could ever have any issues.

OVERALL OPINION

There are phantom power switches and even signal indicators on this mixer and that is something that most other mixers in this price range do not have. For the price, you will not find many mixers that have this good of an EQ and effects on it for fewer than 1000 dollars. This mixer is a must have, I wouldn’t choose any mixer over this one that cost under 1000 bucks.

Yes, you can rack the MixWizard with the optional rack ears. The connections on this mixer include XLR, TRS, Midi and a link port that works with other A&H gear. This mixer does not offer any digital connections. As for channels, you get 16 mono fader channels, two stereo input/return channels, two identical separate ouputs (one includes a mono summed ouput), one stereo alternate ouput, and six aux sends. On the EQ, the lows are shelves but there are two parametric style EQ functions that hover in the low mid to mid high range. The only automation that can be achieved is by the digital onboard effects. Everything else is manual. The only type of synchronization can be achieved with the midi based, digital onboard effects.

UTILIZATION

The typical functions are very easy to access as you can see in any picture of this mixer, there are a lot of knobs and faders. There are in fact a lot of options that are not easy accessible. Those options reside on the inside of the mixer. Most of the options include how certain channels react to the input, i.e. does the A/B output receive signal pre or post fader. There are quite a few options that can be changed from under the hood. I highly recommend the manual for learning all those as well as many other great options that this mixer offers. The manual is very well written, not too long and extremely helpful. However, it is a manual that covers this model and the very similar 12 channel model. It can be a little confusing as the two mixers are dealt with simultaneously and you have to make sure you are reading the correct info for the right mixer.

SOUNDS

Allen and Heath are known for there preamps, with that said, these are the quietest, most natural sounding preamps I have ever used on a mixer. I am replacing a Mackie VLZ3 board with this allen and heath and I am very happy with the sound quality improvement. The eq is excellent. Having the ability to select the frequency of the cut/boost for the top two eq parameters is excellent and opens up some serious room for perfecting your live sound.

OVERALL OPINION

There are so many things to like about this mixer including the excellent preamps, the host of inputs/outputs, the digital effects, the ability to make a lot of changes via the jumpers under the hood and so on. But, my favorite thing about this board is the fact that every fader channel is a separate "board" in itself. That means that years down the road, when say a channel goes dead or has an issue, I don't have to replace/work on the whole mixer's board. I can just remove the individual fader board and replace/fix on an individual basis. This is amazing and really adds to the longterm value of this board. I couldn't be happier about the price. I bought it from a friend who takes care of his gear and I got it for $250 less than new. This board gets a 10 out of 10 for performance and sound quality. My live performance sound quality is vastly better after switching to this mixer. I have used mainly mackie boards with a few yamaha boards in my time, and the Mixwizard blows them away. Yes, I would definitely buy this board again.

16 channels, each with direct outs and inserts, 6 aux sends with up to 6db boost (2 pre-fader, 2 post-fader and 2 switchable for pre- or post-fader), 48V phantom power, 4-band eq's with mid frequency sweeps, 100Hz lo-cut filter (to remove mic popping for instance) xlr and balanced line inputs, , good and lots of on board effects (reverb, delay etc) i'm only missing busses

Price paid: approx 1300 euro

UTILIZATION

It's easy and very intuitive to use..

SOUNDS

This is where i love this device.. as usual allen and heath stands for it's great sound.. internal headroom mix to o/p +23 db, channels +21db frequency response 20Hz to 50kHz (+0/-1db)

OVERALL OPINION

Never had any problems, the casing is solid metal and you can actually put it into a 10U space 19" rack and "flip" the connectors so they look backwards when the device is vertical (compared to "backwards" when the device is standing flat on a table) on a desktop the control panel is angled at 15 degrees for easy operation

well, i simply love this device, i'm only missing the busses, but those can be "worked around" thanks to the 16 individual outs

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: baggysound ( 9-, 2005)