Commercial equipment that shines at home? Easy and convenient. Less than 40,000 yen including cables! Line mixer ＆ enhancer set

It's been hot these days. How are you? I’m Nemoto.
What kind of image do you have of "commercial audio equipment"? Probably most people think "expensive", "difficult to use", "big"
As a whole, most think commercial equipment is too much for a private home. Certainly there are many such things, but some are not.
Therefore, this time we will introduce a set of commercial machines that can be recommended for home use. As the title suggests, they can be purchased for less than 40,000 yen, so it is not expensive at all. It’s easy to handle with a simple operation. The total size is 2U, so it's not that big. It can be used by individuals, and can also be used in cafes and restaurants.

* The explanation in this article is written for beginners. In other words, instead of using technical terms to explain accurately, I write in simple, easy-to-understand words even if there may be a misunderstanding. Don't take the explanation for granted, just think of it like this. If you are familiar with it, please skip.

The equipment we recommend this time is a line mixer and enhancer. I will briefly explain each of them.

First, a line mixer
A typical analog mixer (with a lot of faders and buttons) has good recording performance, but think of a line mixer as good at playing rather than recording.

Next, the enhancer
An enhancer is an effector that changes the sound by creating harmonics and putting them on top of the original sound. There are effectors that manipulate the sound in the same way as the octaver, but they change the sound greatly and give a strong (almost unnatural) effect. Think of enhancers as changing the overall impression and improving on sound loss.

Let's get started. First is the line mixer.

■ ART / MX822

At home, I use a PC, a CD player, a record player, a TV, a game console, and a preamplifier for bass.
Sound quality is necessary and sufficient. I’ve used it for several years, but it has not broken down and is quite sturdy.
You can easily manage the sound in the room with this one unit. For example, if you receive a call while watching TV or listening to music on a CD, just turn down the master volume knob. Did other intercoms ring? It is quite useful for muting. It's also easy to avoid having to reconnect headphones and speakers to each playback device.
For games, you can raise the level of RPG and use it while listening to PC audio and TV.
If you are a musical instrument player, you can practice while watching TV or play along with game music. If you use headphones, you can fully enjoy it even in the middle of the night without worrying about the volume. Of course, it also has a microphone input, so you can use it as a normal mixer if necessary.
By the way, this is the only ART MX series that has a headphone output.
If you use only speakers without headphones, I think MX622 is better.

■ ART / MX622

Then there’s an enhancer like below.

■ BEHRINGER / SU9920

A model that seems to have been influenced by a certain well-known enhancer. I've been using this for several years, and I haven't had any trouble.
Although highly acclaimed in product reviews, this sound quality can be evaluated at this price. It can be said that it is a wonderful enhancer that provides excellent cost performance. Especially recommended for those who use subwoofers.
The high-end model SX3040 is also good, but considering the simple operability with only two knobs for each channel, I think this is good. For effectors, I think that the cheaper the equipment, the easier it is to produce the effect. If you have a reasonable listening environment but want to upgrade, please do so. Enhancers can be used even after changing the environment.

Is it okay if it's a little difficult to operate? If you think that, you may want to purchase the SX3040.

■ BEHRINGER / SX3040 V2

Finally, I will summarize the connections and settings.
First, use the EFFECT SEND and EFFECT RETURN terminals on the back of the line mixer to connect the line mixer and enhancer. It is easy to use 2 sets (4) of dual cables. If you use DPP010 of Classic Pro, you can get 2 sets for less than 1000 yen.

■ CLASSIC PRO / DPP010

It is for the connection between the mixer and TV, monitor, smartphone, etc., but it is easiest to connect from the headphone out using the Y cable of "stereo mini → monaural phone × 2". I think it's better to use the Classic Pro CMP222.

■ CLASSIC PRO / CMP222

The sound changes depending on the cable, so you can try making your own. I personally like Belden 8412 and Mogami 2549 (there are countless cable types, but cables become a swamp if you get hooked).

■ BELDEN / 8412

■ MOGAMI / 2549

Next is settings. The level of both master and headphones is about 4.5, and the effect send is fixed at full ten. If the level exceeds 6, noise will start to appear, so adjust the source volume of each channel.
For channels that are not connected to anything, set all controls to zero.

Finally, I will summarize the prices as of July 2020 of all the items introduced.
The minimum configuration (one CMP222) is 39490 yen!
(Of course, if you connect a lot, the Y cable fee will increase.)

I hope you've read this article and become more interested in commercial equipment.
Thank you for reading to the end.