The dXb

Designed and conceived by SaneWave, exclusively for Mackie (Loud Technologies, Inc.), this revolutionary mixing console will change the way people make music. With its dual integrated touch screens, and the world's first Native/Hybrid mixing architecture based on open platforms and standards, Mackie is certain to break the sound barrier in the mid-sized digital console market.

A Disruptive Product

The dXb merges our capabilities of hardware and software design. From ultra-low latency and custom touch screen interface, to custom PCB and and Sheet Metal work, we created a disruptive new product that won Best In Show when unveiled at AES 2003.

You can read more here, or check out Mackie's dXb page.

Industrial Design

One of our first considerations in making the dXb was how its screens and panels could be configured for a maximum enhancement of the user's workflow. That's why we decided to put in two angled 15" touch screens, with every on-screen control lined up with the control surface's hardware counterpart. We even tested how easy it was to fit into the back seat of Bob's car. The dXb is a great example of how SaneWave carefully examines the function of form.

Software

What’s most obvious about the dXb is its dual 15" touch screens. These screens are the heart of the mixer and its main interface. Naturally, they display all the things you’d expect from a top-of-the-line digital desk, like levels, routing, dynamics processing, surround panning and effects. But what’s not evident until you use this console is how well they do so. It’s the "little" things, like transparent windows, incredibly elegant yet intuitive graphics, and immense flexibility that really set this interface apart.

Search google for info on the dxb: one of the most common comments you hear is that the UI is gorgeous and clear. This is no accident; we examined the fundamentals of UI design conventions in pro-audio and made new standards for the the dXb's UI.

You can see the dXb interface in action in this video on the Mackie web site.

I/O

As new technologies come along, new cards are easily developed here at Sanewave and distributed as upgrades to the dXb. With the dXb, the user isn't locked into any specific converters, IO technologies, preamps, or anything else. Everything about the dXb is open architecture and fully updatable.

Who said pro-audio required a complicated network of proprietary connections? The dXb’s FireWire card provides connection to PC's or MAC's. Digital audio, effect sends, MIDI and automation data, hardware event messages, and just about any other kind of signal you would want to send, are streamed down a single cable.

Mackie has a dedicated page to showcase the flexible IO architecture of the dXb. Click here to read it.