I've been using this audio interface for two years, and it meets my needs. I've always wondered, though, why I have to set the gain to nearly max to get anything out of my AT2020. From AudioTechnica's support site, "Please note that the AT2020 is very particular about getting a full 48V of phantom power." I followed their guidance, and while the cable is very well balanced, the power coming from the Onyx is only 47.3 volts. Now I know (and so do you!).You're reading this review so I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest this might be the first piece of Mackie gear you've ever considered? No? Well then for those of you who have other Mackie gear I'll say this little gizmo is up to their usual standards. Nuff said, right?So now that I really *am* talking to a first-time Mackie purchaser I'll tell you that you simply can't go wrong buying their gear (and no, I don't work for Mackie). At some point, someone high up in this company issued an edict that said, "We shall not build crap." The regular Joes and Janes unquestionably got the message. I've been buying Mackie products off and on for over twenty years and not one single piece of equipment (of theirs) has ever let me down.This little Onyx Artist 1-2 is no exception. The knobs are super heavy and feel great. They're sturdy and responsive. I haven't tested this theory, but I suspect I could drop it from quite a height and it would keep on working. It's built like a tank.I bought this to drive my Mackie studio monitors from my Macbook Pro. All I had to do was purchase a USB-C to USB-B cable and plug it in. No drivers, no fuss, it just worked right out of the box. I'm not even plugging any inputs into it but it's nice to know I have a few ports when I'll want them.If you're just looking for a nice preamp so you can go from your computer to some studio monitors look no further. The only reason not to buy this particular model is if you need more inputs. In that case, look first at Mackie's other USB interfaces and if you can't find something that fits your workflow take a look at Focusrite's products (Saffire, etc.). They make a decent gear too, but nobody in the audio industry comes close to Mackie.Enjoy!Looking to upgrade from the Mackie Blackjack to newer higher bitrate Mackie Producer 2x2. Both very similar features. Producer 2x2 has all inputs on front, with clear indicators. The momentary buttons for HI-z and 48v have to be reset each time it is used. (Older Blackjack has physical latching push buttons that stay set between uses, which I prefer.) Input gain has not changed, that I could tell; could be more sensitive, had to set the gain very high to get a good signal from passive guitar into my computer. Mac required no driver download. Windows 10 required a driver download from Mackie to perform correctly (using Audacity on both Mac and Windows 10). Overall for the price, I am satisfied with the product.Purchased this unit in October 2018 (Producer 2-2) To replace my previous M-Audio interface that was some 16 years old, which I use for home recording (vocals/guitars/amps) I was interested in purchasing one sooner but frequently found I was having a hard time deciding which unit would be best, based on professional reviews as well as customer reviews (and weeding through those to make sure the lower-starred reviews are from people who know what they're talking about).I was drawn to this unit because at the time it was fairly new, and actually didn't have a lot of reviews, but one reviewer who was sent one to test out left a very favorable, comprehensive review. I was also drawn to the rugged aspect of it as sometimes I travel with it.Installation was straightforward, drivers were easy to get. I can't speak to the included software as I already have software I prefer to use (Reaper), but I had no issues getting the unit configured and working with my setup and getting right to work. I use Windows 10 64 bit and have never had issues with recognition or connection to either of my computers. Great low latency, and between the driver setttings and the DAW it's easy to tweak it if you feel the need to refine it. I have and would recommend this unit.Pros:Great sound qualityGood compatibility with programs and windows.Cheap.Attractive.Cons:No power off or input mute.Limited inputs and outputs.I use this on a desktop PC for now, but I will be replacing it with a mixer for obvious reasons. I just needed to get my Microphone set up. I will be using this with my laptop for portable podcasting, streaming, and journalism. It will fit right into a backpack with a laptop and battery pack. I had to fiddle with source selections and software for a few hours before this thing showed what it is capable of. I highly recommend ditching the ASIO drivers they call for and using ASIO4all instead. For PC use it would be VERY nice to have power and mute switches on the box. The monitor is clear and strong, but will not be used very often as it is mainly for setup.To really improve on this design would be simple for Mackie, it's worth every penny if you just want a MIC on your PC and that's it. For in depth creative use I recommend a full USB mixer.After two weeks it became a regular routine to reboot it in order to use it. Although it would appear to be working visually, it would not send a signal into the PC. Then 4 months later rebooting it no longer worked. It looks like it's working, but it's not. I bought this one to replace a Focusrite Solo, I needed the second mic input. I should have stuck with Focusrite and went with their next step up instead. Lesson learned. UPDATE: Mackie had me install an updated driver, it's working perfectly now!Received the Onyx Artist today and was working on a project from home so plugged it immediately. Started great plugged straight to an Imac and set max levels of 75 SPL on the headphone gain dial. The imac model has 4 USB 3.0 ports.After a whole afternoon working plugged headphones back in and sound levels were really low.Stopped and played another file turning Imac levels all the way up to reach 75 SPL. No audio was being routed.Restarted - unplugged - plugged back in - nothing.Eventually got it working again by switching to a USB 2.0 expansion port.Instructions do not mention any incompatibility with USB 3.0 ports. Specially for macs instructions are very straight forward - just plug and play.Can't reach any support online - support page failed to send email - no dedicated UK support - I'll try to find an answer but I'll be keeping a close watch on this unit and am very prone to return it already---- --- ---P.S - returning it two days after delivery. despite having it plugged onto USB 2.0 and it worked for at least one day today it stopped working and failed again to route any sound through headphones amp despite the multiple attempts and restarts. very disappointed as this is happening in the middle of working in a projectWell, it sortof worked out of the box but with ridiculously high latency, something like 250ms. Played with the buffer settings, downloaded latest driver, nothing made any difference. Noted the driver was reporting "ASIO not active", did some googling, downloaded ASIO4ALL, still nothing. Now very confused. Did I need the ASIO driver at all? If so, why didn't the instructions mention this? Why doesn't the Mackie driver work on its own?Emailed support, who (after a couple of days) responded with stock response telling me to play with buffer settings and check for incompatible plugins, totally ignoring the Mackie vs ASIO question.After about a week playing around with the Mackie control panel, ASIO and Windows settings, I managed to get it working but cannot for the life of me remember what I did. The control panel is now reporting valid ASIO Status parameters but still saying ASIO not active.Wish I could give some sage advice for other newbies here, but I have absolutely no idea....It works as it should but the issue with this is software based - Its very minimal with a lack of features - I bought this interface to use in my studio pictured and wanted to use it to run Traktor Pro Dj Software - However for some unknown reason the software engineers over at Mackie didn't have the foresight to include the headphone OUT and as selectable output on the device, only the 2 analog speaker outs show up L+R - The headphones are an OUT It should have Monitor 1 and 2 or L+R which is the headphone jack - WTF does it not have this selectable - what an oversight you just collapsed half your potential buyers - If you try to use this in DJ software you can only select Master OUT no monitors which means NO HEADPHONES -A software update could potentially fix this blunder at which point I would recommend this device to bedroom DJs and Producers - I am stuck with this now - its good - It could be much better - Fix it - update the software.2 microphone inputs which sound pretty good but with only gain and a LED to show the signal level.LED off no signal or small signal , green led signal is within the limits and apparently there is a red LED but I have never seen it as there was enough gain.Monitor output has a mixer for the sound coming into the ONYX or the sound coming from the PC which is very useful for checking a sound is good through the monitors before it even gets recorded and then recordings can take place only listening to the whole mix. If you need a little more or less performance you can quickly adjust the balance but you get a weird echo as the mixes are just happening at different times. This function may have been better as just a switch but I do use it.The headphone out has a volume control.I have not used the MIDI but there is in and out.Connects to a USB port and gets its power from the USB which is nice.All in all a reasonable quality product which sounds good using a stereo guitar/microphone into some software on the computer.Compact and easy to use.Worked straight out of the box, without reading instructions.Haven't used the phantom power, as I use an external valve pre-amp, but have no reason to think it wouldn't work well, as the interface inspires confidence with decent headroom much like my old Focusrite.This one has provision for MIDI whereas the Focusrite equivalent does not at this price.Update! I just got round to attempting to input a stereo keyboard and notice that it sums the stereo to a mono mix, although records in stereo on the DAW (Reaper)This would be just about tolerable for one keyboard, but if I want to record a guitar and vocal using both the inputs, but have to listen to them in mono, then hopeless.On this basis I would recommend to try a different unit unless monitoring in mono doesn't bother you