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It was inevitable, really. Thanks to their ever-advancing 
horsepower and convenience, computers have 
become central to modern audio production. Yet no 
affordable mixing console to date has been designed 
to integrate seamlessly with today’s varied production 
techniques—analog, digital or hybrid. So after more 
than two years of intense research and development 
at Mackie and SaneWave, we proudly introduce the 
digital desk of the future: the Mackie Digital X Bus 
High-Definition Digital Production Console.

A DIGITAL DESK  
WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Developed to bring you features currently unmatched 
by consoles costing five times as much, the X.200 
and X.400 offer an upgradeable 192kHz-capable mix 
engine; dual 15" touch screens; 100mm Penny + Giles 
optical touch faders; onboard control of a variety of 
DAWs, including Pro Tools, Logic, and Nuendo; VST™ 
plug-in support; and streaming digital audio between 
the Digital X Bus and your Mac or PC via FireWire. 
Not to mention a full rear-panel card cage so you can 
configure the Digital X Bus’ I/O to suit your studio’s 
exact needs, now and in the future.

Designed for professional tracking and mixing 
applications, the X.200 model offers 64 simultaneous 
inputs and outputs, accessed from a variety of 8-
channel analog or digital I/O cards. Its flexible I/O 
card cage supports up to 64 analog mic/line inputs 
featuring digitally controlled mic trims; digital 
interface cards in formats such as AES/EBU, TDIF, and 
ADAT optical; as well as FireWire I/O cards capable of 
streaming audio and MIDI to any FireWire-equipped 
Mac or PC.

For those doing surround and post-production, the 
X.400 model ups the performance ante with dual 
processors for massive mix horsepower, an extra 
card slot providing an additional 24 channels of I/O 
for a total of 92 inputs and 100 outputs at 96kHz, as 
well as more advanced surround sound functionality 

with up to 24 busses. In addition, the X.400 ships 
with Universal Audio’s UAD-1 DSP card preloaded, 
providing instant access to a full complement of 
powerful Universal Audio™ plug-ins.

OH, BEAUTIFUL INTERFACE

Of course, all the advanced technology in the world 
is useless if you can’t get to it quickly, so we gave 
the Digital XBus dual 15" touch screens—a first in 
this class of console. These touch screens put all 

major features and functions at your fingertips as 
“virtual” controls, with big, button-style graphics and 
a bare minimum of hierarchy. With advanced 5-wire 
technology and a proprietary tracking algorithm, the 
touch screens deliver incredibly accurate response. 
And they’re built tough too, with an operating life 
that’s rated at over 35 million finger pokes.

Of course, for fast adjustments, there are 24 rotary 
encoders (er, knobs), corresponding to the graphics 
on the screens directly above. And commonly used 
features such as mute, solo, pan, faders, and switches 
remain in hardware, just the way your fingers like. 
There’s also built-in USB ports so you can use your 
favorite mouse or PC keyboard, a smooth weighted 
jog wheel, and rock-solid transport buttons. This 
multi-control approach lowers the learning curve to 
the point that most users can start working from the 
moment the console boots—without the need for 
manual digging.

INTRODUCING THE 

DIGITAL X BUS

 

HIGH-DEFINITION PRODUCTION CONSOLE.

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