(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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I received my brand new Rane Empath Grandmaster Flash Edition this morning.
Before I write this first glance review, let me just tell you that I’ve played with mixers in the likes of Xone 92, DJM 1000, Nuo 4 and DJM 800 (though some were better explored than others).

Layout/Built Quality

The mixer is quite robust and sturdy, You won’t find any wobbling knobs. The layout is very clean and intuitive. Everything is in the right place. One thing I’ve noticed, is that, sadly, there isn’t any mixer with the ergonomics of the Nuo 4, with those spacious E.Q. and XL knobs. But the Empath offers, nonetheless, a very clean workspace for most users. One grip I had with the Nuo, was its apparent built quality: it was easy to take off caps, there were wobbling knobs and overall it had that “cheap” feeling due to the use of plastic instead of hard rubber.

Sound

I haven’t heard anything like this. For instance, with my previous Nuo 4, I had the gain at 0 db and the master volume at level 7 (out of 10); To achieve the same loudness, with the Empath I have the gain set at 30% bellow 0db and the master volume at 5. The same configuration I had with the Nuo 4, will result into a red light on the monitors, warning a dangerous level, when in use with the Empath…

In the headphone output, the difference continues.
The sole quality of the sound is also better, more envolving and more detailed.
I’ve played in studios which had a DJM 1000 and 800 with better monitors than those I own. Even so, the Empath sounds more impressive.

E.Q.

Much have been said about the Empath’s E.Q. It is, indeed, one of the best. The shape, control and sound quality are second to none. But it doesn’t give you a 100% cut, contrary to the Nuo 4 and to what is said on the mixer itself. Even with all knobs set at zero, you can still hear a subtle sound. Even so, I would choose this E.Q. over any other, due to how it works in terms of sound shaping. You can achieve a subtle change or a drastic cut.

FX Send / Return

Perfect, Just perfect. With the Nuo 4 if I wanted to achieve a 100% wet sound, I needed to sacrifce the faders and strictly use the AUX rotary pots, set in PRE fader mode. That was a nuissance.

The FLEX FX on the Empath works exactly as it should work. It has a dry to wet fader (note, not an auxiliary volume control) and you can adjust the Send and Return volumes in seperate. You only need to adjust them once… after that you’ll always have a perfectly matched output from the mixer to the effector.

PS: This is it… The most percfect mixer I’ve played with. If you want effects… buy an external unit, like an EFX 1000. If you want a mixer which gives you a 100% intuitive layout and the functionalities and connectivities you “really” need, with a sound and built quality with virtually no match… than this is for you.
PPS: The Grandmaster F. Edition… with that brushed gold plate, golden letters and that black finish… <3!
Reviewed By: Yashagoro

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