Allen & Heath ZEDi-8, ZEDi-10 and ZEDi-10FX Mixers!

Last updated on December 31st, 2023 at 05:58 pm

The ZEDi mixers are ideal for any small home studio, especially if you’re someone who is just starting out since they are small and easy to use.

The reason I like them for home studio applications is because contrary to most affordable mixers out there, these ones feature a built-in audio interface, meaning that you can record all the mono inputs directly into your DAW to individual tracks.

The ZEDi-8 lets you record 2 simultaneous tracks while the ZEDi-10 and 10FX allow you to record up to 4, and this is something that you can do with any audio interface, if the channel count allows it, but with the added benefit of having the extra controls that a mixer provides.

The ZEDi-10FX offers four mono mic/line channels (with phantom power), which are the ones that can be recorded separately on to the DAW, plus two stereo inputs as well as built- in FX, such as; delay, reverb, chorus, doublers, flangers, and more.

On the other hand, the ZEDi-8 and 10 don’t come with built-in effects and are therefore more affordable.

Now, as far as the recording quality goes, you can record with a bit-rate and sample-rate of up to 24-bit/96kHz, which is even higher than what professional recording studios use.

Just know that the higher the sample- and bit rate, the more storage each file will consume.

Let’s have a look and the Inputs and Outputs of the mixers:

Inputs

2 XRL/TRS for the ZEDi-8 and 4 XLR/TRS combi- inputs for the ZEDi-10 and 10FX that feature the GSPre preamps, as well as two additional stereo channels for synths, drum machines, etc.

The first two Inputs also feature a “guitar mode” that work as high impedance DI inputs, which means that you won’t need a DI box to connect your Guitars or Basses to it.

Inputs 3 and 4 have a Line/Pad button to drop the input level by 20dB if needed (not available on ZEDi-8).

All channels have a Low cut as well as the typical controls every mixer comes with; like Gain, balance, FX-Send (ZEDi-10FX only), mix level, Aux send and a three band EQ.

As far as the stereo inputs go, the first one only supplies up to 15dB of gain as well as a two band EQ, while the second one only offers a mix level control.

Outputs

2 XLR main outs, RCA out, FX Out, Aux out and a ¼” TRS Headphone output.

Read also: Best Home Studio Mixers; Analog & Digital.

Included Software

Luckily, this mixer comes with some free pieces of software that should help you start recording and mixing right away, without the need of spending any extra money.

The included software is; Cubase LE and Cubasis LE.

Features

  • 2×2 and 4×4 USB Audio Interfaces (24-bit/96kHz)
  • Cubase LE Software included
  • Cubasis LE App included
  • 2 Stereo Inputs with TRS jack sockets
  • 2 Guitar DI high impedance inputs
  • Internal FX (ZEDi-10FX only)

Specifications

Channels8, 10
Inputs2 x XLR, 4 x XLR, 4 x TRS
Outputs2 x XLR, 1 x TRS, 1 x Headphone
EQ3-band EQ
Effects24-bit Multi-effects, 99 presets (ZEDi-10FX)
Included SoftwareCubase LE

All in all, the ZEDi-8, ZEDi-10 and 10FX are probably the best budget home studio mixers you can get.

They are affordable, sound great and let you record every input to a separate track.

I’d recommend getting the 10FX one simply for the additional versatility, but you can certainly buy any of them instead of an Audio Interface and use them in your Home Studio.

You can get them here:

I hope this information was useful!

Have a nice day!