Review: Australian Monitor Ampro PM16

The Australian Monitor AMPRO PM16 is a small- format analogue mixer designed to be simple to use, while still providing the basic functions needed for a range of audio applications. The company hasn’t aimed too high; the console boasts a reasonably low retail price and its suggested uses including installations, schools and churches.

Straight out of the box it’s a pretty cheap looking unit with home-brand knobs and rough feeling 60mm faders. The other controls are rectangular function buttons, which are easy enough to use, but unfortunately it’s hard to tell if they’re up or down. The buttons for 48v phantom power and PFL have lights beside them to indicate they’re active, but unfortunately the mute, EQ-in, low-cut and aux return status buttons don’t, making it easy to mistake their settings, even in good light. The mixer has a separate power supply and comes supplied with a rack mounting kit.

AUSTRALIAN CONNECTIONS

Across the top of the PM16’s front panel there are eight conveniently located mono input channels with balanced XLR and 6.35mm TRS line inputs. Insert points are provided via 6.35mm TRS sockets and these are neatly located on the back panel where they’re out of the way if they’re being used, and out of sight if they’re not. This is a good design feature as insert sockets are often placed close to, or directly beneath, line inputs, and I wouldn’t be the first to have accidentally plugged a connector into the wrong socket. Each mono channel has its own dedicated 48v phantom power switch – much better than ‘global phantom power’ offered on many mixers in this category. Four stereo unbalanced line-level inputs are also provided, with 6.35mm TS sockets wired so that a mono signal plugged into the left input sends to both left and right outputs.

Input level for all channels is controlled by a trim knob labelled: ‘+22dB’ (at nine o’clock) and ‘+32dB’ (at one o’clock)… and that’s all they say. The manual claims a trim range of a fairly limited 41dB (around 60dB is normal). There’s a handy four-segment LED level indicator beside the fader on each channel and the PFL button puts the channel level onto the 10-segment LED main meters. There’s no pad provided and with the trim knob set fully counter-clockwise and a decent input into the mic, it’s easy to see the red-coloured +10dB LED light up on the channel meters. There’s no distortion at this input level and the trim knob has to be cranked to beyond three o’clock before it overloads the input, resulting in a nasty crackle you don’t want to hear outside a test situation.

CHANNEL EQ

The EQ is basic but functional. A 75Hz low-cut button filters out unwanted low frequencies and helps with plosives, but a sweepable low-cut knob would have been better. On the mic/line channels you get an EQ in/out button, a high shelf (set at 12kHz), a midrange (sweepable from 250Hz to 6kHz) and a bass shelf (at 80Hz). The EQ sounds good as long as you don’t use too much of it, but I can’t hear the justification for the claim of it being “ultra-musical”. This EQ layout of high/low boost/cut with swept mids is very common in low-cost mixers, but consistently ignores the 100 – 200Hz range. This frequency range is often important for taming room acoustics and ‘boxiness’ on individual channels, and ideally should be accurately addressable by the EQ controls. The line inputs get the same high and low EQ but the mid cut/boost is fixed at 2.5kHz.

Two auxiliary sends are provided on each channel, with Aux1 being set pre-fade/post EQ (for monitors) and Aux2 post-fade/post EQ (for effects). Each channel gets a pan knob, a mute button above the fader and a PFL button below.

The output section is flexible with separate Left/Right main output faders going to either XLR balanced outputs or unbalanced 1/4-inch sockets. An ‘Alt Out’ has a single fader and delivers the same signal as the main outputs to a second pair of unbalanced 1/4-inch sockets. The auxiliary sends have separate master knobs, while a ‘Control Room Out’ knob delivers the main out signal or PFL signal to two more unbalanced 1/4-inch sockets. ‘Record Out’ and ‘Tape In’ (with level control knob) facilities are provided via RCAs, and two channels of auxiliary return via yet more unbalanced 1/4-inch sockets. These can be switched to feed either the main L/R outputs or the ‘Alt Out’, via their own level controls.

GOOD SOUND

The sound quality of the AMPRO PM16 is good overall; the channels have adequate headroom, the mixer is quiet and I’d be happy to use it for small live shows or simple recordings. It would be suitable for a solo act or duo that didn’t need many channels and was happy with one foldback send and one effect send. There’s lots of space between knobs and the controls are simple, making it easy for musicians to operate during a show without needing to reach for their glasses to see what they were doing. For recording, the number of separately controllable outputs is limited to three but this is enough for many home recording situations and the Control Room Out is a handy feature. The rack mounting kit supplied with the mixer is easy to fit and gives you the option of securing the mixer in a standard rack. Bravely it goes, into a crowded marketplace.