The Big Brown Analogue Sound - vintage Allen & Heath System 8 Mk1 16:8:2 analogue mixing desk!

I’m selling my beloved Allen & Heath System 8 analogue mixer - it’s been the centrepiece of my studio for years, but I’m doing more mobile work these days and it’s built like a tank so really not that portable! It’s a glorious, heavy analogue beast from the beginning of the 80s, with 16 channels, 8 groups, 3 auxes, and an awesome 3-band EQ on every channel. It totally changed the way that I track and mix, and I love the warm character and sense of definition it gives a mix versus mixing in the box.

You’ll see this desk gets a lot of love on Gearslutz for its great sound and punch, with lots of recommendations as the perfect bang-for-buck antidote to the digital sound. The Mark III System 8 went for £1900 in 1988 - over £5000 in today’s money! This particular desk is in really good cosmetic condition for its age, and apart from the preamps generally works well (see below) . Its fantastic vintage style is pure 70s / early 80s brown; the large, backlit VU meter bridge looks great and always makes a statement. It even overloads nicely (to my ears) when driven hard!

You’ll find the System 8 Mk I brochure and specs on the Allen & Heath website (can't link here directly).

Features:

• 16 input channels with inserts

• 8 groups with group outputs and inserts

• 3 mono auxes (1 pre fader, 1 post, 1 selectable) with 2 FX returns

• Great-sounding 3 band EQ on each channel - high and low shelving bands selectable 60/120Hz and 8/12kHz), mid band sweepable between 400Hz and 6kHz

• Phantom power

• Full monitor section with Cue bus, PFL, talkback, headphone out, 1kHz slate, etc

• Clearly laid out, easy to drive, easy to make sound good

• Outputs on the System 8 are usually pin-3 hot - modified here to be pin-2 hot (modern standard) to preserve input phase with line inputs

• Meter bridge with VU meters on groups and main output - all meters and lamps working fine

• All knobs and caps in place, no mechanical issues whatsoever

• Comes with a modern (2015) StudioSystems Blue Dog Power Supply, which cost over £250 itself - much more robust and reliable than the original PSU, and much quieter too

• Includes printed user manual

• I’ll throw in the custom 2 x 2U desk rack (designed to sit under the System 8) and monitor controller (heavily modified SM Pro M-Patch 2) for an extra £50!

I bought the desk in 2015, and it had been in storage for several years before that. I thoroughly cleaned all the pots, switches, faders and connectors using Deoxit products and compressed air which really helped sort out the majority of the issues it had when I picked it up. I’ve been using it mainly for monitoring when tracking (mostly using high-end external preamps), and for mixing back out through to get the benefit of the big brown analogue sound and the great EQs. 

The desk is almost 40 years old, and does still have a few issues which suggests it would benefit from a recap - they’ve not been a problem for my workflow, but I want to be open about it so you know what you’re getting. That said, the majority of System 8s you’ll find for sale are for parts or repair, with things missing or broken, without power supplies, or with bust VU meters etc - one recently went on the E-place for £200, untested with no power supply and missing a load of knob / fader / switch caps. What you’re getting here works, is in really good cosmetic condition and sounds great, with a couple of caveats. The issues I’m aware of are:

• The preamps don’t work or are intermittent on all but 2 channels - I always use channel insert-returns for my external pres when tracking and for line sources when mixing so it hasn’t bothered me - however this is the reason I've listed the desk as in "Fair" condition, as it's otherwise in good nick for its age

• There are a few scratchy pots - nothing unusable, and exercising the pot sorts it on all but a couple - there's no pot-induced noise once set, and indeed the noise floor on the desk is surprisingly low thanks to the heavy-duty Blue Dog power supply

Collection only  from north London please, as this beast is made of steel and is **heavy** - 45kg or 100lb, and 106 x 67cm  - you will need transport! You're welcome to contact me if you want to arrange to come and view beforehand.