Tascam m1516 vs m2600 mkI

[Nemaulatka]

Hello fellow Tascam owners!

Im building a project studio in hostile environment being on a tight budget. Ill be recording partly digital (via presonus firestudio project for commercial stuff) partly analog (234 Syncaset) for my friends lo-fi projects (noise, gazey stuff, etc). I have two hot deals on Tascam M1516 for like 200$ and M2600 MKI for ~300$. I would prefer M2600 due to the 8-buses and more channels, however the control booth in my studio is really small and im not sure this monster will fit in leaving enough space for me and everything else. I wanted to ask if there's a big difference between those two boards qualitywise (noise, preamps quality, etc).

I have to decide quickly so any help will be very much appreciated.

Thanks, Mitya.

 

[Gravity Jim]

Amazing... I am uniquely qualified to answer this, as my first analog console when I started producing music in earnest was a Tascam M1516, which I then replaced with an M2600 after a couple of years.

I did not hear a lot of difference in preamp quality (there's a good chance they are exactly the same pres) or in noise. The main improvements were simply the 8-buss convenience (I was synching MOTU Performer on a Mac to a Tascam DA88 then) and the general build quality (the M2600 just "felt" better, with more substantial faders and knobs).

You might want to look up the specs, but I also felt my M1516 was a bit worse on crosstalk between nearby channels. But I produced my first national jingle on the 1516, and it sounded good and ran for years, so... it's your call.

 

[Nemaulatka]

hey thanks a lot for your answer, that's really helpfull, Jim!

I got a sweet deal on ideal condition m2600 24. routing options and 8-buss are cool and having polarity switches and phantom kinda helps too). Maybe by any chance you have a scanned manual? if yes, please send it to [deleted by moderator] as i only managed to find one in german which i don't know at all)

 

[Gravity Jim]

That was a long time hence, so no manual here, scanned or otherwise. It's pretty straightforward... Just a bare bones analog mixer.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

I was called into a studio to make some repairs on one before they sold it. It was a mess as they had amateurs in the unit messing around. Still I was able to fix all of their issues. The M2600 is a different level of machine by way of options but as far a parts quality it is pretty much the same. it may have longer travel faders like you would expect in a better piece but they were not Penny and Giles like I found in PR&E Boards in Radio. As long as you don't drop ashes into the unit and cover it at night- to keep dust out, it should be good for you.