Mackie M Caster Live Streaming Podcasting Portable Smartphone/USB FX Mixer

The Mackie M Caster Live is a portable mixer for live streaming and content creation, sized to go anywhere a phone goes. It connects straight to the headphone jack on a smartphone to both send and receive audio, so a mobile stream gets a real microphone and real processing instead of the built-in mic on the phone.

ContourFX is the reason to buy it. Selectable presets shape a voice from thunderous depth to bright and airy, and a single control per channel dials in how much is applied. You find your sound by turning a knob, not by reading forum threads about EQ curves. StreamFX adds voice-changing effects on demand when a bit is worth punching up.

Connections cover the way people actually work: your own microphone, a gaming headset, a media player input for music and stingers, and a phone input with automatic Mix Minus so a call-in guest hears you without hearing themselves. USB connectivity turns it into an audio interface for a Mac or PC, and because it runs on USB power, a small USB battery keeps it going away from a desk. The output can also be set to feed the mic input on a DSLR.

An RGB LED strip along the bottom offers seven user-selectable colors, which looks right on camera in a streaming setup. USB, TRS aux, and TRRS cables plus a power supply are all included.