In a market that has a glut of small format mixing consoles, the Alto ZEPHYR ZMX862 is an excellent option. Its combination of low price, good build quality and smartly designed feature set has made it a real leader in a very competitive category. The ZEPHYR ZMX862 is a 6-channel, 2-bus mixer with two phantom power-equipped microphone inputs, a three-band EQ and two AUX sends on each of the two mono channels and on the two stereo channels, and two-track inputs for audio playback.

You can plug dynamic, condenser, and wireless microphones into the first two channels, and you also get two stereo channel inputs for keyboards, drum machines, and other instruments. What's more, you can easily plug in your MP3 player, CD players, or audio from a DVD player into the CD/TAPE inputs. But, you also have two AUX sends that you can use to send streams of audio from your mixer to a digital effects unit, stage monitor, TV screen, or any number of sources. Choose the ZMX862 as the audio central command for your live performances, home studio, or video suite.

All Alto Professional ZEPHYR ZMX mixers are designed with high headroom and ultra low-noise mic preamps, so you get the full dynamic range of your mix every time.

Sometimes venues are dark and it can be hard to see what you're working with. Alto Professional solves this problem by not only color coding each section of the mixer, but also by using brightly colored knobs so that you can easily find what you need to adjust before you ever lay a finger on the mixer. The blue, red, yellow and white pots are instantly easy to identify in dim lighting. LED indicators for output level, peak, and phantom power also assist in making sure that you have multiple visual cues that compliment everything you're hearing.

The Alto ZEPHYR ZMX862 is a good sounding, reliable compact mixer for solo and duo acts, or for venues that have a need for a good sounding, small-format mixing console.