I needed something to practice on, play with tracks also to act as a preamp for recording. I knew I needed a mixer of some sort but the reason I went for the Mackie 802 was the HI-Z switch and multitude of features.
I really did not want to mess around with a DI box, and good ones tend to be expensive so the Hi-Z switch is invaluable to me. EQ is pretty standard and usable.
It can be called a 2 bus mixer because the mute button sends the channel signal to a pair of separate outputs. This way you can output up to 4 mono tracks out of it.
The headphone amp is very powerful. I drive 250 ohm headphones and I keep the volume at 9:00 o'clock all the time. The power adapter cable is the longest I've ever seen. I like the LED meters on it, they could've put a short meter but they didn't, they put the 12 bar accurate ones.
The first unit that came had an issue, all the channels sounded slightly louder on the left side and I sent it back and got a replacement. The second unit is fine and going strong.