A new option for peeps who can’t deal with rack mount patch bays for whatever reason. Not a fit for everyone, but probably a fit for someone
This would be cool to setup against the back wall of a desk standing up. I have a rack mount and have yet to find a plausible location for it in my limited area. Always awesome to have options!
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Interesting that they are treating the 1/4" TRS jacks as stereo rather than balanced.
I like the concept, particularly that it was built with 1/8" jacks for patching.
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I’m not sure it’s quite the right balance for me, but I’m glad to see folks trying new stuff.
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This could be a viable solution if it becomes available in Sweden or the EU but otherwise it would be too much work and risk.
I would have to import it, which would add to the cost at least 25% to the total value of the order, and I would probably have to pay customs fees as well.
Warranty would also be problematic because I would have to ship it back, and then re-import a replacement.
I’m not against a rack-mounted patchbay, I’m mainly looking for input from other people because this isn’t something I can try out anywhere near me.
I think they just use stereo and balanced interchangeably.
They do mention balanced signals as well:
Standard TRS cables can be used to connect to stereo devices with TRS sockets (e.g. headphone jacks). Left and right channels are then routed independently on the main panel. The same applies when working with balanced signals says the developer.
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You might want to contact the seller as stated here:
https://www.dfaudio.com.au/shop
Your assumptions may or may not be correct but it should not cost you anything financially to send him an email.
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i just saw this Minibay in a bassist’s setup on instagram, so i went looking and found it!
did any among you all get one of these?
i’m thinking this thing is something i very much need.
it’s not GAS cuz it’s not a synth, right? …right? it’s a utility, so that’s like way different
…anyway… anybody using one? thanks!
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I got one. It’s pretty cool. I did a video on it here:
Any questions gimme a shout!
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that was awesome. thanks for posting! i gotta get one of these
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Another model, Minibay S24
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This looks cool but man…
The original Minibay came out in 2022 and cost 200 us$ for a 40-point patch bay (more like 44 if you count the mults & summing etc).
Now we’re in 2026 and we’re seeing $239 for 24 points.
(I’m leaving out the Minibay v2 which was more like $250 because it had those adorable little dip switches on it)
So the math is pretty easy; from $5 or just below per point to $9.95 per point. So almost double price increase in 4ish years.
I know it’s not perfectly equivalent because the original Minibay was TS and these connections are all TRS, and you also have the new normalization switches that the original did not have. So I guess one could argue it actually lets you route up to 24 possible (mono) signals compared to 20, and is therefore an equivalent or even better value than the previous one.
It’s more that I realized how a patch bay is almost the ideal bit of gear for price comparisons, because at the end of the day it’s a metal box with a set amount of jacks in it and thats pretty much it.
Oh no now that argument will spill over into here… what have I done?
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I don’t think this math is the right way to look at it because its value was about how many signals you can route with it (not the number of physical jacks) and this one handles more. Mechanical parts have also gotten noticeably more expensive in the last 4 years.
I think this is responding to people wanting something closer to a desktop sized version of a rack patch bay and it might be the case that most people using minibays are basically routing a lot of stereo channels and just using mixers for summing so they’re not going to miss the individual control over mono paths or the two summing busses. I won’t buy this to replace my v2 but I would have bought this instead when I was looking at patch bay options.
Yeah, that’s what I mean.
I wasn’t saying that this makes the new Minibay a rip-off or that the price jump reflects badly on DFAudio. I think it’s a cool bit of gear, and addresses the main reason I didn’t get the earlier version (TS jacks instead of TRS).
But it does seem to show how much more components cost right now than just a couple years ago.