The Presonus StudioLive line of digital mixers is a familiar one to bands, smaller churches and other venues without the need (or budget for) large, expensive digital consoles. Flexibility, affordability and that game-changing “mix-from-a-tablet” feature all contribute the StudioLive's popularity. All StudioLive AI mixers offer sample rates up to 96 kHz, on-board digital processing, generous digital I/O and “Active Integration” with Presonus computer software which includes wired and wireless networking.
The StudioLive AI mixers have a traditional mixer layout in 16-, 24- and 32-channel versions. In contrast, the newer Presonus StudioLive RM mixers shed most hardware controls for a compact rack-mount form. Losing all those knobs and faders also shrinks the price. At a list price of $2,000, the RM32AI costs $1,500 less than its regular counterpart; the RM16AI ($1,400) shaves off $600.
The two StudioLive RM-series mixers are identical except for analog I/O and physical size. The StudioLive RM16AI mixer offers 16 mic inputs and eight analog outputs in a three-rackspace chassis, while the RM32AI fits 32 mic inputs and 16 analog outputs in a four-rackspace chassis. This review focuses on the RM32AI.
With just a few exceptions, the RM31AI puts analog I/O on the front panel and digital I/O on the back. The RM32AI has all 32 mic inputs on its front panel, each feeding Presonus' class-A XMax preamps. These mic preamps are digitally controlled, having no analog trim knob. This makes them fully recallable, a necessary feature for true scene recall and real-time automation. Digital mixers with analog trim leave every scene and mix at the mercy of the trim knobs, where much can go wrong.
Sixteen XLR outputs sit beneath the XLR inputs. A new trend in mixers does away with labeling auxiliary outputs (monitor, matrix, effect, etc.). Instead, you just get a generous 16 outputs to do with as you please. It's a good trend.
Other outputs include mono (center) and left/right, all on XLR jacks with small analog trim knob. A headphone output offers a volume knob and source select buttons for “Cue” and “Main”. To the left of this output section sits an LED display button (meters or phantom power) and “Mute All” button. This mute button is a bit heavy-handed, but could come in handy during setup or a serious tech meltdown.
Thirty two LEDs show phantom power in “+48V” mode and signal present/peak in “Meters” mode. The latter is handy to see the presence of signals at a glance, and it's a real time-saver when running and checking mic cables. The last front-panel connector is a USB port used for flash drive firmware updates or a Wi-Fi dongle.
The RM32AI's back panel has two FireWire S800 interfaces for playback and record to computer. These interfaces will send 52 audio streams to a computer while returning 34 playback streams, all at the mixer's highest resolution. That's a lot of audio data, and an impressive amount of digital I/O. Firewire and AVB come standard with other options available.
Mixers Gone Soft
As modern digital mixers begin looking less like mixers and more like boring-old rack-mounted gear, it gives us much less to talk about on the hardware side. Gone are our discussions about knob layout, intuitive button schemes, metering, and that elusive “feel” that puts a smile on the user's face. Nope—now we're mostly diddling software even for “hardware” devices.
It’s clear the PreSonus folks started with a blank slate when they designed UC Surface control software. With relatively few exceptions, they got it right.
Presonus's UC Surface software at the heart of the SM32AI mixing experience runs on Windows and Apple computers as well as the iPad. In fact, it can run on all three at once. Most of my testing was done in the Windows world, with a regular laptop running Windows 7 and a touchscreen laptop with Windows 8.1.
My first impression of the UC Surface software is that it's pretty to look at. The color scheme is light-on-dark and quite minimalistic, which gives the software a crisp, high-tech look. Most of the interface consists of darker grays, and color is used only for on-screen elements pertaining to those precious signals. Meters, indicators and buttons glow green, yellow, orange—if it's in color, it's probably important.
UC Surface has a very “flat” interface with few menus. This means everything is available with one or two taps (or clicks), a real plus in the audio mixing world. Sometimes things happen fast, and nobody is blessed if you have to navigate through four levels of menus just to squelch some feedback.
It's clear the Presonus folks started with a blank slate as they designed UC Surface, giving them the opportunity for a complete re-think of how digital mixer software should work. With relatively few exceptions, they got it right. Folks with no mixing experience should come up to speed quickly with UC Surface, while those grizzled audio veterans might take some more time.
An example of the UC Surface approach: if you create a new instrument channel type and select the snare drum preset, the channel is automatically added to a DCA group for drums. If there isn't a drum group, it's created for you. If you didn't want a drum group, it's still created for you. Some users will appreciate the help, others may grow annoyed by the proliferation of groups as channels are defined. I got a bit annoyed at having to delete groups I didn't need.
With channels grouped by genus and species, however, UC Surface's filter system kicks in. With it, you can click on a group label and have only those channels appear in the virtual fader area. Click “Drums” and you see only drums, click “Guitars” and you can easily begin turning those nasty things down. (Just kidding—I'm a guitarist.) This approach to groups boils things down to their essence and really simplifies the process.
One thing I love about mixers in software is the metering. They can be large, small, colorful, everywhere. UC Surface has nice meters, with input channels showing level and gain reduction. The mini input level meters across the bottom of the display are a nice touch, and they stay put regardless of which channels (or filter) you have currently visible on the screen.
StudioLive mixers are well-endowed in the DSP department, with each input having a “Fat Channel” processing chain. I can't say whether the effects are obese or merely overweight, but I can say they sound very good. I wasn't able to throw anything at the compressor that it didn't handle with punch and character. Drums, guitars, vocals, full mixes—the Fat Channel compressor sounds fantastic.
The channel EQ was also excellent in its smooth control, though I don't appreciate bands that stop at an arbitrary frequency (i.e. the high-mid band won't go above 5 kHz or below 380 Hz). It's a flexible digital world—I don't need a frequency nanny keeping me from setting bands wherever I want them. I appreciated the EQ display/edit area, and found it easy to dial in the sound I was after. Extra kudos for the miniature EQ display that shows the channel EQ curve above each virtual fader. With inputs moving around as they sometimes do, it's great to see at a glance where you've not yet applied EQ (or still have kick drum EQ applied to the pastor's lavalier).
The software offers A/B settings for the dynamics and EQ on each channel, which is great for quickly comparing two sounds. You can use this to audition subtle effects changes, or even completely different setups.
Beyond input channels, processing includes graphic EQs on the 12 aux busses as well as left, right and center outputs. Four internal effects units offer two reverbs and two delays—a pretty typical arrangement for digital mixers at this price point. These effects processors also have dynamics and EQ, but what they lack are the basic control parameters to really dial in a sound. For example: the RM32AI reverbs offer no more than three adjustment parameters, and none allow control over HF or LF damping, early reflections, filtering, density, etc. The RM32AI has good variety in the presets, but the control simply isn't there.
If the Presonus reverb algorithms were stellar, one might forgive the lack of control. Unfortunately, they're not. I found the room and hall algorithm tails to be rattly and sparse, and was never able to get the dense, rich sound I was after. It's a software and firmware world, however, and I'm sure Presonus will improve the quality and control of its reverbs in the future.
Strip a mixer of all its hardware controls, and the issue of connectivity rises to the forefront. The RM32AI talks to the outside world in two ways: hardwired Ethernet or Wi-Fi. The latter requires a Wi-Fi dongle (supplied) to be attached to the front-panel USB port, then the mixer connects with your wireless network like any other device. Some mixers at this price point allow direct Wi-Fi connections without an external router, which is great when you're outside of your wireless network. You can accomplish something similar by connecting the RM32AI via Ethernet to a basic $20 wireless router.
The front-panel USB port is also used for firmware updates, but that's it. At least one competing mixer allows connection of an external USB drive for stereo playback, or multi-track recording without a computer. That's a nice capability Presonus may want to consider adding to the RM line.
Speaking of connectivity, the RM32AI's Active Integration system is designed to work seamlessly with Presonus's Capture software that offers multi-track record/playback and virtual sound checks with a computer attached. Once saved in Capture, mixes, channel settings and more can be pulled straight into Presonus' Studio One mixing/editing software. Doing a multi-track recording? You'll save valuable time by getting not just audio tracks, but Fat Channel settings, channel groups and more dropped straight into your digital audio software. This level of software integration is compelling.
Finally, back on stage, the QMix-AI app allows up to 14 musicians to control their own cue mixes with an iPhone or iPod Touch. Though not unique to Presonus, this feature is a potential game-changer for keeping musicians happy and playing nice with one another.
There's too much to cover here for one review, so here are a few more notes. The mixer's XMax discrete class-A mic preamps sound excellent for a mixer in this price range. Software controls expand when you click (or touch) them, making them extremely easy to adjust. Signal routing is fairly limited, with only group-level effects sends or (simulated) insert effects --- though we're told the latest update adds sub-group control. The only stereo input is on RCA jacks, labeled “Tape”. What's tape? And why isn't this a stereo 1/8-inch jack?
A Work in Progress
New approaches can take some time to hit their stride and become fully refined, and this describes the RM-series mixers. Presonus has a great hardware foundation built with the RM32AI, but the UC Surface software hasn't quite caught up to it. When the software closes that gap, the results should be spectacular.
Right now the RM32AI is entirely useable and offers an impressive amount of mixing capability. If your church is looking to step into the digital mixing world with a solid platform, a proven company and an eye towards the future, the RM32AI is well worth a closer look.
