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Avid Venue SC-48
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Mackie DL1608 Digital Live Sound Mixer with iPad Control
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QSC TouchMix Compact Digital Mixer
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Cadac CDC Four Digital Console
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Midas M32 Digital Console for Live and Studio
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Behringer X32
A continuation of digital audio consoles offering professional power for modest budgets. Sidebar to: Economical Pro Performance: No, It's Not an Oxymoron
Avid Venue S3L System
The recently updated Avid S3L live sound system offers I/O sharing and gain tracking across multiple S3L systems. User-definable layouts and VCA and Group Spill is incorporated in the interest of providing user flexibility, and operators may use the S3 control surface on a standalone basis to mix ProTools (and other DAW) sessions. When used together, the S3L and ProTools provide integrated recording and mixing control of live or studio applications. Both run on the Avid MediaCentral Platform, enabling users to network and collaborate with other engineers.
Behringer X32 Digital Mixer
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The Behringer X32 is a 40-input, 25-bus digital console featuring 32 programmable Midas preamps and 25 motorized faders. Both individual and dynamic “Scribble Strips” are included on all channels and buses in the interest of streamlining assignment, and for making it easy for users to determine which channel is doing what. iPhone and iPad control is available free of charge, with no host PC required.
Cadac CDC Four Digital Console
Cadac's CDC Four features 16 mic and eight stereo input channels, expandable to 56 channels via the CDC I/O 3216 stagebox. A combination can be housed together in a rack space, or the stagebox can be located anywhere up to 492 feet from the console. The CDC eight-16 is a half-frame size variant of the Cadac's flagship CDC eight-32: “Critically it offers the same channel count, I/O configuration, processing power and user interface as the full-sized desk, but with a compact footprint and competitive price tag for a console of such power,” explains Keith Grant, a spokesman for the company. Both models support Cadac's MegaComms digital audio network; network bridging components—additional consoles can be applied to the same network when required.
Mackie DL1608 Digital Live Sound Mixer with iPad Control
Mackie's DL806 (eight-channel) and DL1608 (16-channel) offer wireless mixing from anywhere in the sanctuary via iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. The consoles provide personal monitor mixing with access control and view groups, and operators may use up to 10 wireless devices simultaneously. Both models let engineers record their mixes to the iPad.
Midas M32 Digital Console for Live and Studio
The Midas M32, for both live and studio use, features 40 input channels, 32 Midas microphone preamplifiers, and 25 time-aligned, phase-coherent mix buses. The system is expandable to 96 inputs and 96 outputs via AES50 networking. Users have the option of remote wireless control for iPhone and iPad.
QSC TouchMix Compact Digital Mixer
The QSC TouchMix Series, comprised of the TouchMix-8 and the TouchMix-16, provides “big mixer” functionality in a compact form factor. The models come equipped with wizards and preset libraries to make for easy set-up, simplifying tasks such as gain adjustment and effects selection. Also available is direct-to-hard drive recording of multi-track Wave files, and the consoles can record all input channels, plus a stereo output pair. A Wi-Fi interface is included for remote control via mobile devices.
