After driving myself crazy the past few days I finally out my order in for the x32 rack. I place the order and then 15 minutes later the store calls me back and says it was out of stock. Argggh.
So I decide to call another store I deal with. I get to talking with my rep and he tells me that they have been getting a higher than usual return on all of the X32 units which have faders. Not exactly the news I wanted to hear. He says that the rack should be fine because of the lack of moving parts. Anyways, we get to talking more and I explain that I was also looking at the Qu-16. After a bit of discussion he makes a few points that I would like to hear peoples feedback on.
1. The build quality on the Qu-16 is better than the X-32 line. He says if you bought them both today he would expect to still see the Qu-16 functioning 5-6 years down the line while the behringer would probably be out of commission.
2. The resale value of the Allen & Heath would probably be higher.
3. The Qu-16 is much more intuitive and the time spent learning the ins and outs of the X32 should also be calculated into the pricing depending on what your time is worth.
So maybe the guy at GC was being truthful...mmmm?
The build quality of the QU16 is very good-it feels substantial. cannot comment on the X32 as the only one I have seen is the dusty abused demo unit at my local GC. However, the faders didn't feel as nice as the QU16.
The X32 rack might be a good alternative though. I'd feel safer with less moving parts on a Behringer if it were me ...
I found the QU16 very easy to transition to from analog. Many have stated that the X32 is not too difficult to learn but just takes a bit longer - no doubt in part because it has more tricks in its bag than the QU16.
I wouldn't let that get in my way -I'd rather choose based on my requirements and expectations.
It is a good time to be making choices with the affordability of digital desks right now. As my mom used to say, "You pays your money - you makes your choice".....
