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Author Topic: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users  (Read 4316 times)

John T. Cotton

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2018, 10:58:08 PM »

Thanks, Dave.  If you happen to use yours in the next few days, I'd be interested to know if the Channel LCD contrast setting is limited to values between 35 & 39.  Soundcraft says this is normal, so I guess I'll live with it.  I did buy from a reputable vendor so I'm not terribly worried about anything.  I've burned it in for a couple days, with no power failures, display crashes or anything like that. So in that sense, it seems stable.  In one of my regular gigs we have everything from M32 to XL8.  I'm not sure if the M32 is really more powerful or just that the Soundcraft approach is deceivingly simple.  Either way, as you say, at this price point who can complain, especially with the potential to take up to 80 channels to mix.

In my experience:

1)  My Si Impact also runs warm.

2)  My Encoder is a bit slow - but not jumpy.  You have to settle into the rhythm of this console.

3)  Haven't run mine in bright daylight conditions.  LED's seem fine inside rooms.

4)  Can't answer that question - sorry.

I, too, was lured by the low price of a B Stock (reportedly, Factory Refurbished) Impact.  The one I received randomly shut off.  At first, I thought it was me being too twitchy on adjustments, but I could just leave it running with music playing through and it would shut off after an hour or so.

Fortunately, I purchased through good, Authorized Soundcraft dealer.  After a fairly long call with Tech Support, a brand new Impact was dispatched - with return shipping label for my B Stock one.

Hope you get things sorted out.  I agree, the M32 is more powerful, but it's also 74% more at MAP new-to-new.

Dave
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John T. Cotton

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Dave Pluke

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2018, 10:22:24 AM »

Thanks, Dave.  If you happen to use yours in the next few days, I'd be interested to know if the Channel LCD contrast setting is limited to values between 35 & 39.  Soundcraft says this is normal, so I guess I'll live with it.

John,

I'd never paid attention to that setting but, yep, 35 to 39 is the adjustable range and, of those, only 36 and 37 are legible, IMHO.

In hindsight, rather than using that strange range, programmers might have been better off with 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% designations for contrast.  Especially considering they used percentages for the Brightness setting  ::) .

Dave
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Michael Lawrence

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #12 on: July 13, 2018, 01:51:50 PM »

Thanks, Dave.  If you happen to use yours in the next few days, I'd be interested to know if the Channel LCD contrast setting is limited to values between 35 & 39.  Soundcraft says this is normal, so I guess I'll live with it.  I did buy from a reputable vendor so I'm not terribly worried about anything.  I've burned it in for a couple days, with no power failures, display crashes or anything like that. So in that sense, it seems stable.  In one of my regular gigs we have everything from M32 to XL8.  I'm not sure if the M32 is really more powerful or just that the Soundcraft approach is deceivingly simple.  Either way, as you say, at this price point who can complain, especially with the potential to take up to 80 channels to mix.

John-
Just to add my $0.02, we have an Impact that also runs warm, takes bloody ages to boot, and has the same issue with the scribble strip contrast. Our firmware is current.

As others have said here, the desk "does" what it says it does, but in my opinion it definitely falls short in some "usability" specifics.
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Patrick Tracy

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2018, 02:04:45 PM »

I use two of them at work and they both run warm.

[Edit] The ones we have are Expression 1.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2018, 10:02:22 PM by Patrick Tracy »
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John T. Cotton

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2018, 10:59:44 PM »

Thanks, Dave! First confirmation that mine isn't the only one.  I suspect they went back and coded that that way to make up for some limitation in hardware.  Definitely strange.

John,

I'd never paid attention to that setting but, yep, 35 to 39 is the adjustable range and, of those, only 36 and 37 are legible, IMHO.

In hindsight, rather than using that strange range, programmers might have been better off with 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% designations for contrast.  Especially considering they used percentages for the Brightness setting  ::) .

Dave
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Danny J. Avila

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #15 on: July 15, 2018, 08:53:49 PM »

...Definitely strange.


The Soundcraft Si compact platform is equipped with the same Power Supply for all models from Expression, Compact and newer ones, located in the bottom left of the desk. In models like Performer and Impact where the additional channels LCD and backlight leds draw a little more current,  Soundcraft installed a 12Vdc fan over the Power Supply to help it dissipate the heat, which could have some struggle to find its way out of the desk frame, mostly with road cases that block the desk lower front grille or has a raised doggie house for cables in the back.

The data lagging/skipping behavior of the rotary encoder may indicate a dirty condition of its internal contacts and is common in some devices using this control type when are stored in humid environment or exposed to condensation/dew during storing or transporting process. This could be easily solved using Electronics Contact Cleaner sprays (trying not to flood the desk with it). A couple of small spray applications very close to the metal axis (knob removed), but not pressing it while rotating should do the trick.

 :)
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Ben Easler

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #16 on: July 15, 2018, 09:00:05 PM »

I've always thought the rotary on the Impact was quite good but the touch screen seems to require a bit more pressure to get a response compared to the other Si series boards I have used.
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Ben Easler

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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #17 on: July 15, 2018, 09:04:46 PM »

Gain structure:  is -18dBFS nominal on this console?  Setting the oscillator to 0dB and assigning to a buss seems to result in a slightly lower than -18 level.
I believe this is normal. The oscillator at 0 dB should read -18. Or are you concerned it is reading too low you mean? I'll double check on mine.
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Re: Questions for Soundcraft SI Impact owners/users
« Reply #17 on: July 15, 2018, 09:04:46 PM »


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