Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[David Buckley]

The best way to make money on a product is to design it well from the start (Check), re-use the base technology across many products (Check), then utilize it as long as possible by keeping the feature list up to date while you are working on the next big thing

it's all about the software.  Software is free (NRE costs aside), and gives the manufacturer the ability to enhance the product, and to compete with others long after the box has left the factory, so enabling one's customers to have the perception of long term value.

But all that aside: what made Beri a usable proposition was they fixed the quality problem.

[Scott Bolt]

it's all about the software.  Software is free (NRE costs aside), and gives the manufacturer the ability to enhance the product, and to compete with others long after the box has left the factory, so enabling one's customers to have the perception of long term value.

But all that aside: what made Beri a usable proposition was they fixed the quality problem.

The NRE is definitely not free.  A software development team .... even a small one, would consist of:

• Build and Release Engineer
• 1-3 Validation Engineers
• 1-2 Firmware Engineers
• 1-2 Client Software Engineers
• 1 Program manager

If you take into account "fully loaded" costs of a head (ie building, management, legal, IT, benefits, HR, etc, etc), a common number to use is ~ 200K per engineer.... so that "little" team needs to make between 800K and 1.6M a year to remain profitable.

If that team is working on "free" upgrades to the X32, they are NOT working on new products that can generate new revenue.

I do agree with your assessment on the quality issue though.  I suspect that Behringer has a much larger quality assurance team than I have listed.  In addition, automated testing and detailed FMEA work up front have added to Behringer's ability to build very high volumes of X32's at a very high level of quality.

It costs more up-front, but it pays off with high volume and customer satisfaction.  Unfortunately, these arguments are difficult to make in a board presentation since they are "soft" numbers.  There is always at least one bozo in the exec team that shows off his/her ability to show cost savings on pure time and material graphs ("hard" numbers)..... you can tell which side I favor

I would also say that Behringer's attention to customer service has also brought them up to a new level.

If I had to guess, I would say that a V3 firmware will cost Behringer in the area of 1M-2M$ when all is said and done.  This includes subsequent fixes to the update when field issues are found, the research to determine root cause, and the effort to support the increased customer support for the release.

The ROI for this investment is "soft" money.  It is measured in continued sales of the existing X32 against an increasingly strong competitor products.

On the flip side, it should give Behringer breathing room for several years to develop a next gen mixer to replace the X32 with that will regain their technology lead over the competition.

It is hard to imagine that Behringer will ever enjoy the technology lead they had with the initial release of the X32 platform though.  The competition has awakened and is busy at work playing catch-up now.  They won't be caught again so easily.

[David Buckley]

The NRE is definitely not free.

We're violently agreeing Scott!  I said "Software is free (NRE costs aside)".  Yes, as you note, NRE costs are huge.  But the cost to install that upgraded bit of firmware in every X32 out there, well, nothing.  Stick the image on a website, let the customer do the work.

[Scott Bolt]

We're violently agreeing Scott!  I said "Software is free (NRE costs aside)".  Yes, as you note, NRE costs are huge.  But the cost to install that upgraded bit of firmware in every X32 out there, well, nothing.  Stick the image on a website, let the customer do the work.

Yes, we are in violent agreement

Deployment of a firmware update is nearly 0.

[Jeff Foster]

I am very interested in a V2 X32, but I don't expect to see it for some time yet.

I thought we were already on the second gen of the X32.  The change was made when the clear buttons became frosted and the consoles shipped with the X-USB card instead of the X-UF card.  The price also adjusted slightly at that time.  Functionally, there is no difference between v1 and v2.

[John L Nobile]

I recently got an X32 for monitors and yes, it does look a little different from my 2 1/2 year old one.

I haven't directly A/B'd them but I put the new one at FOH and it sounds a little brighter than the old one.

[Corey Scogin]

In that period of time, I also suspect that Behringer will release the long awaited (and mostly forgotten by most) V3 firmware to add spice to its X32 line in the interim..... at least that is how I would go about it.

Speaking of V3 firmware, was this released before today and I just didn't see it or were they sitting on it for a month? I noticed the M32 / X32 Mix apps on iOS updated today so I went to look for a firmware to match.

3.04 (2016-08-24):
  improvements:
  - PREV cue button function fixed
  - gate and dyn module gain graphs always show active gain curve (in grey when module is not active)
  - automix gain reduction meter scaling corrected
 
3.00 (2016-08-04):
  improvements:
  - indication of available outputs on routing page corrected for models with 8 outs
  - fixed issue with send mutes when dca bank was selected in sends on fader mode
  - compatibility with new editor version
  - rearranged screen encoders on sends page for consistency
  - show/snippet name redraw issue fixed
  - monitor metering point changed (to indicate output clipping)
  - channel name/icon no longer copied (odd->even) when link is activated
  - -action/clearsolo now also deactivates key solo
  new features:
  - 8 channel (1..8) automixing with two groups
  - phase invert on outputs, aux, aes/ebu, P16
  - xover filter types on main and mono/center
  - x-touch remote control (MIDI/Ethernet)

[Luke Geis]

about time they got polarity reversal on the outputs from the routing directly. It was always a PITA to do it from a matrix or re-route through a channel.

[Tim McCulloch]

Speaking of V3 firmware, was this released before today and I just didn't see it or were they sitting on it for a month? I noticed the M32 / X32 Mix apps on iOS updated today so I went to look for a firmware to match.

It wasn't there 6 hours ago....

I think I'll update my X32 Rack because it's here at home...

edit ps. the release notes are dated July 4, 2016.

[Jay Marr]

It wasn't there 6 hours ago....

I think I'll update my X32 Rack because it's here at home...

edit ps. the release notes are dated July 4, 2016.

Would love a report out as to if you find issues.
After the last set of issues (on the iOS app) with losing mute indicators and sends to the matrix outs, I'm not going to be an earlier adopter again. 😀

[ProSoundWeb Community]