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[Tamar Ghobria]

I am looking to purchase a rackmountable 16 channel digital console that has the ability to run a snake via cat 5 cable...application is corporate A/V jobs and some dj support ... I currently have the presonus 16.4 but they do allow for a digital snake and I find the layout a bit counterintutive...I have looked at the behringer x32 compact which seems to be very popular...What are some other good options? Thx in advance

[MannyChandna]

I am looking to purchase a rackmountable 16 channel digital console that has the ability to run a snake via cat 5 cable...application is corporate A/V jobs and some dj support ... I currently have the presonus 16.4 but they do allow for a digital snake and I find the layout a bit counterintutive...I have looked at the behringer x32 compact which seems to be very popular...What are some other good options? Thx in advance

Hey Tamar.  Take a look at the Midas M32R and Soundcraft Si Expression 1.

[David Simpson]

I am looking to purchase a rackmountable 16 channel digital console that has the ability to run a snake via cat 5 cable...application is corporate A/V jobs and some dj support ... I currently have the presonus 16.4 but they do allow for a digital snake and I find the layout a bit counterintutive...I have looked at the behringer x32 compact which seems to be very popular...What are some other good options? Thx in advance

The Allen and Heath QU-16 is another great option. Look around the forums, there has been much discussion on this. Behringer / Midas, Soundcraft, and Allen and Heath all make great boards with very similar features in this end of the market. It all comes down to the features, accessories, and layout you are looking for in your particular application, and pricepoint for that total package.

~Dave

[Tamar Ghobria]

The Allen and Heath QU-16 is another great option. Look around the forums, there has been much discussion on this. Behringer / Midas, Soundcraft, and Allen and Heath all make great boards with very similar features in this end of the market. It all comes down to the features, accessories, and layout you are looking for in your particular application, and pricepoint for that total package.

~Dave

I was watching a tutorial on it a few minutes ago...I love the layout...How does it sound compared to presonus?

[David Simpson]

To my ears, I think it is a definite improvement from the Presonus. Your best bet is to see if you can demo any of the boards you are interested in and listen for yourself. Sound quality can be very subjective, especially when comparing products designed to compete at the same point in the market.

~Dave

[Dave Garoutte]

A couple of years ago, we did a quick comparison between a Presonus and a Soundcraft Expression.
I setup two identical vocal mics right next to each other and sang into them.
One routed to the SC and the other to the Presonus.
The sound was noticeably better on the SC to the three of us listening, including the Presonus owner.
The presonus seemed thinner and more edgy.
Subjective, but obvious.

[Mike Pyle]

...I have looked at the behringer x32 compact which seems to be very popular...

The X32 Compact is not rack mountable. The Producer is, but you would lose the digital scribble strips. The Midas M32R is also rack mountable. Note that while the compact format X32 / M32 boards may have limited onboard i/o, they all have 40 channel mix capability with added stage boxes.

[Christopher Irwin]

Hey Tamar.  Take a look at the Midas M32R and Soundcraft Si Expression 1.

I love the Soundcraft consoles for this pricepoint (Digico SD11 if you want to jump up a league).  I have now made portable racks on wheels (that include wireless, drawers, recorder, etc built in) with both SiCompact 1 (predecessor to the SiExpression) and SiPerformer1. I have also used many of the others consoles and my preference is definitely the SiPerformer.

I wouldn't want to work without scribble strips. The VCA's come in real handy. The flexibility of putting faders wherever you want is really nice (most other small console don't do that). The DMX has even come in handy a few times for basic stage wash/house lights. The digital snake works really well and is reasonably priced - I've heard that using a digital snake with the QU16 is quite difficult, though haven't tried the snake myself with it. Needless to say, it's not perfect, every console has it's pros & cons; I definitely recommend getting your hands on them before purchasing.

[Rob Bernstein]

 I've heard that using a digital snake with the QU16 is quite difficult, though haven't tried the snake myself with it. Needless to say, it's not perfect, every console has it's pros & cons; I definitely recommend getting your hands on them before purchasing.
[/quote]

Not sure who you heard that from, but it is actually quite easy.
Plug the dSNAKE into the console and select the inputs/outputs from the routing page.
That's it.

[Rick Powell]

The X32 Compact is not rack mountable. The Producer is, but you would lose the digital scribble strips. The Midas M32R is also rack mountable. Note that while the compact format X32 / M32 boards may have limited onboard i/o, they all have 40 channel mix capability with added stage boxes.

We have a Midas M32R...the VCAs and scribble strips are definitely a plus, and it is a deep board with many routing and effects capabilities. 16 x 8 I/O is enough for most smaller jobs, but we also have the DL32 stage box that gives us 32x16 I/O. Plus, they are about $1000 cheaper than they were a few months ago...big price cut.

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