New sound desk: allen and heath qu32 or Soundcraft si ex3

[antlear]

Hi

 

I have the potential opportunity to purchase a new digital sound desk for a shcool I work at.

I have been considering Allen and heath qu32 and Soundcraft si ex3.

Both desks seem great but the Qu32 seems more restricted on the outputs compared to the si ex3.

 

What are your opinions?

 

Thanks

 

Ant

[toby]

hi ant,

 

Ill be honest I havent used the QU32 or the 16 however I have a soft spot for a&h desks from the older days of large scale analogue. However - I have used an SI once & found it to be very simple, sounded pretty good BUT at times not particularly responsive to flicking between layers. It will be a matter of time before someone brings up the x32 (behringer...but midas.....though is a behringer......thats made with some midas parts.....sort of....) So I will beat them to it and put that in the works. Its extremely well priced and from all accounts a good reliable, simple desk. Out of curiosity - you say the qu32 is more restricted on outputs - It totals at 24 all be it fixed type outputs. Thats more then an M7 (though not fixed type)

 

Your best bet I would say is to call your local supplier & get them to demo to you. If you don't have one where are you based?

[gibbothegreat]

The question you should be asking is whether each desk's facilities will meet your requirements. If they do, then the fact that the other might exceed it is probably academic, so to speak... Both fine desks, I don't think you'd regret choosing either.

[david.elsbury]

Give them a try, preferably in your space. I get on better with the sound craft offering but they are both very usable desks with their own quirks amd advantages :)

[ojc123]

After much consideration I plumped for the Soundcraft for our school. It seemed to offer a good transition from analogue and I liked the way it works. I've had no problem between layers. It sounds well with the HK Linear speakers. My only observation is that the fader knobs come off a little too easily. I've turned this to advantage by training the more heavy handed students to be gentle.

 

Make sure you get the Multidigital card so you can use the stagebox and the recording facility at the same time. It isn't standard as far as I know.