Did Soundcraft ever sort out the Ui12/Ui16?

[madanglian]

Hi, I am looking at installing a remotely controlled PA/sound system in our church hall. Basically I am trying to avoid having wires trailing everywhere because of trip hazard for kids etc.

On paper, the Soundcraft ui12 seems a good fit for the mixer in this system as I am unlikely to need more than 12 channels, and I would be able to position it in such a place as to be able to connect to a wired network, and run it off a laptop connected to the same network via wifi.

However, there are a lot of negative reviews for this product, mainly noisy pre-amps and network drop outs.

However (again) most of these reviews seem to be several years old, and I can't find much in terms of recent reviews or reaction.

Does anybody know whether more recent examples are any better?

(btw I am already aware of the Behringer XR12, but prefer the ui12 as: a) it's slightly cheaper b) the Behringer has a whole load of digital effects that I would never use c) the Behringer runs off an app, whereas the Soundcraft runs off HTML5, completely platform agnostic)

[Alec]

The wrong product at the right price is still the wrong product.  Do you really want connection issues, that people still have, or noisy phantom power pre-s, that people still have, or the janky PSUs?  Don't be over-persuaded by the HTML5 browser control, while some love it, I hated it when I had to use it.  Thankfully, Mixing Station is available to rescue you if you need it.

I don't know why so many people still seem desperate to follow the path of woe that the UI12/16 have been over the years.  Not to mention that Soundcraft are essentially a dead company now.

You're clearly in the low budget arena, nothing wrong with that.  Just get the XR mixer

[Stuart91]

I ended up running a school Christmas show from a ui16 (with some trepidation) and was quite impressed. No obvious glitches or dropouts and I managed to do everything I wanted with it. However other people are clearly having issues with it, and Soundcraft have been gutted by their corporate overlords. Behringer's support isn't exactly legendary either, but they have a far larger user base and look like they will continue to release new products going forwards. 

 

HTML5 was an interesting way of handling the control. I found it OK, but realistically it's not that much of a problem to install an app, and in a church situation may prevent random people accessing the console (unless you keep tight control of logins)

A relatively inexpensive (refurb?) tablet dedicated to running the app is probably the way to go. Tying up a laptop for desk control seems like overkill, and touch control makes the task much easier. 

 

[madanglian]

Thanks for the replies! Sounds like the XR12 is the better option.

[david.elsbury]

The UI24 is reportedly much better, with vastly improved preamps 

[sleah]

I have a UI16 that got cheap about 3/4 years ago. Don't use it much. I read about the drop outs so have an external router with the internal wifi disabled - if you leave it enabled but ignore it apparently you can still get problems. I've had no issues but then I'm never more than about 6m away...

Sound quality has been perfectly fine for my use. Sometimes just 4 radio mics for kids performing songs and sometimes with a few rifle mics for picking up kids on a small stage.

All that said, I'd suggest going with the Behringer due to the number of reported issues with the Soundcraft. As others have said, they are no longer being developed, the last firmware was years ago, it's fair to say they are now obsolete!

[J Pearce]

If you go with the Behringer XR range, I'd advise using a good quality external access point or router. The onboard one isn't great, and being onboard often ends up in non-ideal locations for wifi coverage (covered in cable, in a rack, under the stage, etc.).

We use a XR18 for foyer events and other pop-ups - it's a great bit of kit and works very well.

[Alec]

On 3/14/2024 at 1:16 PM, Stuart91 said:

A relatively inexpensive (refurb?) tablet dedicated to running the app is probably the way to go. Tying up a laptop for desk control seems like overkill, and touch control makes the task much easier.

I'd agree with that - much easier to mix from a tablet than a laptop.  And, with your simple requirements, using a smart phone is perfectly reasonable.

14 hours ago, david.elsbury said:

The UI24 is reportedly much better, with vastly improved preamps 

And likely outside the seemingly tight budget for a modest channel count.

11 hours ago, J Pearce said:

If you go with the Behringer XR range, I'd advise using a good quality external access point or router. The onboard one isn't great, and being onboard often ends up in non-ideal locations for wifi coverage (covered in cable, in a rack, under the stage, etc.).

We use a XR18 for foyer events and other pop-ups - it's a great bit of kit and works very well.

The OP already said they were planning to connect to a wired network, so that was already in hand.

I helped a church that moved into temporary accommodation for 9 months during a refurb.  They left behind an analog desk, and returned to an x32.  We deployed my XR18 for the interim period, where it was a setup/teardown every week, most notably for ease of deployment.  For the various volunteer engineers, it was their first taste of digital mixers and mixing on glass - and was impressive how quicky they all took to it.  And had the side benefit of pre-training them for the bigger setup when they finally moved back in.

XR series are a cracking little utility workhorse at the bottom end of the budget.  For their size/cost, they're very flexible in terms of the I/O, they sound just fine, they're as reliable as anything else, and they're very well supported with third party tools. 

[david.elsbury]

17 hours ago, Alec said:

 

And likely outside the seemingly tight budget for a modest channel count.

 

Yes, I ageee. But, if the OP is really still keen on the Soundcraft because of the HTML5 thing, useful information 😊

[madanglian]

Yeah, it wasn't a deal-clincher. I just liked the idea of being able to use my Chromebook, which is nice and light, and the battery lasts for about 4 hours.

I'm not keen on tablets - I like something you can put down and it'll stay where it's put - but I can see how a touch screen would make the whole job a lot easier. I don't think my fingers and my eyesight are up to using a phone 😆

[Alec]

4 hours ago, madanglian said:

Yeah, it wasn't a deal-clincher. I just liked the idea of being able to use my Chromebook, which is nice and light, and the battery lasts for about 4 hours.

I'm not keen on tablets - I like something you can put down and it'll stay where it's put - but I can see how a touch screen would make the whole job a lot easier. I don't think my fingers and my eyesight are up to using a phone 😆

A non-touchscreen device is probably the least friendly thing to mix on.  If your fingers and eyesight are not up to using a phone, you will probably struggle with fader operation using a mouse or, even worse, a trackpad.

If you're really wedded to the idea of a laptop (and it's an odd thing to want so strongly), then you could go for a touchscreen laptop, but suspect you wouldn't want additional spend.

Not sure what you're saying about tablets, but I happily put my tablet down when I'm not actively using it.

Are you the only person that will ever use this?  What happens when you're not there?  A lot of churches end up with multiple people mixing.  BYOD can work well there.

Don't be too sold on the platform agnostic concept of browser based control.  In theory, it's great.  But people have had issues with OS/browser updates causing problems with it.  And it's highly unlikely to get *any* further update from the vendor.  Thankfully, Mixing Station would come to your rescue.

In the end, though, your choice...

[madanglian]

2 hours ago, Alec said:

If you're really wedded to the idea of a laptop (and it's an odd thing to want so strongly),

Well, I'm not, really, it's just that it would be another round of research to find a tablet that fits the need at a decent price. I'd also need to get a mount so that I can use it with one hand, as I'll also be doing slides and the streaming software (via RDP on two other laptops) at the same time.

[Alec]

46 minutes ago, madanglian said:

Well, I'm not, really, it's just that it would be another round of research to find a tablet that fits the need at a decent price. I'd also need to get a mount so that I can use it with one hand, as I'll also be doing slides and the streaming software (via RDP on two other laptops) at the same time.

I'll save you the time, then.  If budget is tight, get a Kindle Fire, 7" or 10".  10" is more pricey, but much better.  Either will support Mixing Station just fine.

Trust me, you'd soon regret trying to mix on a non touchscreen laptop if you're juggling other stuff.