Anyone heard of Roland discontinuing M-5000?

Bruce Bergman

Bruce Bergman

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Nov 15, 2018
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Hi folks --

Several of my Facebook proaudio discussion groups from over in Europe are indicating that Roland's getting out (or is out) of the digital console biz. There have been several independent postings where, for example, someone mentioned that they've stopped firmware development completely (there were four releases in 2016, then nothing until Jan 2018, and now nothing again since), that the M-5000C was being sold only with quantity in stock, and that the M-5000 itself was not being produced any longer.

I love a rumor as much as the next person, but one of the posters works for a big audio sales house in EU and can't say much more, but definitely is not refuting any of his "hints" at this rumor. I'm wondering if it's just a EU cessation, or if they are globally getting out of the large format digital consoles? It wouldn't surprise me if they were, since they have given virtually no love to this console, but still, it would be disappointing. Considering our investment in this particular console, I'm a bit concerned.

Has anyone heard anything else along this line?

Thanks!
Bruce
 
Haven't heard that in my circles but there's not much Roland represented...

Not sure how many they sell, world-wide, but very useful kit that I've seen mostly in installations.

Perhaps the bigger question: What does Roland have waiting to fill the M-5000 spot? It was announced almost exactly 4 years ago, I'd be surprised if they OEL the model without a significant replacement waiting in the wings.
 
Thanks folks. So far my poking around the web can't confirm or deny, but the discussion forums on FB seem to be strongly in the "it's dead" camp. We have one and enjoy it, but the lack of firmware upgrades and fixes is frustrating...
 
Tim McCulloch said:
Perhaps the bigger question: What does Roland have waiting to fill the M-5000 spot? It was announced almost exactly 4 years ago, I'd be surprised if they OEL the model without a significant replacement waiting in the wings.
Click to expand...

Roland had a nearly complete, high end mixer, that they decided not to bring to market, years ahead of the M5000. Some of that R&D made its way into the M5000.

With as little market share as Roland has with over-$10k MAP mixers - I wouldn't be surprised if they focused only on the sub-$10k market. This doesn't mean they can't design great products, rather that they struggle and aren't given many chances at the deeper end of the pool.

Just my opinion - by not releasing a higher end mixer many years ago, they lightly painted themselves into a corner at the lower price point of the market. The M5000, if it hadn't been for the DLive, may have been the second chance they needed. Their personal monitor mixers are cool, but even those have been upstaged by the ME-1.

I just compared the new, lower M5000 cost to DLive C3500 cost (most apples to apples in my opinion) - and the M5000 is higher. Add personal monitor mixers, as many HoW users include, and the price is slanted even farther away from them.

I'm not optimistic about a replaccement. If they do - I'll certainly give it a fair shot. What I would hate to see is a lot of R&D dumped into an "M6000" and have it tank. I'd rather see more R&D dumped into their video side, so they could position themselves in the "more reliable/better than BMD" gap. That is a vacuum waiting for a solution which Roland is poised to focus on if they choose.

 
Caleb Dick said:
I just compared the new, lower M5000 cost to DLive C3500 cost (most apples to apples in my opinion) - and the M5000 is higher. Add personal monitor mixers, as many HoW users include, and the price is slanted even farther away from them.
Click to expand...

Yes, couldn't agree more. The price point just was too high of a hurdle for many. The M-5000C was more reasonable, but not by much. Other than a beautiful large touchscreen, it's hard to justify a > $40k console in that class. The only real benefit I saw from it was the ORCA complete flexibility in in/outs, but even then, we ended up needing it or using it far less than expected.
 
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