Re: Digital Boards - Sound Quality
Well, may as well chime in here.
A vast majority of my job is mixing IEM on LS9-32. Up to 8 stereo mixes, up around the 28 channel mark on both gigs. For what it is, the LS9 is a pretty solid and affordable digital mixer that can do 16 outputs and 32 ch on a sends on fader layer. This I like. Sure, the M7 and a lot of others also do this as well, if you like reaching all over the place on a bigger surface. But for 32 faders at any given time and being able to check it in as luggage when flying (in the right case......mine is 2" shy of being oversize, but does weigh in at 71 lbs in case. Still, it does get to ride on over 150 planes a year with minimal hassles).
It is what it is. Is it the best sounding digital? Hell no. Do I like it for larger system intensive FOH mixing? Nope. Is it a solid little decent sounding IEM console (or conventional wedge console)? You bet your ass it is. Especially at its price point. Especially when you are wrangling more than 4 mono mixes and 16 channels. Is the onboard processing and work flow good enough to do the job? Yep. Even better if you spend a minute assigning your UDK for mix selection and the like. Would I prefer a different console? Sure (I would also prefer to be rich, 100lbs lighter, 10 years younger, and 10% less agitated half the time), but you gotta use the tools given to you and make the best of what is in front of you. Would an external clock help? Maybe......then again, are you really going to notice outside on a windy day after a long flight or load in after the little too loud show the night before after you didn't get enough sleep on the rig that is almost big enough to do the job properly? Hey, it's your time and money, how you spend it is up to you.
