I've been following the discussion of the current crop of mid-level digital mixers with interest but do not recall this particular subject being discussed. So forgive me if all this is old hat. I've looked at block diagrams for Behringer X32, Midas Pro 1, A&H iLive and QU, and Soundcraft Si. Here's what I see:
Behringer X32
Gate -> EQ -> Comp
with pre-fader aux available pre EQ, pre comp, and post comp
Midas Pro 1
Gate -> Comp -> EQ
or
EQ -> Gate -> Comp
with pre-fader aux available only at end of chain
A&H iLive
Gate -> EQ -> Comp
with pre-fader aux available at any point
A&H QU
Gate -> EQ -> Comp
with pre-fader aux available pre and post comp
Soundcraft Si
Gate -> Comp -> EQ
with pre-fader aux available pre and post EQ
It's interesting to me that there is no general agreement on this. I'm also surprised that it is not common to provide a pre-fader aux send that is pre comp so that, for example, an uncompressed monitor mix can be derived without using an additional channel. Only the A&H and Behringer offerings can do this.
I'd be delighted to hear folks' opinions of the relative utility (and relevance) of these various configurations. Thanks.
--Frank
