Re: New Midas M32 Console
I would like to thank many of the posters to this forum, especially John Roberts, for their input and kind words of support. I'm an engineer, not a marketeer, and my words were intended as a true reflection of the development of the M32 console, I hope they are taken as such.
Just to clear up a few points:-
The Midas PRO Fader is fitted as standard to all PRO series consoles, from PRO1 to the new flagship PRO X. We use the exact same fader design on M32 with only a slight difference in the mounting bracket. We've put a video where we describe the development of the PRO Fader, I hope this will help explain our motives for creating our own motorised PRO Fader.
The X32 microphone preamplifiers were designed by our Manchester team, so the 'Designed by Midas' description is correct. The M32 audio input and output circuit designs are different from the X32 and the exact same ones from the PRO1, PRO2 and PRO2C consoles and the DL251 and DL252 stage boxes. I'm sure someone will take it upon themselves to compare the PCB assemblies when M32 hits the market, I'll save you the trouble - they are the same circuit designs. For information, the preamplifier in the Behringer ADA8200 (but not the ADA8000) is identical to the original Midas Venice, so the Midas branding on the product artwork is equally true.
People might ask what Bentley or other high-performance cars have to do with our mixing console design. Initially we were of the same opinion but during the industrial design process we learned a lot about structural design and material science. We learnt how to achieve maximum rigidness while employing lightweight materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre.
We wanted to use carbon fibre because it is extremely durable, rigid and lightweight, but it also has an excellent touch and feel which we felt was important for the armrest section. We are the first company to use carbon fibre in a mixing console. The manufacturing process is very complex as it requires very high temperatures and extensive manual processing. Our biggest challenge was to simultaneously "bake" carbon fibre in conjunction with an aluminium core, which means processing two materials with very different temperature coefficients. This is an expensive process that is used in the automotive industry and in particular related to high performance cars where rigidness and weight are critical.
We've actually had quite a lot of new product activity with Klark Teknik recently, focussing on our AES50 networking technology to meet the requests of customers who have come up against the physical distance limits of Ethernet technology. The DN9610 AES50 Repeater and the DN9620 and DN9680 AES50 Extenders are all new products, you can read more about them on our website.
Whilst I am not going to divulge details of current development projects, any suggestions that we would let a brand which such a great heritage go by the wayside are unfounded. For everyone's interest, we recently completed a very extensive history project to document the heritage of our valuable Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound brands.
Whilst there have been some comments about the Music Group and its impact on Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, all I can say is that we are grateful for the very large financial investment that has been made in our Professional Division with a new dedicated R&D building in Manchester and an increase from our original team of eight engineers there to the over 70 research and development staff we have now. Trust me, I would have wished for this kind of resource when I was designing products such as the DN9848 loudspeaker processor, the DN9340 and DN9344 Helix digital equalisers and the DN370 graphic equaliser a decade or so ago!
Kind regards,
Al Walker
Senior Engineer, Systems
MUSIC Group
I would like to thank many of the posters to this forum, especially John Roberts, for their input and kind words of support. I'm an engineer, not a marketeer, and my words were intended as a true reflection of the development of the M32 console, I hope they are taken as such.
Just to clear up a few points:-
The Midas PRO Fader is fitted as standard to all PRO series consoles, from PRO1 to the new flagship PRO X. We use the exact same fader design on M32 with only a slight difference in the mounting bracket. We've put a video where we describe the development of the PRO Fader, I hope this will help explain our motives for creating our own motorised PRO Fader.
The X32 microphone preamplifiers were designed by our Manchester team, so the 'Designed by Midas' description is correct. The M32 audio input and output circuit designs are different from the X32 and the exact same ones from the PRO1, PRO2 and PRO2C consoles and the DL251 and DL252 stage boxes. I'm sure someone will take it upon themselves to compare the PCB assemblies when M32 hits the market, I'll save you the trouble - they are the same circuit designs. For information, the preamplifier in the Behringer ADA8200 (but not the ADA8000) is identical to the original Midas Venice, so the Midas branding on the product artwork is equally true.
People might ask what Bentley or other high-performance cars have to do with our mixing console design. Initially we were of the same opinion but during the industrial design process we learned a lot about structural design and material science. We learnt how to achieve maximum rigidness while employing lightweight materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre.
We wanted to use carbon fibre because it is extremely durable, rigid and lightweight, but it also has an excellent touch and feel which we felt was important for the armrest section. We are the first company to use carbon fibre in a mixing console. The manufacturing process is very complex as it requires very high temperatures and extensive manual processing. Our biggest challenge was to simultaneously "bake" carbon fibre in conjunction with an aluminium core, which means processing two materials with very different temperature coefficients. This is an expensive process that is used in the automotive industry and in particular related to high performance cars where rigidness and weight are critical.
We've actually had quite a lot of new product activity with Klark Teknik recently, focussing on our AES50 networking technology to meet the requests of customers who have come up against the physical distance limits of Ethernet technology. The DN9610 AES50 Repeater and the DN9620 and DN9680 AES50 Extenders are all new products, you can read more about them on our website.
Whilst I am not going to divulge details of current development projects, any suggestions that we would let a brand which such a great heritage go by the wayside are unfounded. For everyone's interest, we recently completed a very extensive history project to document the heritage of our valuable Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound brands.
Whilst there have been some comments about the Music Group and its impact on Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, all I can say is that we are grateful for the very large financial investment that has been made in our Professional Division with a new dedicated R&D building in Manchester and an increase from our original team of eight engineers there to the over 70 research and development staff we have now. Trust me, I would have wished for this kind of resource when I was designing products such as the DN9848 loudspeaker processor, the DN9340 and DN9344 Helix digital equalisers and the DN370 graphic equaliser a decade or so ago!
Kind regards,
Al Walker
Senior Engineer, Systems
MUSIC Group
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~:-(~:sad: If the exchange rate goes up any more....