Re: X16 Preview
I have no doubt that Tim has lots of experience. It's pretty apparent by his posts that he has a breadth and depth of experience. What is also equally obvious is he's at a level that is far above these products. And there's nothing wrong with that. But because they don't fit his, yours or anyone else's needs doesn't mean there isn't a market or a fit for them somewhere. Again, Behringer thinks so - as does Mackie and at least two other makers.
This space is changing. I'm somewhat amused because I went through the transition from film photography to digital photography. With film the bar was pretty high. Each picture had a cost. To be really creative you had to have a large number of narrow, specific skills in the darkroom that required specialized rooms, equipment, chemicals and skills. Photographers got comfortable.
Digital changed all that. You can now do things with <$1K of gear and a computer that the guys with film could never dream of. Heck, the camera on my iPhone is better than all but the last two digital camera's I have owned, and iPhone photos are ending up on the covers of magazines. To say that digital disrupted photography and that the "old guard" resented and despised the changes is an understatement! The same thing is happening in audio. People that just a few years ago would never had to have been able to afford equipment that provided functionality the X16 provides can now get to it. Is it perfect? Is it "pro" level? Nope. But then again it doesn't have to be. It's neither good nor bad, just different. It may not be to your, Tim's or other "old timers" tastes - and I don't mean to be cruel when I say this but let's just cut the crap and be perfectly blunt - who cares? If it works for people, just like with digital photography, people are going to utilize the new tools and capabilities available to them. And just like with digital photography and desktop publishing in the 80's (too many fonts anyone?) some people are going to do it better than others. Oh well. It's the nature of the beast. So you can either adjust to the emerging market reality or remain grumpy and curmudgeonly. Uli announced they have sold over 20,000 X32s. You and Tim could be 100% right - at the end of the day it's irrelevant. The market is shifting - at least part of it. Throwing cold water on it because you don't agree isn't productive. Some old saying about peeing in windstorms is coming into mind.....
If you, Tim or anyone else want to see a good example of how to deal with market disruption, go listen to some photography podcasts and hear how, even today, traditional photographers have had to adapt and re-image themselves to match the changes in the market. Because like it or not, your market is changing. You can adapt, parlay that experience into a tangible asset and figure out how to market and leverage it, or let it go to waste. But just like with photography, it's pretty clear that the "status quo" in audio is going through a similar transformation. Complaining about the changes or criticizing manufacturers for meeting market demand isn't going to pay the bills any more than photographers who complained that "amateurs" are killing the wedding market worked for wedding photographers. Instead the smart wedding photographers learned how to be savvy business people and marketers in addition to their core photography skills enough to pull an Apple and skim the cream of the gigs while leaving the bulk of the low paying gigs to the "amateurs"; mainly by leveraging reputation and word of mouth. That's one way to deal with a changing market.
