Re: X32 Discussion
Dear all,
Since my name was mentioned in one of the recent posts, please allow me to comment.
Within only a few months of delivery, we have sold over 20,000 X32’s and demand continues to be overwhelming. Distributors and dealers are telling us that the X32 is the most successful digital mixing console they have introduced to date.
We are very proud of the success of the X32 as it represents not only a milestone in our Company history but also demonstrates the wonderful cooperation between our sister companies Midas and Behringer. The development of the console has taken over 4 years and many people have worked extremely hard to design, develop and manufacture this product.
As with all complex products, it is fully expected that there are some technical glitches and I believe it is fair to say, that this goes for every manufacturer. What matters is that we are here to help every single customer in case he/she needs support.
I hope you can appreciate that our Care and Customer Support teams are going out of their way to immediately help each customer, even if it means that in some cases we visit them at their studio or home.
The immense value that the product represents, has now encouraged many users of analog desks to switch over to the digital domain.
However, the experienced people among you are well aware that there are fundamental differences when it comes to digital products as this product category is very sensitive for example to power interruptions which can cause products to “freeze” or “reboot”.
This is the reason why all manufacturers of digital products recommend to use UPS devices in critical live environments.
It is also expected that people need some time to get familiar with all the features of this console. You may have noticed that most reported “bugs” or “defects” are usually resolved by an explanation how a particular feature works.
I like to take the opportunity to thank everyone here who has been jumping in and helping other people.
We take every issue and potential defect extremely seriously and we’re also very open about any issue that need to be addressed. In the case of Greg Novo who reported two defective consoles in a row, we are frankly puzzled as we have never heard of these issues to date. We suspect that there might be either an issue with the mains power supply quality or something that is not related to the X32 itself.
We are now in the process of getting these consoles back to our German R&D lab and will report our findings in this forum once we fully understand the background.
The failure rate of our products is indeed below 0.7%, a number that is independently reported by Thomann, Europe's largest retailer. You may contact them to verify this number.
The X32 roadmap
After shipping the first products, our whole focus was (and still is) to listen to customers and immediately fix any “bugs” they bring up. You might have noticed that within only three months, we have addressed most of them and the X32 is a very stable product which many users here can confirm. Before we released the console, we had 20 professional users such as Christian Boche test the X32 for over six months on the road.
However, it is understandable that one might get a wrong impression when reading about user issues here due to the sheer amount of consoles in the market.
We are now in Phase 2 which means our recent firmware releases already include new features, an exciting development that will continue and in fact accelerate. For example many of you have requested a De-Esser and I can share with you, that one of our next releases will include this new “FX Plug In”. For Generation 2 software next year, it is planned to have a Real Time Analyzer built in, which can be activated in conjunction with any GEQ or PEQ.
We are still at a very early stage when it comes to demonstrating the true power of the X32. What is really exciting is the fact, that the X32 - together with the Digital Snake S16 and the Personal Monitor System P16 - represents an incredibly comprehensive and affordable audio eco-system.
As I mentioned earlier, the X32 is a “living console” which will massively grow over time in terms of features and workflow, but also in conjunction with other products.
The X32 journey has just begun and the upcoming 2013 Namm show will be truly exciting!
Warm regards
Uli
P.S. We're now shipping the Digital Snake S16.
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~:-D~:grin: . And yes, I have recently bitten more than I can chew and digest :blush