X32 Discussion

[James Drake]

Re: IQ speakers

It's all cable at the end of the day.

Karl.

And any pro will understand the merit of standardising all cables with the same connector.

Having all normal rj45 you know is not so robust.

Half and half is not an elegant solution.

There are companies who mod their gear so it is all on powercon or all on IEC. It's still all electrcity and cable but it makes sense to do so. No use in arguing with manufacturers to standardise on one connector because they still have choices to make. But in this case there is an argument that behinger should use ethercon for ultranet because, why not?!

Ethercon on the device does not force a user to use ethercon on their cable. It gives them the choice.

But making ultranet without ethercon removes the option for a sound company to standardise their cables which adds cost and forces a less elegant less pro solution when otherwise the whole paclage is very tidy and well thought out.

 

[Karl Barnes]

Re: IQ speakers

All valid points, but we don't always work with people who have standardised to the same system as us, do we?
I carry a lot of 16A cable and connectors, but I still need jumpers and converters to allow domestic 13A devices to connect to the same system.

I agree with you, as I also can't see the logic behind putting Ethercon on the AES50 and not on the Ultranet, when they use the same cable.
Maybe they were trying to prevent people from mixing the two systems up?

But here's another thing...
If, and only if, Ethercon was used for the X32 Ultranet out, then the P16 series of devices would have to have been designed differently.
The P16D would be a lot wider (although maybe it would have resulted in something I could actually rackmount properly....), and so would the P16i (probably needed to be 2U instead of 1).
The P16m would be different as well, although there's room on the back of it, IF the logo is dropped.

I agree, that something is odd about it all.
There's probably a reason.
Maybe we could get someone in the know to reply.

In the meantime, if you were to bury your P16D inside your rack case, you could run regular cables out to a front panel with Ethercons installed.
A bit of customisation with a Dremmel and soldering iron on the P16m and you could probably install them there as well (voiding the warranty in the process).

Given everything else the system does, this is not the biggest problem I've encountered.
It's annoying, but it doesn't stop me from working.

Karl.

 

[Chris Ludaescher]

how to get an x32?

As one can see from the title, I'm not an X32 owner yet. But I'd love to become one. Problem is, I'm living and working in Hanoi, Vietnam and it appears to be impossible to get hold of an X32 via an official channel. In spite of several attempts to get even only information about availability in this part of the world, there now is only silence from the local Behringer distributor. I discovered another way to get one, but I have to assume, that it is not official. I would prefer not to have to go that way because of the risk of not having warranty. Was thinking about importing from Thailand, but the Thai distributor did not want to interfere with the local distributor (acceptable reason). Did not receive a reply from Malaysia, my second home, but no reply from the local distributor and a couple of 'grey' distributors asked ridiculous prices (up to USD 4600).

Question: did any of the members of this forum have comparable difficulties to get the 'console of his dreams' or does anyone have an idea how to get one in a remote part of the world? Maybe even someone of Behringer can check the reliability of their distributors.

I really only want to buy an X32, BUT I CANNOT, although the funds are allocated and available!

Enjoy your mixers!

 

[Frank Pajak]

Re: IQ speakers

Put an rj45 to ethercon pass thru in your dog house.

 

[Karl Barnes]

Re: IQ speakers

And in one sentence, we have the winner.......

~:-D~:grin:

 

[Pat Ferdig]

Re: how to get an x32?

...does anyone have an idea how to get one in a remote part of the world? Maybe even someone of Behringer can check the reliability of their distributors.

Enjoy your mixers!

Dear Chris,

Please send me a PM and I will see what I can do to help.

Pat Ferdig
VP, Care
MUSIC Group

 

[Pat Ferdig]

Re: latest X32 user manual is corrupted.

The latest version of the X32 user manual on the B web site appears to be corrupted.

Adobe reader reports: "File does not begin with '%PDF-', http://www.behringer.com/assets/X32_M_EN.pdf"

Dear Dave,

Please try to download the manual again. I was able to download and open all X32 pdfs using FireFox, IE and Chrome. If you still run into an issue, please send me a PM.

Pat Ferdig
VP, Care
MUSIC Group

 

[Eric Hill - USA]

Re: IQ speakers

Put an rj45 to ethercon pass thru in your dog house.

If you don't want to roll your own, the Neutrik NE8FF will accomplish this. Although, it would be expensive to use everywhere in a full system with P16-M's.

To have locking XLR's, but not use Ethercons appears to be a contradiction. It's easy to break that little clip on a CAT-5 cable, even if you are using booted cables.

I'm sure there was a practical reason for making that decision.

Eric H.

 

[Eric Hill - USA]

Re: X32 Discussion

The decision to use locking XLR's might have been taken from Midas. We don't find locking XLR's on Behringer's other mixers.

However, in the Midas realm, I would fathom that doghouses and multipin snakes are more common. As for whom the X32 is marketed to, I doubt the majority are working with multipins.

In the Midas realm, where you've got a doghouse and a multipin, I would want locking XLR's. The board is back-end down, bouncing around in a truck for the majority of its life. But, not at the X32 level. It's a hassle to disconnect 32-channels with locks.

In 20-some-odd years, I've never had a problem with a loose Neutrik XLR. 1/4" connectors, of course. Never a Neutrik XLR.

On the other side, I've only had one snake with locking XLR's at the stage end. Never again. They bend too easily.

Boils down to personal preference.

Eric H.

 

[Robert Lofgren]

Re: how to get an x32?

Question: did any of the members of this forum have comparable difficulties to get the 'console of his dreams' or does anyone have an idea how to get one in a remote part of the world? Maybe even someone of Behringer can check the reliability of their distributors.

I really only want to buy an X32, BUT I CANNOT, although the funds are allocated and available!

Enjoy your mixers!

As far as I know Thomann Cyberstore ships all over the world. Send them an email to make sure they do deliver to your part of the world as well...

It is listed for €2690.

Good Luck!

 

[Eric Eskam]

Re: X32 Discussion

Boils down to personal preference.

I guess from my perspective a normal ethernet cable can plug into an ethercon but not the other way around, so I would have preferred that they have ethercon on all the RJ45's for the maximum flexibility.

Then again, given who this console is targeted at, I doubt it's that much of an issue - will the majority of their potential users even know what ethercon is?

Regardless, it would have been "cleaner" if there was ethercon everywhere The only reason I could see leaving it off is for space - and if they were that tight on price where the incremental difference really was substantial in them hitting their price point. Not that I think that's a big issue nor am I advocating they up the price mind you! But they certainly don't seem to have much viable competition in the low end now.

 

[Paul Mirtschin]

Re: latest X32 user manual is corrupted.

Dear Dave,

Please try to download the manual again. I was able to download and open all X32 pdfs using FireFox, IE and Chrome. If you still run into an issue, please send me a PM.

Pat Ferdig
VP, Care
MUSIC Group

The manual on the site is now working, but has reverted back to an old version. v2 (as of 2-days ago) where the latest before the errors appeared was v4.

 

[Eric Hill - USA]

Re: X32 Discussion

The only reason I could see leaving it off is for space

That's what I was thinking, too.

If Midas did indeed have input as to using locking XLR's on the X32 (which probably cost more money than non-locking), the most plausible explanation they didn't use EtherCON is to save space.

Although, the other issue could be licensing. I haven't looked closely to see if Behringer is using actual Neutrik XLR's. But, for the moment, Neutrik might have a patent on EtherCON.

Behringer made a decision to save money by not licensing MP3. They probably wouldn't want to pay a Neutrik premium for EtherCON.

All those monies add up. If they didn't, we'd have a Midas.

Instead, we have a great value in the X32.

Eric H.

 

[Doug Wheeler]

Re: X32 Discussion

The only reason I could see leaving it off is for space - and if they were that tight on price where the incremental difference really was substantial in them hitting their price point.

I'm going to guess that price is the determining factor. A standard RJ-45 connector probably costs a few cents each, whereas an EtherCON connector is well over a dollar (even in quantity). The price of the P16-D would be substantially higher with EtherCON connectors, and there's no point using EtherCON connectors on some ULTRANET devices but not others.

I don't have access to the AES50 spec, but I'm guessing that using EtherCON connectors is a requirement, hence the EtherCON AES50 ports.

 

[Victor Kouli]

Re: Gator “G-Tour X32” Case for X32

Just want to share my experience with Gator “G-Tour X32” road case.

Long story short, bought (paid for) X32 + Case bundle back in October 2012.
Due to “overwhelming” demand case was long backordered and showed up first week of January.

Upon unpacking I noticed some dents and scrapes on aluminum extrusion. Close examination of the shipping carton didn’t reveal any clues for the cause; carton seemed to be in a good shape and was properly sealed.
:?~:-?~:???: Hmm…


I removed the nose and top lid, first thing noticed that rubber “bumper strip” on the top lid of the dog house is coming loose, not enough adhesive to hold it in place.
:?~:-?~:???: Hmm…

Grasp the right hand latch to open the dog house and… the latch simply fall in my hand.
8O~8-O~:shock:
Huh… Very clever choice of fasteners - 3/8” long screw when you have the whole world of 1.5” plywood thickness?
See attached.

Yes, I did think about warranty for a split second, but - “All inbound shipping will be the customer’s responsibility including, but not limited to, the cost of packaging, shipping and applicable taxes.” clause combined with 100lb weight made it complete nonsense.

Since I already set myself for repairs I had a closer look at the piano hinges at the dog house.
I didn’t like the visuals of them just being slapped on the top instead of being recessed.
My plan was to reinstall them the “proper” way, with only “spine” visible.

Upon removal of the hinges I noticed that they (two halves of a hinge) do not move freely.
It is appear to be that a Guillotine is used to cut them to length and it pinches the hinge axle at both ends thus creating sort of torsion bar.
A bit of the work with wise grips required to “free” up one end and all was good as new.

Another hour with a wood trimmer and the results could be seen at the attached.

Next step will be to re-do the casterboard, similar to what Dan Mortensen did to his Gator case.

Can not agree more with David Sheldon on Gator Red Colour scheme.

But… it is just a Road Case after all.
Right?

Victor

 

[Dan Mortensen]

Re: Gator “G-Tour X32” Case for X32

Just want to share my experience with Gator “G-Tour X32” road case.

(Bad things snipped)

Bummer, Victor. Since you bought it as part of a package, you should ask for a replacement. This one is not acceptable.

Regarding my caster replacement, I feel now that what I did was not enough to assure stability under all conditions when being moved by someone other than me. My current thoughts, which I was going to illustrate when I get the necessary pieces, is that the center of the casters needs to be physically outboard of the sides of the case.

To do this, I have temporarily mounted casters that way on a couple of cases by attaching the inboard bolts on the individual casterplates to the outboard holes on the casterboard. Although not strong enough to send out on shows yet, it proves that the case is solid when pushing on the long side. The case doesn't tip over until it is almost at a 45 degree angle to the floor, and any road case will go over when it's like that.

The factory cases go over at about a 1 degree angle, and my modification moves it up to about 10 degrees (guessing on these angles).

The choice seems to be either a stable case with outriggers or a tidy case that falls over when the wind blows.

None of this addresses the sad physical state of your case, though. Good luck.

Edit: To try to be more helpful, do you still have the shipping carton? If so, take pictures of the areas above the damaged sections and the corners to show that damage was not visible when accepting the package. A pristine carton can be your argument that the damage occurred before packaging and shipping.

Did you buy from a dealer? Take it to them and get them on your side. They need to be arguing for you with their supplier, who they hopefully have a good relationship with.

If you are the dealer, then you need to argue with your supplier, who may or may not be your local manufacturer's rep, but is certainly your national distributor. Starin is the American one, don't know if they do Canada, too.

Again, since the Gator case is the "official" case of Behringer (it's the only case for the X32 available through them, at least in America), perhaps someone reading this will jump in and be on your side like they've been so often with the console itself.

And again, good luck.

 

[Dave Korman]

Re: latest X32 user manual is corrupted.

The manual on the site is now working, but has reverted back to an old version. v2 (as of 2-days ago) where the latest before the errors appeared was v4.

V5 is now up and opens correctly.

 

[Alan Geering]

ethercon aand ethernet

Why use different plugs on ultranet and AES50?
I'm pretty glad they did - it makes for a good visual and tactile difference when plugging things in. Even in the dark I can't get them mixed up.

 

[Jason Vanick]

Re: ethercon aand ethernet

I bought a 'safecase' standard duty ATA case from Amazon for mine... no dog house or casters, but at less than 40#, it's not too shabby.

came in absolutely perfect condition.. and for less than $300 shipped, I have no complaints.

construction seems decent enough as well... We'll see how it holds up over time... but for now I'm definitely happy.

-J

 

[Ryan Reynolds]

SafeCase

I bought a 'safecase' standard duty ATA case from Amazon for mine... no dog house or casters, but at less than 40#, it's not too shabby.

came in absolutely perfect condition.. and for less than $300 shipped, I have no complaints.

construction seems decent enough as well... We'll see how it holds up over time... but for now I'm definitely happy.

-J

I'm glad to hear this. I just recently ordered a SafeCase with casters, but was a bit nervous as I couldn't really find much info on them. Still, the price was right and I needed something so I could start using my X32 out of the house. Hopefully it'll be here soon. I'll share my thoughts on it once it arrives.