A&H steps into the surface-less fray with QU-SB

[Greg C.]

No price info yet, just announced...

http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/qu-sb/

[WK154]

Looks like a X32 Rack competitor until they announce the price. 

[gerenm63]

The Qu-Pac is a more direct competitor to the X32 Rack, as it has the display. The new Qu-SB lacks the UI of the X32 Rack or the Qu-Pac. Or, maybe the X32 falls somewhere between the two A&H offerings?

[pytchley]

The Qu-Pac is a more direct competitor to the X32 Rack, as it has the display. The new Qu-SB lacks the UI of the X32 Rack or the Qu-Pac. Or, maybe the X32 falls somewhere between the two A&H offerings?

No competition as far as I can see, anybody seen a price? One's a quality product by a serious manufacturer, the other's a B********r. I want one.

[gerenm63]

The Qu-Pac is a more direct competitor to the X32 Rack, as it has the display. The new Qu-SB lacks the UI of the X32 Rack or the Qu-Pac. Or, maybe the X32 falls somewhere between the two A&H offerings?

No competition as far as I can see, anybody seen a price? One's a quality product by a serious manufacturer, the other's a B********r. I want one.

My personal experience, over a lot of years, with Allen and Heath is that their analog boards are of most excellent quality -- some of the best I've ever used. However, their digital offerings are less than reliable, and are difficult and expensive to have repaired.

[pytchley]

I've had a number of AH analogue desks, I still have three, and they've all been excellent. There has been the odd little problem but always easy to sort and they've had heavy use over many, many gigs. I've no experience of the QU series but have only seen good reports around the forums. Are you speaking from personal experience about their problems? I really like the look of this new desk and although my DL has been pretty good overall, I'm starting to tire of it's increasing flakiness.

[dpdan]

Like many, I have had a number of Allen & Heath mixers and they have all been wonderful.
I now have an Allen & Heath Qu24 and AR2412 stage box and absolutely love it! It has been nothing but wonderful.

However!!!!! it only gets used for concerts, I use the Mackie DL32R ten times more often because the jobs don't usually
have a convenient "place" for the console, so the iPad gets the work. I have not had any flakey issues with the DL32R. 

[gerenm63]

I've had a number of AH analogue desks, I still have three, and they've all been excellent. There has been the odd little problem but always easy to sort and they've had heavy use over many, many gigs. I've no experience of the QU series but have only seen good reports around the forums. Are you speaking from personal experience about their problems? I really like the look of this new desk and although my DL has been pretty good overall, I'm starting to tire of it's increasing flakiness.

Yes, and that of colleagues. Most of the problems have been with the more expensive iLive series used in permanent theater installations, but I've also experienced issues with the Qu series as well. These have not been issues of "flakiness", but far more catastrophic in nature (failed console main boards or display boards, mix engine failures, etc.).

[robbocurry]

Looks sweet.
No bad experiences with any of my QU gear! (Long may that last!)

[WK154]

What amuses me is the concept that A&H vs. anyone else is suddenly buying Mil spec parts or some other special quality from a multi-billion dollar fab. Really folks!! Haven't seen a production line labeled that. That leaves a lot of other aspects that could go awry. I don't think any manufacturer want's poor quality out the door. The level of post assembly testing may vary but we've all seen that. More automatic testing for lower production costs levels the playing field. The follow up support however makes a difference which I think is the real reason behind most of the strong opinions. This is also evident as more suppliers offer extended warranties beyond the Mfg. So that leaves the designers and engineer holding the bag in the long run   and the PR/marketing guys on life support.

[pytchley]

Richard Penrose on Prosoundweb thinks 1199 euros in July. Sounds about right, the Qu-pac is at €1,529 at Thomann.

[Michael Welter]

It looks nice, but until they come out with a 32 channel version, I have no interest. But I'll be watching the comments with interest.

[Greg C.]

It looks nice, but until they come out with a 32 channel version, I have no interest. But I'll be watching the comments with interest.

It already supports 32 mono channels plus 3 stereo channels if you look at the info. You just need to add an AR or AB series dSnake rack to it.

[Michael Welter]

It looks nice, but until they come out with a 32 channel version, I have no interest. But I'll be watching the comments with interest.

It already supports 32 mono channels plus 3 stereo channels if you look at the info. You just need to add an AR or AB series dSnake rack to it.

Got it. Thanks. So, if you need 32 channels, you need to add some additional hardware, but the same app works fine?

[Greg C.]

Got it. Thanks. So, if you need 32 channels, you need to add some additional hardware, but the same app works fine?

Yes.