DL32R Gotchas

[Michael Welter]

Hey, everyone. I'm new here. I just got my DL32R yesterday, and set up a small sound system in my living room, so I could learn it. Imagine how delighted my wife is. 

I got a iPad Air 2 with 64G of memory, and the Apple Airport Extreme router. I'm using MF 3.0. So far, I'm having a great time. I'm impressed with how responsive the system is, and how good it sounds.

My question: Are there any gotchas that I should be aware of?

[Wynnd]

Only one I can see is that with the Airport Extreme, you can't use Airplay.  You don't actually need it, but some of us have gotten used to it and the only Apple unit that does it now is the current version of Airport Express.  (Which also handles 2.4 and 5 Ghz bands at the same time.)

As far as sound goes, I suspect that most of us can't hear the difference between different boards.  More of a case of bigger differences in the way people set things up than in actual sound.  So any good board can sound good. I've got a DL1608 and love using it.  Mostly I'm controlling from a wifi ipad mini while my ipad 2 is docked. 

So Happy new mixer day!!!!   Have fun.

[Michael Welter]

Thanks, Wynnd. I'm new to the Apple world, so I'm not familar with AirPlay. I picked up an extended range Bluetooth receiver, and have tried it with my laptop and iPad, and it works well with both. It's not uncommon with my gigs for someone to walk up and ask me to play a CD for their performance. So using my laptop is handy for that.

[Wynnd]

Airplay on the Airport Express is WiFi from itunes.  (Including on a PC laptop.)  You can use an iphone or ipad and also audio out from any Apple product or itunes.  The Airport Express has a stereo audio output that you can run to stereo inputs or powered speakers.  Works pretty well with the DL mixers.  (As long as you have two available channels that aren't needed elsewhere.)   Pretty sure the Bluetooth should be OK too.  Like I said, nobody needs Airplay.  I had my mixer for nearly 6 months before I found out about it.  (Yes, even I was able to live without it.)  I would love to hear how things go when you take your PA out.  Enjoy!

[James91104]

This is available as well for AirPlay ; https://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

[Wynnd]

There is one thing you should spend some time getting used to.  That's the internal effects.   I'm a minimalist when it comes to effects, so if they vanished totally, I probably wouldn't notice.  There are some that are fine with the internal effects and some that don't like them at all.  My suggestion is find a few settings that you like and save user settings for them.  And the way that the effects are mapped is a little strange.  At least very different than most mixers.   You've got your sends on the reverb control channel where you add the reverb master volume.  But you aren't finished yet, you need to go to your chosen output and add the reverb to that before you actually get the effect out.  The fact that the Reverb master doesn't feed the output directly is what seems different to me.  This might be a place where assigning a VCA to the reverb master and the output reverb level might be a good use.  Hopefully others with more experience using VCAs will chime in on whether this is a good idea or not.

[Michael Welter]

I have spent some time with my living room setup playing with the effects. I used heavily during my experimentation, just so I could hear the difference. But, like you, I am a minimalist with effects. If I use them, they are barely noticeable.

[Wynnd]

When I did a panel discussion last Monday, the docked ipad 2 kept re-syncing.  It was fully charged, but that characteristic of the DL1608 may just be one reason there is no dock on the DL32R.  I'm leaning towards never docking the ipad in the future.  (Even docked, you can specify connecting up via WiFi.)  The only things I lose by running WiFi only is the ipad channel and recording.  I usually have extra Aux out available to record with.  (Something I rarely do.)  And I'm setup for Airplay anyway.  (Did have a problem with Airplay in one venue.)  My WiFi connections have always been as solid as my keeping Master Fader as the active app.  I also use OnSong and of course, whenever I switch from OnSong to Master Fader, there is a sync event.  Whenever Apple gets around to making ios a multi-tasking OS, then I'll be able to keep both apps active and that issue should go away.  (Talk about a good reason to upgrade.)