ProSoundWeb: By now, I think twice before agreeing to review any new Allen & Heath products. The problem (although I doubt the manufacturer would characterize it as such) is that after completing the product demos, I keep buying them (see: SQ, Avantis, CQ, AHM). As such, when I was asked if I would look at the new Qu series entries, what I heard in my head was “do I need another console?”
3 comments:
Personally I've never used an Allen and Heath mixer, and reading this road test has made me really keen on trying one out. Although not really my choice, I've been consistently using Yamaha mixers for basically my entire sound career, now only recently being able to use mixers outside of Yamaha's walled garden, and I'm incredibly grateful to be able to escape it. While the Yamaha mixers are fantastic and are incredibly useful. They still refuse to innovate their user interface. I mean it has seriously been the same layout since the early 2000s and it still has remained the same. I mean you could argue if it's not broken don't fix it. But it has become so incredibly dated that it's starting to affect the usability of their consoles, then you have all the proprietary file structures that make it impossible to do anything with the console outside of what Yamaha wants you to with it. It's unfortunately starting to feel like I'm stuck using digidesign pro tools control surfaces. Their refusal to innovate is slowly going to remove them from the top of the mixer scene.
I actually just saw one of these new Qu’s in person a few days ago, when I was home for fall break. I didn’t see it in action, but I got to explore the interface a little bit. It’s still familiar enough that I could navigate, with most of my experience on Sq’s, even though it’s been redesigned and some things have been added. I especially liked the added parametric EQ knobs. I didn’t realize that the color coding had been removed, like the article mentioned; I think that this is maybe one of the bigger drawbacks to the new generation. It’s interesting that they added more automatic programs like the feedback assistant and the automatic mixer. I’d be interested to know how they perform but they seem like they could be valuable in certain situations. Overall, I think it’s easily an improvement from the old generation, and I hope I can try them out.
Reading about the Allen and Heath Qu Series mixers, what stood out to me most was how much attention they put into making something that actually fits how people mix in real settings. The review explained how it manages to balance professional power with a layout that still feels natural and easy to use, which I really like. The touchscreen design and flexible routing options make it seem like a board that can work for almost anything, from live shows to studio setups. I also liked how the article mentioned that it keeps the same familiar Allen and Heath sound and feel but updates everything around it to be more modern. It’s not overcomplicated but still gives you the kind of control you’d expect from a more expensive desk. It made me think about how much digital consoles have evolved, especially how they can now deliver studio-level performance in a portable setup without losing the depth or warmth that older analog systems had.
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