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Studiomaster digiLivE 16 - 12volt DC input mixer


Atanas

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Hello :)

Just want to show you something new - Studiomaster digiLivE 16 .  Finally a great digital mixer with 16 inputs/ 8 analog outputs (*digital outputs also available) and the most important thing is the power supply - 12 volt DC !!! So no need of any additional power convertors. Also the size is really good. 100mm faders and  HD touch Screen. The price is more than good - 

Didn't see it yet but I plan to check it out.

Studiomaster digiLivE 16  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Studiomaster-digiLivE-Digital-Console-Motorised/dp/B01KFZZAV8

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Well, that looks pretty terrific in terms of inputs, outputs, features and functions (and of course the DC power!) but it does look rather cheap construction. Watching a video, they state that it is definitely a LIVE mixing panel, there is no "multi-track output" (I'm assuming he means no discrete iso track routing) so that may be a deal beaker to use for production sound recording.  Certainly worth checking out.

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Well it may be 12v dc powered, but look what type of connector they have carrying that power into it. :-/

Yes it's now the kind of 'standard'  DC in for MI market rack units powered by wall-warts, and some products have cable-hooks for these, but i wouldn't trust the power to stay in securely on this in a temporary location setup.

Basically this is just another case of moving the mains part of the PSU outside the case ( not least as it allows cheaper regionalisation of plugs and volts ) for something intended to be operated from its own supplied PSU anyway, rather than it being something actually designed for 'optional battery powering'. I'm not saying you couldn't run it from 12V batts, but i doubt the current draw would be at all frugal. 

Having said all that though, since i'm keeping an eye out for any new small mixers for gig recording for possible purchase next year, this is interesting per se.

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"Well it may be 12v dc powered, but look what type of connector they have carrying that power into it. :-/

Yes it's now the kind of 'standard'  DC in for MI market rack units powered by wall-warts, and some products have cable-hooks for these, but i wouldn't trust the power to stay in securely on this in a temporary location setup."

If that were its only problem I would be thrilled. There is obviously many other things that probably make this mixer not really suitable for our sort of work. As for the connector, the key thing is that the connection (to the internal power supply) is 12 vdc, the physical connector (standard DC jack) can be changed out for one of OUR standards (4 pin XLR for example, Hirose, etc.).

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To be honest its really strange that we can't find any manuals or full specifications of this mixer. I was attracted by the size and the 12Dc power option. Can't find anywhere info about the weight ? This 20kg info is not possible at all. I think you can get 8 iso outputs from the 8 XLR outputs on the back. Its a question of rooting. Also I really hope that all the inputs can be switched between mic amps. or line level inputs. Don't know also for the digital output options. Probably we should wait for some more info to be available.  

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  • 1 month later...
  • 8 months later...

I just purchased a "version" of this mixer.  It's the SKP D-Touch 20.  Unlike the Studiomaster the D-Touch has recallable mic pres.  I don't think I would use this for serious location recording, however I do see a place for it in doing a small PA set up or webcast.  And yes it does run off of 12VDC. 

 

I've only had it a few days, but my initial impressions (given it's size and price) are positive.  I will likely use it for small corporate events and small webcasts.  It has 12 mic inputs, with 4 of them being combo 1/4" & XLR, 2 stereo inputs on L/R 1/4", as well as SPDIF in/out and AES out.  In addition the unit will playback and record to a thumb drive.  They have an ipad app as well, which seems to work well, howbeit the range is somewhat limited using the included "dongle". 


Every input has recallable trims, gate, compressor, delay, high pass filter, and a 4 band eq with variable frequency and "Q".  It has 4 mono busses (1-4), 4 stereo busses (5-8), and left/right bus.

The busses also have the same eq, gate, compressor and delay.  Additionally mono busses 1-4 can be sent to the stereo busses 5-8.  Any of the busses and be assigned to any of the 8 XLR outputs. 

So, is this a "high end" unit?  Certainly not!  It kind of reminds me of a version 1 or 2 QSC TouchMix, but with faders.  Actually, it will do things the original TouchMix would not!  However compared to the current version of the TouchMix, the TouchMix does more.  All that being said, to have faders, and in a nice small form factor (it's bulk is probably about 1/3 to 1/4 that of my Yamaha 01v96i), I'm going to be able to make this work. It measures about 16 3/4" x 13 1/4" x 2 3/4", and weighs 7lbs!

If your interested, it's being sold on only Amazon and ebay.

I'll post an update as I get a chance to use it more.

Tom

This demo is for the Soundking DM20, but it seems identical to the SKP D-Touch 20:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqX3URhho8&t=2s

The SKP D-Touch 20 can be purchased on Amazon or eBay:
https://www.amazon.com/SKP-Pro-Audio-Touchscreen-20-Inputs/dp/B074HR19H4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503698255&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=d-touch+20&psc=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SKP-Pro-Audio-D-Touch-20-Digital-Mixing-Console-Touchscreen-WiFi-20Inputs-15Buse/172805211031?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649



D-Touch 20 iPad App:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skp-d-touch-20/id1227302566?mt=8

 

 

 

SKP D-Touch 20 (my unit).JPG

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Somebody somewhere is mixing a lowbudg movie with this thing.  I hope the iPad deal doesn't bag them (network, update, thermal etc issues) and that the headroom is ok.  A movie done on one of these would be a good lesson in why higher-end gear is the way it is and costs what it costs.  In the posts above there were a few digs @ QSC re TouchMix mixers.  I have to say that their support has been great given such a cheap device (they answer their phone, for starters), they keep working on the firmware and show up on their Facebook group to answer questions.  As a mixer to do a real active mix on it blows (one fader at a time on an onboard screen, with outboard tablets+phones too if you want), but as a utility mixer for a band, for AV etc etc it's pretty great.  Good sound, very deep routing, good FX, scene memory, can record full MT spread @ full bandwidth to a USB stick, no bigger or heavier than a normal laptop.  And CHEAP.

 

 

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6 hours ago, Philip Perkins said:

A movie done on one of these would be a good lesson in why higher-end gear is the way it is and costs what it costs.

And yet people do use Mackie mixers and Zoom recorders. Personally, I have a hard time taking anyone seriously who would show up to a gig expecting a pro rate and to be treated like a pro and using pro-summer gear, but I am a hard critic when it comes to gear. 

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Ok guys. I can't understand your problem. I thought this forum is about talking and sharing not just hating! Both of you have never  seen this mixer neither to use it somehow? So just to make some possible judgments is not really cool. I know you don't like it but we are just discussing. For example Yamaha 01V96i  is noisy and AC powered but many people in the States use it and like it. Never seen a bad word about it. So why we can try to find some proper alternative= 12volt powered, good pre-amps, enough outputs  and  small size ? That's the point. 

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I understand how you feel, but the guts of a mixer like the one being discussed here are in many mixers of different shapes and brands and come from the same factories in China.  So if you have some familiarity with a few you probably know the drill with many more.  I've seen plenty of bad words about 01v96 consoles, but the good outweighed the bad for most professional users needing that deep a box, going back many years now.  Many of us who have been doing location work for a long time understand how difficult it is to make a high-fidelity, versatile, rugged, relatively small mixer that will work on DC, let alone only 12VDC, so we are a little skeptical.  If you decide to get one of these and do some work with it please report back.  It would be good for everyone if it turned out to be a great box.

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On 15 janvier 2018 at 2:28 PM, Constantin said:

 

I think you’re exaggerating just a tad. Overall this has been a fair and balanced discussion and not at all a hate-fest

Thank you, I felt that was a bit of an over reaction myself. I agree with what @Philip Perkins said. It would be great if it ended up being a good tool, but well, he said it best. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone tested this mixer yet? What's the power consumption? Any other solutions for a 12v digital mixer? 

 

On 28-10-2016 at 6:59 PM, Philip Perkins said:

No iso outs=no sale for production sound.  Ditto (for me) no clock input.  There are other mixers in this size range that do a better job I think (AH QU etc).

I would love to use the QU-16, but I need to run it on 12V, what's the nominal power consumption of this table? Max. power usage is 82W, which means it can run for only 2 hours on my carts heavy battery, but maybe it doesn't need that power with 'normal' use?

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  • 1 month later...

I bought the SoundKing DM20 board as an intermediate board to get the cart going on 12V before installing a full AC/DC/Inverter system and board later on. This board will transition to be a playback or backup system. 

 

I also ordered the StudioMaster Digilive board but returned it. The buttons have a clicky sound that is unacceptable for our work. 

 

DM20 consumes as much power as my Nomad. Two L7S NP batts will be fine for a day of operation. 

 

The eight XLR outs may be used on any of the 12 aux bus channels (1-4 mono and 5-8 stereo, you can use 5-8 as 2 channels of bussing), so you have plenty of routing flexibility for ISO prefade sends. 

 

The AES 1/2 mains Output may also be routed, so I use channel 1 for mix and channel 2 for boom ISO, giving 9 ISO channels plus mix to my Nomad. 

 

Less than 2ms latency claimed, I have not tested this yet. 

 

Additionally, the only mic preamp I use is the Nomad's Neverclip preamp, and route an output to the board. All other sources are line level to the board. 

 

Self-noise of the inputs is low. I haven't been able to hear any crosstalk when testing. Board withstands all my radio mics and Zaxnet blasting directly beside the unit. 

 

Sound quality is good, I would say above average for this tier of product, but you will notice on a Nomad or 788T that you get what you pay for. The high end recorders and mixers we use sound better. This sounds good enough, but don't expect best sound from this unit. 

 

I would expect support to be non-existent. Your support system is a backup solution. 

 

This would be an EXCELLENT playback board as the routing flexibility is very high. 

 

The fader caps should be replaced, they are too shallow. The startup time is like 30s or so. Touchscreen navigation is decent and responds quick enough for our work. 

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  • 4 years later...

I'm working on a Digilive 16 for a school and have a couple of problems.  There is no output from the two TRS monitor outputs.  I can't get L&R Mix into busses 5 & 6 that I need for a second set of powered speakers.  Any suggestions as to what process to follow or someone to guide me through it?  Thanks.  Ed Williams

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