152 EXPO
1. The new PRO2 and PRO2C. 2. Consultant Alex Cooper with Jonathan Chitty and Richard ‘Fez’ Ferriday of Midas.
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MIDAS LAUNCH PRO2 SUTTON COLDFIELD
Quite often our travel schedule involves heading to the airport and boarding a flight, so a trip down the road to Sutton Coldfield on Wednesday 10 August was a refreshing change. The invite to New Hall Hotel & Spa came from console manufacturer, Midas. The day’s event promised the unveiling of three new products, showcasing the company’s latest innovations aimed at the pro audio market. Midas invited the international press for a sneak preview, ahead of the official launch at PLASA, London. At the beginning of the presentation, Richard ‘Fez’ Ferriday announced that this was the most significant console launch for Midas in a very long time. What followed did not disappoint. The first new console to be unveiled was the PRO2, which will join the PRO Series alongside the PRO3, PRO6, and the PRO9. This was closely followed by the compact version, named the PRO2C. Midas Consultant, and designer of all Midas digital consoles, Alex Cooper, was on hand during the presentation to deliver the in depth technical details, and explain how he’d configured these two new consoles from design to production. Two new features on the consoles represent major advancements in both technol- ogy and concept. The features are: the ability to hide unassigned channels and the Mix Control Association (MCA) groups. The PRO2 features three modes of channel navigation: FOH Normal, MON Normal and Advanced, allowing engineers to easily and efficiently mix a large number of inputs on a very compact control surface. Putting a PRO2 / PRO2C into Advanced Navigation mode enables the MCA groups. These operate in a similar way to the established Variable Control Association (VCA) groups, but are specific to the selected bus. When the consoles are in Advanced Navigation mode with MCA navigation engaged, the MCA faders control the contributions of their members only to the currently selected bus. When combined with the hide unassigned channels feature, a unique and powerful mix- ing tool, the consoles provide users with more control and the ability to mix faster, along with many more possibilities, currently not available to mixing engineers. Both consoles share the same high quality components and finish as the rest of
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the PRO Series, including mic preamps, A-D converters, and daylight-viewable screens. This offers existing PRO Series users a real sense of continuity, and provides them with the same extreme functionality and sound quality they have become accustomed to. The PRO2 and the PRO2C are essentially the same console, the only differences being the PRO2C has eight fewer input faders and a smaller frame, at just 750mm by 850mm. The standard systems consist of a control surface and one 5U DL251 19-inch rack I/O unit, connected by a networked audio and data system. The network car- ries both proprietary control data and open architecture AES50 digital audio, and uses standard CAT-5E or CAT-6 cabling and connectors. The PR02 / PR02C are network-compatible with all other Midas digital systems and I/O devices. In line with technological advancements, these two new consoles have the ability to be controlled via a Midas iPad app. This allows a user to control remotely, via wireless, all console fader positions, including inputs, outputs and VCA faders. It will allow remote control of all onboard GEQ, and also provide the operator with a console overview, including all input and output meters in real-time. Wrapping up the preview was the Midas VeniceF16R, which essentially is a VeniceF console, in a rack unit. It has the same facilities as the larger console, however, the shape and its concept have changed significantly, which again will open up new advancements and possibilities for its users. To complete the presentation, the discussion turned to pricing, and where these new consoles will be manufactured. To answer the latter, the consoles are being built at the Midas facility in China, but there will still be plenty of Midas experience going into each and every console, as some staff members have moved over to China to oversee the whole operation. The price of the new addtions are well below any other Midas consoles and are predicted to change the shape of the Midas business. Users are now able to buy a high-end, large format digital mixing console for under £20,000, with the compact version coming in under £15,000. At these price points, Midas is making its prod- ucts more accessible to certain parts of the market.
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