If you want to look at the CL5, I would also consider the QL5. Unless you
really want the user interface of the CL-series, the price
point on the QL series is low enough in comparison to the CL5 and with minimal differences in features that on most of the projects I've done since the QL-series came out they've opted for the QL over a CL. Having all of the inputs on the back also means if you
park a rack of wireless next to your
console, you don't need to buy a dedicated Rio just for that. I tend to see the CL used where 72 inputs are necessary instead of 64, and where day-in-day-out usage justifies paying the extra coin for the Centralogic section.
The scene cueing is better on the QL/CL than it was on the LS9's and M7's.
Yamaha started cheating off lighting consoles to come up with a look-ahead function for to
preview the upcoming
cue and to organize cues better. I can't speak much more to this functionality beyond that the LS9 cueing was the absolute worst and that
Yamaha has redesigned the scene controls feature set from the bottom-up.
In terms of academia, if you go with a Dante-based
console you can use Dante Virtual Soundcard on a laptop to record the entire show straight off of of the mic pre's. This gives your students the option to
play an entire, real show back into the
system without having an actual band on
stage or an audience and being able to practice mixing a show. If you wanted to do this with Digico, you would need a dedicated MADI recording appliance or a MADI / Dante bridge to interface between a laptop with Dante Virtual Soundcard and the
mixer.
FWIW, when I set up QL/CL systems for use with
Qlab, I set up all of my discrete channels (Left, Center, Right, Sub, Delay L2 Delay L1, Delay C, Delay R1, Delay R2, FF, FX 1, FX 2, FX 3,
etc.) as outputs over Dante Virtual Soundcard to get into the
console. Then I bring each input onto a
channel and patch the direct out of that
channel to Dante outputs that go to the
DSP and drive each
speaker individually while unassigning those channels in the
console from the L/R/C busses. Then what I route through the L/R/C/S/FF busses off of the
console hits the
DSP and sums respectively for all of the delays and auxiliary
system and such. So in practice, this approach gives you a fader-per-speaker for adjusting EQ/
level for every
Qlab output without making adjustments in the designer's
Qlab stack, doesn't eat up mix busses for each and every
speaker, and preserves a simpler mix buss scheme for your live
microphone/band inputs.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Digico desks. They come at a premium cost though and in my experience have a steeper learning curve for students.