If you're going to go
Yamaha I'd get a CL series
console, just for future-proofness. The M7 is the "standard", and the CL builds upon it. Plus if you need a better
FOH desk the CL has more DCA's and more functionality/routability overall.
If you go the Avid route, go with the
Venue. Like TK2K said, the SC48 is fairly limiting even if it is slightly analogous to the M7. Layers = suck.
If layers suck then wouldn't that favor the M7CL over the CL?
I find the 'future proof' aspect interesting for digital consoles. Like computers, while software and firmware development and support affect the
practical lifetime, so does the underlying physical technology. And also just like with computers, they seem to be seen as having ever shorter useful lifetimes before being considered technically obsolete. However, there is a difference from computersin aspects such as market penetration and tech riders. Many people would probably have no problem accepting a
Yamaha CL today but it will probably be some time before most of those people have show files for one and before it appears in tech riders. Conversely, if the LS9, M7CL, PM5D or
Venue were discontinued today people would still be routinely encountering them for years, there would still be a large community of people with show files for them, and they would likely still appear in tech riders for some time.
There is also the potential impact of government regulatory changes. Complying with the mandatory requirement for OBD-II
led to then end of production for several cars where the sales numbers did not justify the related costs for compliance. And more directly, I think many people underestimate the impact
RoHS had on electronics. Talking to manufacturers, it was simply not economically viable for manufacturers to make some products
RoHS compliant or to obtain
RoHS compliant components, which in turn affected the lifetime of the products. Who knows what future regulations could affect
current or new products?
A somewhat similar issue can also apply to software, not necessarily the
console software but any supporting software. As operating systems come and go manufacturers must decide whether it is worth investing the effort to verify and possibly adapt their software for new operating systems or to continue to support and develop it for older operating systems. I've been through the experience of having to search for a laptop running an obsolete OS in order to work with a brand new
digital mixer, a factor that made that nice new product much less "future proof" unless the manufacturer decided to eventually make their software and firmware compaitble with new operating systems. How do the manufacturers balance continuing to support and develop software for older operating systems and products that are already out there with also continuing to develop software for newer operating systems and products?
Then there are related technology advances. If a new networked audio or digital audio format becomes popular, can an existing product support those and what is involved in doing so? I think AVB is showing this as you have some older consoles that could be readily adapted to support AVB while you also have some newer consoles that would require external devices to convert AVB, or any other new signals, to a format the
console supports.
Also relevant, how will manufacturers prepare for and support end-of-life products? Does end of production mean end of support and/or development? What about parts
stock and service? These seem critical factors in determining the potential
practical life after production ceases and not all manufacturers may apply the same approach to them. And I don't think we know what to expect from some manufacturers.
And when does a
mixer cease being useful? I've used analog mixers in some clubs and community theaters that were long past their useful life for their original applications but that still had usefulness in those other applications. Will a LS9, SC48, iLive-T, StudioLive, M-480,
etc. potentially have such a second and possibly third life? Or will digital mixers become more like computers where there is no market for used equipment that is more than a couple of years old?
The
point is really that simply being newer does not necessarily relate to being more "future proof" and "future proofing" for digital consoles seems a potentially complex issue that could involve factors both within and outside of a manufacturer's control as well as hardware, software and
practical factors.
I can tell you for 100% certainty that in the near future you will not feel this way.
I hope so but only time will tell and it will take some time.
