opinions on AEQ console vs. Arrakis/Audioarts?

We're looking at getting a new console for our small community station. From a price/features standpoint, the obvious choice for us is the AEQ Bravo TT. We're also looking at the more "traditional" choices such as an Arrakis ARC-10 or some flavour of small Audioarts board. The Arrakis and Audioarts don't offer quite the feature set of the AEQ though (built in telephone hybrid, four mic inputs, etc)

Does anyone have any experience/opinions regarding AEQ boards?

If you have to buy new, I'd advise staying away from AEQ (foreign support and nomenclature) and Arrakis (cheaply made, yet not a good value), and go with Audioarts. If you're looking for a traditional broadcast board layout, I suggest maybe buying a used or refurbished Autogram (rotary faders) or Pacific Recorders and Engineering (slide faders). Keep and eye on EBay, as both these manufacturers boards show up quite often. You could get a lot more board for the dollar.

console options

I wouldn't consider Arrakis. They have a long and "rich" history of poor customer support, poor quality products, and inferior attitudes after the sale. I have had one experience with AEQ. Their non-US support group is actually quite helpful. The unit I was trying to configure was a Forum. It isn't even close or friendly to set up, but continues to work in harsh environment, a station ran by effectively idiots. If they could break something, trust me, it would be broken by now. That's a huge vote of confidence in the durability dept.

Your best bet IS AudioArts / Wheatstone. They speak very good English with US support and their products are very, very solid. I have put in a ton of R55e consoles and a few Air 4 consoles. They just run... NO problems.

Good luck!

I've installed 3 Arrakis boards, ARC-10BP, ARC-15, and a MARC-12. All are still running in an environment without the best operators. However, I'd agree 100% with Kelly A, look to Audioarts as the top pick. If you really need 4 mics, check out the Audioarts Air 4, 12 channels (made in the USA). Like the Arrakis boards above it has RJ-45 connections and USB for direct connection to a computer. RJ-45 connections make it easy to install to punch blocks or you can use Studio Hub connectors if you don't like punch blocks.

And as Kelly said, check out eBay. You might find something good there. Also Bay Country Broadcasting (baycountry.com) might have a nice used Audioarts, Wheatstone or Radio Systems console for sale.

Ill 3rd the audio arts, They/Wheatstone make good stuff at a decent price. It all depends on your budget i suppose.

Do you think it would be an engineer's suicide to switch to one of these consoles from an old RM105 Spundcraft?
I love it very much but it's just too old and falling apart.

Do you think the sound would have an audible downgrade?

I have an older AEQ console at an LPFM I help found. I like some AEQ stuff and the support is good for being foreign. But the foreign nomenclature is an issue. Our ARQ has a built in hybrid that I hate. A JKL hybrid is a better choice. Also all the trims for the older AEQ are on the inside and you have to remove the output module to adjust levels. Kinda hard to do when it's powered on. The new Brovo console don't seem to have easy acess to get to level adjustments for output and has two of the analog hybrids. Another thing to remember with the built in hybrid, they still need a call director. It also looks like it does not include an internal Cue speaker and the monitor section has that European monitor lay out where the air monitor only is available on the Studio monitor out and not the control room. To make the cue work right you have to dedicate the Control room monitor section to that via an outboard amp and mute relay. Then there is that 10 watt built in monitor amp with the built in speakers, I'm sure there great for smaller European installations. Lots of work arounds.

I also put an Arakis ARC-8 in a lightly used production room. I have been around Arakis for years so I know what I was getting. You would think that after all these years Arakis would try to instill some quality in the look versus a slick look. The console looks slick and has some neat features, but the channel on off buttons look like they would last a years with heavy handed use.

I'll 4th the Audioarts AIR4. It's a little more in price but the straight forward design and layout is worth it. Get the Audioarts and a JKL hybrid. The time you will save with the straight forward layout and hookup will offset the added labor and work arounds to get he AEQ to act the same. One heavy handed operator would destroy the Arakis in a year.

Hello all,
I noticed the some comments about our product, and customer support. I wanted to chime in and ask that you please let me know personally if you ever have a poor experience with our customer support or are having any problems with our product. We care very much for our customers, and the last thing we want is for a poor experience to sour your taste for our product. We have been in this industry for over 30 years, and want to be around a 100 more, and that can only happen if the customers are happy. So please feel free to contact me directly ([email protected]), and I will be happy to resolve any concerns.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Ben Palmer

I installed an Arakis ARC-8 in a LPFM despite some negative comments from friends. It's about four years old, and still works fine. There were some things I didn't care for about this board, specifically using the control room speakers for cuing purposes. I'm sure that was done for cost savings, not operator convenience. Sometimes you have to make trade-offs. After the warranty period was over I thought I'd make a few modifications. Since it didn't come with a schematic, I called Arakis and asked for one. No problem, I had it by email in a few minutes. The support person I talked to was quite friendly and most helpful. Despite rumors to the contrary, I really have to stand up for the service I received. Perhaps if Arakis would include a schematic in the instruction manual, it would dispel a lot of concerns and criticisms.

As for quality, well, it is a budget piece of equipment. It is not bad, and actually fairly easy to work on, but you will have to remove it from the signal chain to work on it. You'd be out of your mind to try to disassemble the mixer with the power on. The build quality is decent, especially considering the price. There is nothing that appears to be proprietary or unusual. I suspect most parts could be sourced from Mouser, DigiKey or Newark. Removing and reinserting the circuit board is a bit of a chore, which is only made possible by removing the plastic buttons from the switches. Without doing that, you will find it difficult or impossible to disassemble and even harder to put back together..

Is this the ultimate console? No, not at all, but it seems fine for its intended purpose. The lack of an audition bus is an issue for some, and not at all for others. Unless you'd be happy with a Mackie or Behringer mixer (which aren't really intended for this purpose) there is little else in its price range except for a couple of offerings from Allen & Heath. The AudioArts/Wheatstone consoles are considerably more expensive.

All that said, what do I have in my radio studios? Two have gracefully aging Wheatstone consoles and one has a vintage (but re-capped) BE rotary pot console.

Arrakis Systems said:

Hello all,
I noticed the some comments about our product, and customer support. I wanted to chime in and ask that you please let me know personally if you ever have a poor experience with our customer support or are having any problems with our product.

Click to expand...

Hi Ben,

It's been a few years since having to work on one of your consoles, but this is what I remember the issues generally were:

1. Fader audio drop-outs and flat spots early in life.
2. Intermittent wiring and connection issues causing hum, noise and audio problems between the control panel hinge point and the motherboard. Raise the top panel and channels come and go. Usually the only cure is to replace and re-route the wiring.
3. Power supply filter caps that seems to fail prematurely, as compared with other brands of console power supplies.
4. Noisy or intermittent push buttons.
5. Lack of commonly used features like audition buss, automatic mix minus for remotes, etc.
6. Noisy preamps and amplifiers. Turning up more than three faders with channels on has unacceptable signal to noise.