Roland Systems Group has long been established in the pro live sound industry, going back to the initial debut of its Roland Digital Snake at the New York AES convention in 2005. Once production units became available some months later, I was blown away on hearing an A/B comparison between analog signals running over 300 feet of copper cabling (which sounded dull, with nearly no HF sparkle) and the pristine sound of the Roland system, with 40 channels of 24-bit/96kHz audio running over a single Cat-5e cable. If that wasn’t enough, that S-4000 Digital Snake also offered the additional ease of “splits” using Ethernet switching hubs, simple redundancy setups, expandability to 160 channels, remote-controllable preamps, low latency performance and PC/Mac software for configs and monitoring.
In the years that followed, the hits kept coming, with the establishment of the REAC (Roland Ethernet Audio Communication) protocol, the breakthrough M-400 V-Mixing System (which evolved into the current flagship M-480), several smaller versions (the M-300 and M-380) and the M-48 Personal Mixers for individual performers.
Now Roland Systems Group again strikes a blow against the price/performance barrier with the M-200i, a compact mixing solution for users seeking the flexibility and mobility of comprehensive iPad control combined with the precision of a professional digital mixing console. The mixer has a compact 19.4-by-19.6-inch footprint and weighs just under 22 pounds and while REAC supports 96 kHz, the M-200i operates at either 44.1 or 48 kHz.
I/O and More
The physical console itself features a 32-channel-capable architecture with 17 motorized faders, eight aux sends, four matrix mix outputs, eight DCAs, 24 physical inputs and 14 outputs.
The onboard inputs include 16 balanced XLR mic/line inputs and eight line inputs (six TRS; two RCA). Reaching the full 32 inputs requires adding from external sources via a REAC device, such as Roland’s optional S-1608 digital snake/stage box, which adds 16 more XLR inputs and eight physical outputs, along with the convenience of remote control of preamp gain. Any of the built-in 24 analog inputs, the 40×40 channels on the REAC port, the effect outputs and USB memory recorder can be assigned to the 32 channels. At the console, sources are accessed via five illuminated bank switches which instantly bring up inputs 1 to 16, inputs 17 to 32, aux/DCA/matrix channels or two user-defined 16-channel banks.
Beyond simply adding more physical inputs, the M-200i’s REAC port opens the door to expandability options, like interfacing to a MADI system (via the S-MADI REAC-MADI bridge), multi-channel playback/recording capability (to a DAW such as Cakewalk SONAR Producer or the Roland R-1000 48-track hardware recorder) and a link to the Roland personal mixing system — all using inexpensive Cat-5e/6 cable.
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Under the Hood
Onboard DSP is extensive, with a gate/expander, compressor and 4-band parametric EQ are available on all 32 channels. Fifteen types of processors — reverb, delay, Roland “Vintage Effects” and more are standard, along with built-in chorus, flanging, phasing, phase shifting and the company’s proprietary Dimension-D. On the output side, the main, aux and matrix buses all include a compressor, 4-band parametric EQ, limiter and delay functions; and four 31-band graphic EQs are assignable to any bus. If room acoustics need more intensive sound correction, eight additional 31-band graphic EQs are accessible by selecting the graphic EQ from the four multi-effects.
An onboard USB memory port on the rear panel, has several uses. Any two of the main, auxiliary or matrix outputs can be recorded as a 16-bit, uncompressed WAV file directly to a USB memory stick. WAV files stored in USB memory can also be played from any input channel. In addition, the USB memory can be employed for saving/loading configuration files for later use/recall and/or archiving of mix data.
Control Flexibility
One of the M-200i’s key features is its ability for wireless control via an iPad using the RSS free “M-200i Remote” app, which will be available next month from the App Store. This comprehensive app not only includes full control of channel strips (gain, pan, high pass filters and parametric/graphic EQs), mixing, auxes, DSP and more, but also the ability to store and recall scenes, tweak compressors and gates, sends, faders, effects editing and other controls.
A wireless connection is established simply by attaching an optional WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter or a wireless LAN access point, which allows full user control from the stage or any location in the house. Alternatively, an included iPad dock cable connector provides a reliable wired connection, powering/charging and stable operation with the iPad placed directly on the console or the mixer can be controlled by the free M-200i RCS Mac/PC software.
Whether you have an iPad available or not, the M-200i is fully controllable using the top panel’s LCD screen along with buttons to navigate all mixing parameters. Combining the strengths of both iPad and tactile hardware control is a “touch and turn” feature that lets users touch a particular parameter on the iPad and control it with a physical knob on the console surface.
For flexibility in monitor mixing, the Roland M-200i also supports Roland’s M-48 Personal Mixing System, or the M-200i can function as a standalone monitor console within a REAC network with another RSS console used in the FOH position.
The Roland M-200i carries an MRSP of $3,495 and availability is expected in January 2013.
More information at www.rolandsystemsgroup.com.