The digital console market is crowded in 2015. Every new console I encounter is better (and cheaper) than the last. Features that were previously only found on high-end mixing consoles are cropping up on sub-$30,000 boards left and right. It’s simply amazing how fast the market is moving, and how far prices have fallen in just a few short years.
When I received the Roland M-5000 for review, it had an uphill battle to climb in my mind for two reasons. First, I had heard good things about the console from several people, so I hoped it would live up to the hype. Second, this console isn’t cheap, and most people don’t look to Roland first for a console in this price range, so it had to be good enough to convince me that it was worth the money compared to all other available offerings. I’m happy to report that the M-5000 passed these tests with flying colors. It’s an impressive console, and I have to give Roland credit as a company for what they’ve done with it. A huge amount of development work obviously went into the M-5000, and it feels like a mature platform, despite being less than a year old.
OHRCA
Roland calls the M-5000 platform “OHRCA,” which stands for “Open High Resolution Configurable Architecture.” When I first heard this phrase, it sounded like a clever marketing slogan, but in actuality, the console is worthy of its lofty verbiage. The OHRCA system is in fact “open.” While the transport protocol between the console surface and digital snakes is Roland’s proprietary REAC (Roland Ethernet Audio Communication) protocol, the system also supports AES/EBU, MADI, Dante, Waves SoundGrid, as well as Serial Digital Interface, SFP and DVI via expansion cards. Unlike other manufacturers whose expansion cards are hampered by seemingly arbitrary channel limitations, Roland’s cards support the full specification (64 channels for MADI and Dante at 48k, for example).
This M-5000 system is also “high resolution,” boasting 24/96 kHz operation straight out of the gate, and a 72-bit linear summing circuit that determines the sound quality of the digital mixing. Roland certainly isn’t the first manufacturer in the live sound market operating at 96 kHz, but in this price range, they are one of few. I tested the console with a variety of source material ranging from my typical P.A. tuning tracks, to live microphones, to multitrack recordings of live bands. I found the console to have exceptional clarity and fidelity. Roland has painstakingly designed every aspect of the console’s audio path, from the analog preamplifiers through to the summing circuit, and it has paid off in a big way. The M-5000 is the flagship model for Roland, and I felt that they got the sound quality of the console just right.
Finally, the M-5000 console truly does have a “configurable architecture” that other manufacturers should strive for. The system has 128 freely definable audio paths that can be used in any combination, including input channels and buses. For example, the console could be configured for 64 input channels and 64 output buses, and the buses could be a mix of auxes, groups, matrices and main buses. The main buses can be setup as LR, LCR or 5.1, and the console also features downmix and mix-minus buses, features often found only on dedicated broadcast consoles. Just a few years ago, such flexibility of console structure was absolutely unheard of at this price-point.
The Console Surface
The OHRCA M-5000 System consists of six distinct components working together to create a complete and full-featured system. It’s a very well developed and mature platform, considering the fact that it is a relative newcomer to the market. Roland has managed to leverage several of its existing products, incorporating them into the M-5000 system. The first piece of an OHRCA system is the M-5000 (standard) or M-5000C (compact) mixing surface. The difference between the two surfaces is relatively minor, with the 37 x 28-inch, 79-pound M-5000 carrying 28 faders and the (29.2 x 28.6-inch, 70.6-pound) M-5000C carrying 20 faders. Surprisingly, the two surfaces are otherwise almost identical. Both support the full 128 processing paths, the same number of expansion slots, and the same amount of I/O. The M-5000C (the smaller of the two surfaces) has eight less local outputs, but otherwise, the two surfaces appear to have identical capabilities.
My demo system included the larger M-5000 surface, and I found the surface layout to be clean, smooth and intuitive to operate. Many of the visual design cues on the surface borrow from much higher-end mixing consoles. Among these design elements are the large touch screen that is integral to the console’s operation, the LED color-coded rotary knobs, large, high-resolution scribble strips and its user-definable faders, buttons and knobs. Roland seemingly incorporated the best features of many different digital consoles, and left the rest behind, creating a powerful, yet streamlined user interface.
Control of most console parameters is handled from a large central touch screen and the 16 rotary encoders below. The touch screen’s software is bold and beautiful looking, and Roland’s website praises the software’s “flat design,” taking software design cues from none other than Apple’s iOS and OSX. If I have one complaint about the surface, it is the touch screen hardware itself. It’s very reflective, making it difficult to operate in high ambient lighting conditions. There’s also a screen protector that leaves an air gap between it and the screen itself, and I felt like the touch screen could have been a bit more high resolution. The touch screen hardware could use some improvement, but the software interface is beautiful and well designed.
In addition to the 32 graphic and parametric EQ’s available on any channel or bus, eight stereo multi-effects are available on inputs or outputs and can be inserted at any point in the chain. These range from digital reverb, delay, multi-band compression and dynamic EQ — all modeled on classic Roland effects such as the RE-201 Space Echo and the SRV-2000, SDE-3000, SDD-320, CE-1, SPH-323 and SBF-325 — as well as emulations of BOSS distortion and delay pedals. Need more? Add the optional XI-WSG module and connecting to a SoundGrid server brings the entire family of Waves plug-ins to your fingertips.
The I/O
The M-5000 system taps directly into Roland’s strength as a digital snake innovator. The benefit to the OHRCA platform is that there is a vast array of available I/O for the system based around the REAC protocol. The remote I/O offerings start with a set of fixed-format racks ranging from 8 x 8 up to 24 x 16. The smaller boxes can be used as digital subsnakes, while the larger boxes can be used in a more traditional stage rack configuration. In addition to the fixed I/O devices, there are also several modular units that allow for more flexible configuration, including a mix of analog and AES/EBU I/O totaling up to 40 channels. In total, while the M-5000 console has 128 processing paths, the system can manage a respectable 300 input and 296 output ports at 96k.
Extensibility
One of the biggest strengths of the M-5000 system is its extensibility. The system’s core protocol is Roland’s REAC, but the M-5000 supports numerous other protocols such as Dante, MADI, and many others. As mentioned earlier, the option cards for the M-5000 support their respective protocol’s full channel count, making the cards much more useful than some competing products. One of the things that I found most interesting and compelling is that Roland is sharing option cards between its video switcher products and the M-5000 system. For example, the XI-SDI expansion card can be installed on a Roland video switcher, providing two SDI video inputs. The same card, when installed on an M-5000 system, provides 16-channel SDI embedding and 16 channels of de-embedding. This cross compatibility between different types of products provides excellent options for Roland customers, speeding development and keeping costs in check.
Recording and Playback
Recording and playback can be achieved in several ways from the M-5000, depending on the user’s track count requirements. The simplest way is to record or play back 2-track audio using a USB flash drive. In addition, there is a 16 x 16 USB interface on the back of the console that can be used with any ASIO-compliant DAW. For users that require full multi-track recording, Roland offers its R-1000 hardware recorder. The R-1000 sits on the REAC network, offering fully integrated 48-track recording at 48 kHz, or 24-track recording at 96 kHz. Features — such as track arming, routing, starting and stopping — can all be controlled directly from the console. The unit also doubles as a playback machine for virtual sound check that includes gain compensation when required. The R-1000 hardware is loaded with high-end features such as word clock I/O, LTC (Longitudinal Time Code) input and even a black burst input for synchronizing with video. Tracks are recorded to removable SSDs for easy offload of recorded material. Beyond Roland’s R-1000, one can envision many possible multi-track recording systems based around Dante or MADI.
Personal Monitoring
One of my favorite aspects of the M-5000 platform is the interaction with Roland’s excellent M48 personal monitor mixers. I’ve always thought the M48’s were among the best personal monitor mixers on the market, and the tight integration between the M-5000 and the M48’s makes for a potent combination. Rather than relying on an external computer to configure the M48 system, all of the control and configuration is brought directly onto the console’s touch screen. A few other manufacturers have attempted similar integrations, but Roland is the first to be successful in my opinion. The engineer can even monitor and adjust artists’ M48 mixes from the console surface, overcoming a common limitation of other personal monitoring systems.
Remote Control
Rounding out the M-5000 OHRCA system is a suite of industry leading remote control options. I’ve often wondered what has taken other manufacturers so long to produce a simple iPad application, although it is slated to ship in December, 2015. Roland has made remote control a top priority, offering their Remote Control Software, or “RCS” on multiple platforms, including PC, Mac and iPad. The RCS is more than just an offline editor. It allows for full control of the console from a remote location, opening the possibility for a second mix position using only a computer. With support for retina displays and external monitors, RCS is more than just your typical console iPad application.
Conclusion
I found the Roland M-5000 to be a very compelling system for the price. I have to admit that when I first heard the pricing, I had a bit of sticker shock. I wondered if Roland could be successful in the face of stiff competition in this price range. Having spent a few weeks with the M-5000, I view the console as an ecosystem of products, and when viewed as a complete package, the flexibility and tight integrations are its greatest strengths. The old saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” couldn’t be more true in the case of Roland’s M-5000.
At a Glance
Fast, Flexible Flagship
With the M-5000 console family, Roland has delivered an exceedingly versatile line of mid-priced professional digital consoles that offer ample options and alternatives to create a system that’s custom tailored to meet the needs of nearly any application. At the same time, the M-5000 doesn’t scrimp in any area, whether in terms of features; a fast, easy to navigate GUI; or the 24-bit/96 kHz audio quality — that’s pristine from stage box to output bus.
PROS
• Tight integration with Roland’s ecosystem of products
• Excellent audio quality (24/96k, 72-bit summing circuit)
• Configurable console structure (128 freely definable audio paths)
CONS
• Touch screen hardware could use improvement
• iPad control app not shipping (slated for Dec. 2015)
Roland M-5000
STATS
Manufacturer: Roland
MSRP PRICING*
- M-5000: $22,995.
- M-5000C: $17,995.
XI Expansion Cards
- XI-REAC: $1,595.
- XI-DANTE: $1,895
- XI-MADI: $2,395.
- XI-WSG (Waves Sound Grid): pricing TBA
Personal Monitoring
- M-48 Personal Mixer: $895.
- S-4000D REAC splitter/power distributor (supports up to eight M-48s): $1,295.
- S-2416 (24×16 stage unit): $2,995.
- S-1608 (16×8 stage unit): $1,495.
- S-0816 (8×16 FOH unit): $1,395.
- S-0808 (8×8 input/output unit): $1,395.
*The prices above are for individual components; M-5000 is best purchased as a package. Consult your local Roland rep for package pricing.
More Info: http://proav.roland.com/ohrca
