Soundcraft Showcases Lower-Priced Si2 Addition To Si Series Digital Console Family

Jun 18, 2009

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Digital consoles seem to be freely flowing from the Soundcraft Studer team these days, as a new member of the Si Series has recently been announced. The Soundcraft Si2 is a smaller partner to the Si3 launched only in September last year, and is bound to appeal to those wanting a compact and highly-featured digital console at a competitive price.

The Si2 comes in a smaller footprint than its bigger brother, and has 48 mic inputs mapped on 24 faders (the Si3 has 64 inputs), but this is where the differences end. The Si2, like the Si3, has four dedicated Stereo Line channels, four dedicated FX Returns from the four stereo Lexicon FX processors, 8 balanced insert sends and 8 balanced insert returns. Si2 is complete with 24 Group/Aux busses available at all times, 8 matrix busses and a full complement of monitor talkback and main bus outputs. One of the most unique and compelling features of the Si series is that every input and output has its own dedicated input (output) socket on the back of the console.

Like the Si3, the Si2 uses a combination of rotary encoders and OLED screens on every channel so the engineer mixes at source, without recourse to a central screen, an interface welcomed by many engineers since the console's launch last year. Four assignable on-board lexicon effect engines supplement 4 stereo inputs to provide a really powerful mix package in a width of 1.4m for a UK list price of £17,950.

This package will be highly suited for installations where a smaller footprint is critical, such as theaters, houses of worship and smaller tour sound systems.

With all input and output connections and power supply on board, the Si2 can simply drop in where an existing analog console sits, utilizing existing copper cable snakes and splitter systems.