How durable are your consoles?

[Shakey Jake]

I've read a lot of stuff on the BNET about console durability, and I've heard a lot of it from some of your competitors. They keep telling me your stuff won't hold up over the long haul. I figure they've got an agenda though. Maybe you'd like to try and convince me otherwise?

SJ

[Catfish]

Hello Jake.

Yes, they probably have an agenda.

I have designed recording and broadcast consoles for 20+ years now, including many of the analog PR&E consoles, famous for their durability. But even the PR&E boards had their weak points. Given the fresh slate of a new company, I was able to blend best practices (things that worked before) with new innovations to improve the state of the art. Axia consoles are built to last...

First of all, Element is constructed from extruded and machined aluminum, 0.20 inch thick for the end panels and the module surfaces. The bullnose and the display shroud are custom aluminum extrusions. Exposed surfaces are painted with electrostatically applied powdercoat paint and hardened thermally.

The control areas are rear-printed polycarbonate which will look terrific for years of heavy use (PR&E consoles used to lose their silkscreen around faders and control knobs over time). The polycarbonate is applied to machined aluminum module face plates. Everything is solid and built to last for 10-15 years and beyond.

The illuminated switches we use are special. We use ultra high-reliability switches made for avionics, where failures can be dangerous. We have molded our own custom button caps and bezels for each switch type. The bezels guard the buttons from accidental actuation, but more importantly, protect the switch element from abuse. You can bang on the switches with your fist and the bezels will absorb the shock so you don't break any switches. Of course, illumination is all by LED rather than incandescent lamps.

The rotary encoders we use for critical monitor volume functions are high-reliability contactless optical units that are rated for 5,000,000 rotations! I've seen even good-quality pots fail after a year of heavy use by fidgety jocks. I once saw a jock spinning a pot between two palms in time with the music! These long-life encoders are obscenely expensive, but even Mr. Spin couldn't wear out one of these babies.

Even the faders are special. Our faders have a precision conductive plastic element in an aluminum enclosure. Unlike most faders with the slot on the top, this slot is on the *side* of the fader with a unique wrap around arm. The problem with the top slot is that dust and grime can fall straight into the element and create problems. Worse, you might have a coffee spill and really make a mess of the fader elements. With the slot on the side, the element is safe and lasts much longer.

Speaking of spills, this happened too often to those old PR&E consoles. A cola spill could eat the traces off a motherboard if left uncleaned. I didn't even want to risk it on Element. There is no motherboard. While we hope nobody dumps cola in the Element, if they do, it will find its way to the bottom of the mainframe where no electronics live. We connect the modules with jacketed CAT.5 cables.

When compared with the other consoles on the market, you will see that the materials we use, the components we select and the attention to design detail is the best in the business. I challenge anyone to compare Axia consoles to anything else for durability.

Thanks for writing!

[Jim Armstrong]

As a former air talent and sales guy for SAS, I have seen quite a few consoles in my time.

When "the Catfish" mentions the aluminum is .20 gauge, it doesn't really drive home the point. This is THICK stuff and easily will handle what today's operators can throw at it. Try and lean on it to see if you can flex or bow the module. I have tried this with other brands and they go "Boing!"

[AXIA_milos]

I haven't met a lot of Samoans, but I suppose they have a reputation of being big and strong. I saw an email not to long ago from a customer that said he liked the consoles because they were Samoan Proof. The TV station has Samoan operators. That is my new response when people ask me such things.

[contractguy]

I'm just checking you out and I have a question. I went to a demonstraton where one of the SAS said that your consoles were flimsy, and to make his point he pushed on the phone controller panel in his Rubicon and told us that Telos made it. That thing flexed like it was made of tin. SO how does this square with what you're saying here about how reliable your stuff is?

[Catfish]

I find it hard to believe anyone at SAS would say such a thing. I've known those guys for years and although we compete vigorously, I have always respected them. Perhaps the person who told you this was new or didn't know the facts.

The truth is, we didn't make any panels for SAS. Telos does sell an electronics/switch circuit board to various console vendors-- including SAS-- to mount into their own metalwork in their consoles. Many years ago, we did offer complete panels with metalwork for PR&E consoles, but we have not done that for any other consoles.

So if you did see a flimsy panel in an SAS console, we certainly did not make it. I imagine SAS made it or had someone make it for them. I guess it is possible the person who told you this didn't know that and assumed that we had made it. But that certainly is not the case.

If you're concerned about how rugged our consoles are, I invite you to test one for yourself. We build our frames from custom aluminum extrusions, formed to provide maximum rigidity. Our module metal is all extruded and machined aluminum, quite thick. Press on it, pound on it, have a heavy jock sit on it... our consoles are built to stand up to any abuse your talent can dream up.

Thanks for posting.

[SEP]

We've been using Element consoles in some form or fashion for about a year now. The general framework is very robust and the tactile feel and appearance are superb. We were using PR&E BMX/AMX series consoles prior to the Axia installation, those things were indestructible (except for their faders and program assignment buttons).
My big concern is how well the Element faders will hold up (electrically and physically). My experience is that the bane of any console is sloppy/intermittent faders. The only tangible criticism I can presently make about the Element console is that the paint on the frequently used talkback buttons on the channel strips is wearing off from usage.
On a side note, these Element consoles are very shallow and can be set on top of your studio furniture without the necessity of a cut-out. This was essential in our studios’ build out as we had to temporarily operate Element consoles on furniture that was destined to have a different sized console (different sized Element cut-out).