CAD Maxcon 2?

[Seamus TM]

What's the story with these? Anyone have any use or opinions on these? Are they closer to a Mackie or an Amek?
Just for mixing, so the pres don't matter as much.

Seamus

[KingDaddyO]

I recently acquired one of these after much deliberation. I had never heard of them but did a ton of research after seeing one on eBay. There's not a lot out there on the net about CAD's (the company only manufactures microphones now, and damn good ones!), but there is information worth searching for.

As for what they are like or as compared to other desks, I'm not really qualified to say as I've never owned a Neve, Amek, or other pro desks before. Coming from the TASCAM world mostly over the last 25 years, I will say that I think the design on the CAD modules overall, is very unique in a good engineering sense, and that if the electronics are well maintained the sound you will get out is exactly what you put in. Some have compared the sonic quality to that of the Sony MXP 3000 series, except better! I don't know about that but I can tell you that I am very pleased with the clarity, the very low noise floor, and the control surface layout of the MaxCon II series. For the typical price range (2-4K) of these desks, I think you are really getting a great bang for the buck. The key is to get one that has been well maintained and cared for.... and then to continue the tradition yourself. Really it's no different with most other classic analog gear, and perhaps arguably, even less of a hassle than much of the astronomically priced vintage gear that we all lust after!

BTW... you will come across a lot of opinions about the reliability of these desks, mostly that the pots and switches are crap and really noisy... or that the desks run hot. From my experience, proper maintenance will go a long way in removing any switching noise issues with this board, and there are parts and support available. The fader area does get 'toasty warm' when all modules are powered on for some time, but it is not anything that I would call 'running hot' or be concerned about. In fact it's kind of nice to have a comfortably warm mixing surface! One very cool thing is that the circuit design eschews any coupling capacitors in all signal paths (except for a single pair at the mic pre in). As such, there are no re-capping projects ever to perform! All circuits are DC coupled which is a very high end circuit design, and one which was somehow involved in the decision for SSL to use a similar design on their desks. I don't know the full story but this is what I have pieced together.

Here is a CAD forum link if you would like to learn more:
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/219913.html

Enjoy!