Tascam shake up the digital console market with a powerful, all‑new design.
Most people who have been involved with audio will have owned or at least used something with a Tascam badge at some point. The company are well known for producing high‑quality, practical products, and have been chiefly associated with the recording industry at various levels. I myself have owned (and still own) various Tascam portable recorders and replay machines, and they have given great service over the years. Now Tascam have turned their considerable expertise to the production of a new digital mixer, the Sonicview. There are two basic versions available, in a choice of two sizes, known simply as the Sonicview 16 and Sonicview 24. In the US, they are marketed with the suffix ‘XP’ and include an IF‑MTR32 32‑track recorder card pre‑installed, whereas in Europe the recorder card is sold separately.
A new digital mixer from an established industry name is always going to stir up interest, and this one is particularly striking in that the Sonicview is not derived from an existing range. Tascam haven’t been a ‘name’ in the world of portable digital mixers recently, although there are still many DM‑series mixers still doing the business in studios all over the place. The Sonicview is, therefore, a brand‑new product, and one with a considerable amount of research and development behind it. And development is ongoing too: just before NAB 2024, v1.6.0 firmware was released, which adds some specific functionality for broadcast, such as audio‑follows‑video triggered by an event from a video switcher/mixer.
The Sonicview has, as far as I can see, been designed to appeal to three main markets: broadcast, recording and, of course, live sound in all its many forms. I was loaned the Sonicview 24 for this review, with the IF‑MTR32 32‑track recorder card option installed.
Beating Heart
The mix engine of the Tascam Sonicview employs 54‑bit floating‑point maths and processes audio at 96kHz, delivered through 32‑bit A‑D converters. It runs on an FPGA (field‑programmable gate array) which performs all the signal processing necessary to support the mix operations provided to the user. Mix engine latency is a speedy 0.51ms from mic input to line output, which shouldn’t cause any issues with live monitoring. Just how powerful and fast this processing is becomes apparent when you start reading the reference manual and begin to discover how much functionality and configurability has been incorporated into this mixer — there’s usually more than one way to achieve almost anything you could wish to do, and bear in mind that it’s a fresh, young product with a long road of user input and firmware enhancements ahead of it!
The Sonicview 16 and Sonicview 24 both have exactly the same internal processing capabilities (channel count, bus count, effects, expansion slots and so on) and the only differences are apparent on the top and rear panels: the Sonicview 16 has 16 channel faders (plus one master), 16 mic/line inputs, 16 rotary encoders and two seven‑inch touchscreens, whereas the Sonicview 24 has, as you might guess, 24+1 faders, rotaries and mic/line inputs, and three touchscreens. Above each bank of eight faders is an LCD screen that can act as a scribble strip or show input levels; there’s a dedicated output meter on the top right of the desk. In addition to the per‑channel controls (mute, solo and select buttons, and rotary encoder), there are 18 assignable user keys, seven custom fader layers, and eight DCAs. A headphone output at the front is usefully mirrored on both quarter‑inch and mini‑jack sockets.
Ins & Outs
The front end of this mixer is equipped with what Tascam call their HDIA preamps. This stands for High Definition Instrumentation Architecture, and the design delivers excellent noise, distortion and frequency‑response figures, with the ability to maintain performance throughout the gain range. There is 54dB of programmable analogue gain available, with further digital gain adjustment and a ‑20dB pad. Together with the 32‑bit converters, this delivers a lot of headroom, with the inputs able to handle up to +32dBu line levels before clipping. The 16 output XLRs (and the monitor outs) employ 24‑bit/96kHz converters.
In total there are 44 input channels to the mix — 40 mono and two stereo. All mono inputs can be stereo linked in pairs, and have input gain, digital trim, polarity reverse, ‑20dB pad, a gate/expander/de‑esser, EQ (four‑band parametric plus HPF), and keyable compressor/ducker facilities. The two stereo input channels are equipped with a four‑band parametric EQ.
The 40 mono channels also have a delay setting, which can be applied either at the input of the channel strip or pre‑fader; a direct out, which can be at the input of the channel strip, post HPF or post‑fader; and an insert send/return point, which can be pre‑EQ or pre‑fader and can be assigned to any of the I/O (analogue, Dante, USB or expansion slots). This is configured from the input module Overview tab, where you can also find the delay setting.
On the output side, there are 22 mix buses in addition to the main mix. Buses can be linked together to form stereo outputs, and can be configured as standard aux buses with a choice of pre‑ or post‑fader operation, or in Group mode with on/off switches, sent post‑fader. All output buses have four‑band parametric EQ and 31‑band graphic, and a compressor/ducker function. Buses can be routed to other buses, and can also be sent to multiple outputs.
Effects & Returns
The Sonicview provides four separate effects processors, each having a dedicated four‑band parametric EQ. In the default configuration, the four effect returns will be on fader layer 2 (coloured green), and return channel processing can be configured on screen.
In general, there’s a lot of configuration that can be done from the on‑screen menus, and the reference manual is clear and pretty easy to follow; there are useful screenshots to assist, and a Sonicview Control app also provides means of getting stuck into detailed configuration without needing to sit in front of the console itself.
Hands On
When it emerged from its flightcase, the Sonicview 24 proved to be an impressive‑looking bit of kit. It’s nicely proportioned, with its three screens across the angled upper surface, and all panel controls laid out neatly with a very upmarket look to it. There’s an impression of solidity and good build quality; on some portable mixers, tapping the side panels can result in plasticky rattles but that’s not the case at all here. Everything looks and feels extremely well engineered and put together. Boot‑up time isn’t the fastest on the planet, but it’s respectable considering how much is going on under that sleek surface.
The faders are very smooth, both under motor control and when used by hand, and the rotary encoders have a quality feel, with just the right amount of resistance...
The faders are very smooth, both under motor control and when used by hand, and the rotary encoders have a quality feel, with just the right amount of resistance to give reliable operation, and make it easy to ‘land’ them where you want them. The screens and all controls are well laid out and easy to see whether you’re sitting or standing.
In addition to my own time and tests with the Sonicview, I asked a friend and colleague, Patrick Woodington, to take the mixer out on a couple of live sound jobs. Patrick regularly runs sound on some interesting and challenging shows, and he was able to put the Sonicview to use on some of them. I have combined Patrick’s comments with my observations, and luckily we agreed on just about everything! Patrick commented even before powering up the console that it was a “handy size”, and that it being a one‑man lift was a major plus point for any venue (like a school or church) where it might need to be moved from room to room.
On powering up, the first thing we noticed was that everything is nice and bright and easy to see. The three touchscreens are resistive rather than capacitive, and take a bit of getting used to; I found them easy enough to use after a few taps, but Patrick decided that many functions were easier to access using a stylus. On the Sonicview there is often more than one way to perform a particular operation, so for example there’s no need to be reliant on the screens if parameters can be adjusted with the rotary encoders. This is a more flexible approach than is taken by some smaller digital desks, where the workflow relies heavily on either knobs or screen touches. The viewing angle of the screens is very clear and forgiving, and the same goes to the rest of the controls: once brightness preferences have been set to taste, everything is easy to see even in a brightly lit room or outdoors.
The provision of a stereo mini‑jack output alongside the standard 6.3mm headphone jack is a nice touch. I have lost count of the times I’ve lost the headphone adaptor and had to scrabble around for something to get me out of trouble.
Up & Running
When hooked up and in use, the Sonicview displayed many impressive features and qualities. It’s straightforward to get up and running, and once we had ‘mounted’ the stagebox (see ‘Remote I/O’ box) using the Dante setup options so that the desk could see it, everything was nice and stable and the Dante in/out patching simple to configure.
Once the Sonicview had been set up, the basic workflow was intuitive, and most things fell quickly to hand. It’s easy to get distracted by the bells and whistles, but the main job of any digital mixer is to take audio in, process it in the ways the operator requires, and deliver it to its destination. The Sonicview does this very nicely indeed; it has really great, clean preamps, too, with a very low noise floor and simply all‑round excellent audio performance.
In general, the workflow appears to have been well thought through, and although loaded with features, the Sonicview is pretty easy to use once you get around it. The aux ‘sends on faders’ mode has a very clear screen layout and the selection process is simple and quick. The ability to link odd/even or even/odd mono channels in a stereo pair may seem a small point, but it’s very useful in some circumstances.
After his second show on the Sonicview, Patrick noted that “It is very easy to navigate during live shows. The ‘fixed layer’ option is very useful; I was able to ‘fix’ my DCAs into place on the third bank of faders whilst navigating between the other two banks of inputs that were set up.”
There are very few limitations on how the Sonicview can be configured, especially in terms of the screen displays and fader layer assignments. It is a very flexible machine, and in general, if you want to do something, there’s a way of doing it. One neat touch is the Home button, which gets you back to a default screen overview, and there’s also an option to deselect all channels. The screens can be set up to show multiple parameters, providing a clear ‘big picture’ of exactly what’s going on with the selected processing channel, and it’s also possible to pin the metering to a specific screen so that it’s always visible. Channel strips have a small ‘at a glance’ meter that is useful as an overview to check that everything is present that should be, and there’s not too much of it anywhere! Meter reference levels can be set to suit the particular work environment, a feature that is presumably required when using the Sonicview with differing standards in the broadcast industry.
Practical Outputs
Although the Sonicview does not have matrices, it does allow the output buses — including the main stereo output — to be routed back to other aux buses, so in effect you can make your own. Output buses have parametric and graphic EQ options, and we discovered a neat little trick here: if you set up a graphic EQ on an output and then look at that output’s parametric EQ page, it shows an overlay of what’s already been set on the graphic so you can avoid conflicting settings, or simply see an EQ curve of the graphic’s current status. The parametric EQ controls on the outputs don’t seem to include an option for high‑/low‑pass filtering; shelving can be selected on the upper and lower bands but a high‑pass filter would have been nice to have, especially for use on stage monitors.
Looking Ahead
After one of his shows, Patrick came up with a suggestion to make live EQ adjustments a bit more streamlined, and we fed back those comments to the Tascam people. Patrick thought that the parameters displayed in the EQ module screen could be user‑assigned, in a similar way that custom fader layers can be set up; this would allow the 16 available positions for various parameters on the two on‑screen rows to be arranged to suit the user’s preference. Within a couple of days we received a response suggesting that the R&D team in Japan were receptive to the idea, and so we watch this particular space with interest!
Another area that might benefit from future development is the effects. The built‑in processors on the Sonicview are impressive and sound very detailed, but there are not all that many of them. Current options include mono, stereo, plate and gated reverbs, mono, stereo and ping‑pong delays, chorus, flanger, phaser and a pitch‑shifter, but I expect this is an area where additional algorithms could easily be added with future firmware updates.
Final Thoughts
In summary, the Tascam Sonicview is a high‑quality, well‑engineered multi‑purpose console with lots of functionality and flexibility built in, and should have a strong appeal to live sound, broadcast, recording and fixed installation users. If you want to discover what it is really capable of, head over to the Tascam website and dive into the detailed information available — or, better still, try to get your hands on one.
Round The Back
The Sonicview 16 and 24 are identical in terms of I/O, except that the 24 (pictured) has 24 XLR inputs compared to the former’s 16. On both models, the final eight inputs are mirrored on TRS jacks, while the next two inputs down have unbalanced analogue insert points. There are 16 mix outputs on XLR (plus a stereo pair of monitor outs), and both models sport two Dante Ethernet connections, word clock I/O, two unbalanced stereo RCA input pairs, an Ethernet control port, a footswitch jack, a dedicated talkback mic input, a four‑pin lamp XLR and a GPIO D‑Sub connector for remote control in fixed installations.
Remote I/O
The stagebox feels very solid and is easy to handle, with the Ethercon and power connections recessed into the back of the unit — a good practical feature, about which Patrick Woodington (see main text) commented that he would be “happy to throw this next to the drum riser on a busy stage without worrying about anything getting damaged or disconnected”. The stagebox incorporates signal clip and phantom LEDs on every channel, and unusually has signal LEDs on the outputs as well; this is another useful feature and could assist in a time‑pressured setup or fault‑chasing situation.
The fact that there are two Dante ports on the console means you can either run two SB‑16Ds together for 32 remote inputs and outputs, or have a second SB‑16D as a redundant backup should the first fail.
App Control
The Sonicview Control app is a very useful tool, not only for the obvious offline preparation and editing but also as a training and familiarisation aid; it mimics the display screen, making the initial hands‑on experience smoother for new users. The app is available for Mac and Windows machines, as well as iOS and iPadOS, but currently not for Android.
32-track Recording
As mentioned earlier, the Sonicview models available East of the Atlantic don’t include recording facilities as standard, but the addition of an IF‑MTR32 card turns the console into a 32‑track recorder with full multitrack playback and virtual soundcheck functions, with no other external hardware connected. Recordings are captured to SD card and console snapshots can be saved to accompany particular recordings for future virtual soundcheck use — always a potentially very useful live sound tool, and easy to use on the Sonicview.
The USB port on the console also allows you to employ the Sonicview as a 32‑in/32‑out USB audio interface for multitrack recording to a DAW. You can also perform simple stereo recording and playback using the USB port or SD card slot on the top right of the mixer’s control surface.
Pros
- Excellent sound quality and general audio performance, with high‑quality preamps.
- Great general appearance and layout.
- Easy to use.
- Flexible.
- Good I/O count and can be configured practically any way you like.
- Built‑in Dante connectivity.
Cons
- No Android app.
- Limited effects selection.
- Resistive touchscreens take some getting used to.
Summary
The Sonicview is a lovely‑sounding desk with a huge amount of features, and once you find your way around it it’s an easy console to navigate. An impressive example of a ‘one size fits all’ desk that would suit many applications across different audio disciplines.
Information
Sonicview 16 £4630, Sonicview 24 £5555, SB‑16D £2590, IF‑MTR32 £925. Prices include VAT.
TEAC UK Ltd +44 (0)1923 797205.
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