We've got two of the M32R desks now, and they have performed almost flawlessly over the last few years. Their feature set is fantastic and comparable to the other brands and models only in price, you get a lot more functionality, features and routing possibilities than other digital desks at this price point.
Six band EQ on every channel, compression and gates in the box. Insert effects are wonderfully useful, especially for balancing your main signal. The matrix section is perfect for managing things like side fills, centre fills, or live streams - all of which we do on a regular basis with this console. The additional AES-EBU outputs that come with the matching DL32 stagebox allows us to pair speaker DSP with zero fuss.
This console looks much better than the X32 and all the variants of it. If you watch the videos on YouTube with Dave Rat, you'll see that the only significant design difference in the M32 is that the internal fader design is placed sideways unlike the X32. Apparently this approach reduces the risk of damage from liquid ingress.
I think my only criticism is the AES-50 protocol used between the desk and the stagebox can be flakey sometimes. Use the recommended cable for audio transmission, keep/run spare Cat5E reels for redundancy. It doesn't take much at an outdoor event for the sound to drop out if there's any kind of electromagnetism, or an unhappy generator that splutters. And even then, there's still a high likelihood you'll get audio dropouts when you use cable 100% to spec. Try not to run your Cat5e cable in parallel to things like power cables, fridges, generators, fog machines, routers, or anything else that can cause electromagnetic interference or discharges.
Also, the routing is a lot to get your head around if you're not used to it. It can be even more frustrating especially if you're working under pressure and your mind goes blank. Those menus aren't particularly intuitive, especially for the uninitiated. You've got lots to consider, and I feel the 1:1 patching in the latest update makes things worse for guest engineers that aren't familiar with the X32 eco-system.
However, once you get it up and running it's a great piece of kit, it just has a very steep learning curve. Once you know your way around it's perfect, it just takes a bit of time to get there. It's quite a powerhouse in a very small form factor and well worth every penny.
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