Cranborne Audio 500R8

My first dive into the world of 500 series equipment - I have both the R8 and ADAT units giving me 16 ins and outs via any 500 series module chain. This R8 lets you customise your channel strips into the computer and also lets you use them again when mixing from your DAW. Really good monitoring options and lots of useful knobs on the front panels regards blending levels, talk-back and signal routing options. It is an expensive unit but quality and functionality are high. The highlight for me is the ability to "chain" together as many 500 modules as you like without the need for any re-patching or connecting extra cables - and all from the R8s' front panel switches !!!

I was excited for this product, like a lot of people I wanted to make it the centre of my studio, but when it arrived it had multiple bugs and software issues, I updated the firmware, no fix,I reached out to Thomann and they could not figure the issues, I contacted Cranborne and no response.

Ultimately I returned the item, as I previously bought their camden 500 preamp unit and it started producing signal noise after a few weeks I was concerned they may have some production issues.

Two weeks later Cranborne responded to my support email but I informed them “sorry but I had to return the item”,below is their word for word response:

“Sorry to hear that but probably for the best. Thanks so much for giving our products a "try".”

Cranborne have some good ideas, and clearly put a lot into marketing but I’m leaving this review to let people know the experience once you’ve put your money down is not so rosey. I don’t want to speak ill of a new company trying new ideas, but the two Cranborne units I have bought they both produced good audio when they worked, neither worked consistently. I wish them well going forward and hope things become more consistent, but I won’t be buying Cranborne again.