Got the dock today. Unboxing vid

[tattootroy]

Ok Picked up a Dock from KMR audio London today, they had the first 3.
After doing my first unboxing vid I connect it briefly to PT and cubase just to check.
Shall mess about with it more in the coming days.
First impression it looks cool or is cool.

Downers:
Mine came with a USA plug kettle lead and not a UK plug.
No little arm rest thingy as was pictured in the online pro-mo pics.
I do not see channel track switching bottom "Banking buttons" on the dock.

Uppers: its great eucon works with lots of different apps. price is good.

Avid dock unboxing vid below.
Ignore the kids and dog in the background sound.
Vid cut short camera battery died.

https://youtu.be/7sGHlAeXkqA



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[Meads]

It was so obvious that Avid would mess it up again. They made it too narrow to fit the ipad with a charging cable.
Everyone at Avid belongs in a special section as it seems. It's not even sad anymore, it starts getting funny more and more.
So a plastic abomination that doesn't fit a tablet with its charger. Sweet!

[mattrixx]

WTF?? What an oversight regarding the charging cable. Unbelievable.

[YYR123]

I thought that was my dog, I heard in the video...!!! :)

[Stig Eliassen]

The Dock comes with an iPad Mini Riser pre-installed which increases the viewing angle for iPad Mini and also accommodates iPad Air. If using an iPad Air, use a right-angle Lightning cable to keep the cable clear of the knobs. The iPad Mini Riser can be removed if not needed.

Also, there is a USB port on the back to charge the iPad.

[mesaone]

I can't say for sure by looking at the video, but it really looks like there's plenty of room for the charging cable behind the unit. So if you place your ipad in the doc, then plug the charging cable in behind that second knob, it'll fit just fine.

Like so (ignore the fact that I plugged into the wrong side): http://i.imgur.com/VSyCu3i.png

[Righty27]

Thanks to tattootroy for the unboxing video - these are always useful when a new product is launched, often providing a much more realistic view than manufacturer product images.

In pro circles (not just in this 'audio' sphere), a product that delivers workflow improvements can be valued on its functionality alone, as 'time is money'. However, I think Avid is missing a trick with this type of hardware. The control app is excellent and they've included what were expected to be 'premium' features for free ... but the Dock doesn't look (on the evidence of this video) like a £1k product. The plastic stand looks out of place and the cable management + dependence on 'rare' right-angle cable is out of character with the otherwise nice aesthetic design ... and this will help ensure sales are restricted only to those who can benefit most from the functionality. Maybe Stig can suggest where to get a suitable cable?

I wouldn't even mention these issues if the price was e.g. £400-£500 (just look at how many lights, switches, faders, rotary encoders, etc. Behringer managed to squeeze into the X-Touch). But the more Pro Tools-integrated and -enhancing hardware customers acquire (now that they are not tied to an Avid interface 'dongle'), the more likely these customers are to continue paying to remain within the Avid ecosystem (subscriptions or upgrade plans) ... and the more attractive joining would look to non-Pro Tools users. This could also be achieved by opening up (e.g. licensing) Eucon to third parties ... but I suspect that this is contrary to Avid's business model.

There's obviously no problem with genuinely pro gear commanding pro prices but, at this cost and considering the unit's dependence on a compatible iPad (many iPad dock designs are no longer compatible with current models and there's no guarantee that this will be compatible with future models), the Dock should not have been compromised in this way.

[Righty27]

Just an idea (albeit different functionality, each with pros and cons) ...

* Artist Mix @ $1,000
* Artist Transport @ $300
* Custom set of hardwood panels from www.mixingtable.com (like they do for NI Maschine) including a wooden iPad stand (one would lose the plugin encoders but it coukd be designed to accomodate the cable properly and maybe fit an iPad Pro too), probably for a few hundred $?

Some have speculated that the current offer on Artist Mix signals its retirement ... and it appears from searches for Artist Transport prices (in UK and USA) that this might have been discontinued quietly. Hopefully, Avid will come up with something new for the sub-S3 market (which it looks like the Dock fits in to) e.g. an S2 or S1 with 8 channels, transport controls and no interface (focused on the small studio, as opposed to live)?!

However, even at twice the price of similar controls/functions on the 'budget' Behringer product, this would still be around a quarter that of an S3 ... so probably wishful thinking!

Edit - similar speculation in this thread: http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=380096&page=2

:)

[ha2dorff]

Here is a picture showing how the charging cable naturally have to be placed with iPad Air and the standard cable.
I have used this unit this week, and it's just amazing together with the S3!
Don't judge this unit from videos/pictures. You have to test yourself.
Peace and love

[tattootroy]

If I remove the iPad tilting plastic adapter from the dock Am able to plug the iPad charge lead in discreetly hidden.

Only problem with this method is say you have kids or have kid like clients who goes wild when they see an unoccupied iPad, grab the iPad and try to take it out the dock, they will end up breaking the iPad charge lead connector or breaking the iPad charge port.

I don't like this method as I too could forget and pull the iPad out before taking the charge lead out.

The dock should have came with proper L shape lighting charge lead.

I hope Avid send me one for free when they start to ship the dock with L shape lead.

Also the USB charge port on the dock output is 2.1amp charge current which is ok.

Pics below for lead attachment to iPad air.