I own both boards and have used them extensively for live sound and
sparingly for recording.

Hands down, the mic pres and EQs on the Venice are unreal for the price. It
is an easy to use board with superior sonics and outstanding headroom. The
small faders are not an issue and have not been with anyone who has operated
the board while I've been present. I intend to mix a current studio project
on the Venice in about 1 month. I'll probably use the mic pres for some of
the guitar tracks. (I own API, Buzz, CraneSong, and others)

The Crest is a much more versatile board. It is relatively neutral
sonically, but the features make it a very powerful piece of gear. With
options in connectors and insert points that the Venice does not offer, it
has become my "go to" board if I'm to interface with unknown gear. I just
did a recording with it-direct to 2 track, for the studio project that I
mentioned above. The EQ is quite useable and the mic pres are very clear
with plenty of headroom. There are no built in talk back functions, BTW.

If I could only have one, I'd take the Crest for versatility. If my
application were fixed and the features fit, I would not hesitate to use the
Venice for sonics. As for the "musical sounding EQ," the Venice kicks butt!
There is a sweetness to everything it touches that just makes the sound rich
and big. If that's all you are looking for, this should be an easy
decision. The Crest gets the job done, but is nothing special. I'd call it
very useful but not exciting.

If you would like to contact me directly, I'd be happy to answer any
questions about the boards. If you are local, we might be able to make
arrangements for a little hands-on time with each.

Let me know.

Mike Kovach


"BlacklineMusic" wrote in message
...
Looking to buy one of these small mixers to sum and eq the channels of the
new
DAW we are putting in our new room. Its not going to be possible to demo
these
units. They both have excellent reps.. Can you please give us your
opinion
as to which in your mind, has the more musical eq sound?
Steve