Lafont chroma

Hello all

I was not 100% sure where to post this, but wanted to see if anyone had any experiences with the lafont chroma consoles.  My understanding is that they are a French designed console used for post production work and can not find much info on them or any solid reviews of the board.

I have an opportunity to pick it up for a great price and was wondering what people's thoughts were on it.

Also thought I would see if anyone might have schematics for the console ( it is lacking some of the documentation)


Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

what do you consider is a great $$?

A very nice console indeed!
I installed one and did a bit of tech work on it once up and running.

I do not have access to any manuals or schematics as the studio has since closed.

This is my experience:
Removing and re-inserting modules is a PITA as all connections are via ribbon cables. The tails are short and tightly packed, so any module connection/disconnection must be done from the rear of the modules. That said, module connector access is good once the various access panels are removed. The module connector access needed to be good as there were a lot of cables to attend to on each module.
All external connections are on EDAC 56 pin on a user panel behind the patchbay, and this included the PSU connector. Thankfully the PSU conn was the opposite gender to the audio conns.
The two power supplies were......... inadequate. The part of the design that really let the console down were the PSUs. In 3 decades of console work, as an employed designer and as a freelancer, there is one constant observation: too many PSUs are either an afterthought or are limited by budget. The LaFont stood out in this regard.
The console facilities, layout and operation were well thought out and from a user point of view it is a really nice desk to operate.
I would quite happily work on a Chroma console again.

That might lead you to the right place/people:

http://www.lafontaudio.com

the good price is $4k CAN for a 72ch chroma board that has some minor repair work on a few channels in the eq and dynamics section and was decommissioned in a running and used state.

has 4 power supplies and uses uptown 990 automation

thanks for the opinion on the console!  much appreciated.  I have decided to move ahead with the purchase and I dont think I can go wrong for the price and options of the console.

many of these have few to none micpreamps since they were intended for film-mixing. Be aware of that when you check it out.
4k is a joke for a desk like this, even without preamps. Go for it.

one problem might get the documentation.
while the Lafont website looks like they are still in business I doubt they are.

I know quite a few postproduction places trying to buy LP-23 and LP-24 rackmount processors with no luck for years now.

[same like repairs for old publison gear - send it in and you don't ever hear anything about it for years]

may be they just don't like contacts outside france?

Hi !

this (http://www.hacienda.fr/stud/accueil.htm) french studio has a Chroma, try contacting them for infos.

Also if I'm not mistaken, Mr Lafont is still active on french forums and may have a new company specializing in room acoustic correction (http://www.akustar.com/). But that I haven't double checked.

Cheers, Piotr.