Is there room to add a rackmount mixer so you can submix addtional sources into the Crest? Keep the Crest and for the times you need more....submix! We have a DDA CS8 at the NHL arena I engineer at and on ocassion thats what I end up doing. Since everything is going through the DDA anyway another smaller mixer works fine. When WWE, 2003 All Star game, and various events we submixed and brought them in with no problems. DM2000 is great but it makes it more difficult for other FOH engineers to learn as easy as a standard 32 ch board.
Dont know if that helps, post more details there may be an easier solution.

I like Crest boards. Very nice.

I know that Jaci Velasquez toured with a DM2000 in the fall. The sound was impressive. The only thing missing in the sonics I put down to operator error at the time after talking to a couple of the players on the show.

I've got an acquaintance who works in one the nice places in Toronto who thinks the DM2000 is one of the best boards made today at any price. Here are some comments:

"the DM2000 cannot be stopped. there is nothing more short of a k series or a DFC you could possibly need. its going to finish off almost every expensive console ever made. wow, i can't say enough. the DM2000 sound quality rivals the best sounding digital equipment, short of some ridiculous $5000 a/d converter. i had a 02r for years and bypassed the converters at every opportunity. no more. this thing sounds far superior to the AMS desks i've used and is about 1/10th to 1/20th the price. we've looked up and down and have trouble finding something to complain about. for a measly 20k theres no way ssl or ams can possibly compete. the only advantage they have is more 9 pin control and separate submixer for very high end users. no post house should be without one. the mic pres are actually good."

I Just got a DM2000 at the end of August and use it in a 670 seat Community College theatre. I have one out-board preamp to take it to 32 mic ins. Although I still don't have it hooked up to the console, figuring out which card I really need to interface it has been a pain. In March they are coming out with a software upgrade, 2.0, which will make it much better at FOH duties. Mainly, VCA type functions to controll faders that are on different pages. Which is the biggest problem using it at FOH. Not having a knob for everything is not as handy for touring soundmen. If I came to my theatre never using a digital console, and saw this thing, I would be totally screwed. I have even seen tech riders saying "NO DIGITAL BOARDS". Now that I have spent some time with it, I really like it and being able to save shows that I do more than once is great. But as a rep from Yamaha said, "it is a computer, save your data often and use a UPS on the power". I can't say enough about the flexability in patching, it will take anything from here and put it where ever you want it. It can get you in trouble though, you tend to forget where you changed things and what is doing what. It is nice not having to drag out the FX rack or drive rack to do a show.
Hope this helps in some manner.
Keith

I don't know what the price difference would be, but when the Benedum Center needed a sidecar for their XL-4, they picked up a Heritage 1000. Very very nice sounding console, at a fraction of the cost of the XL-4. Midas really is worth the money.

Bill

Outstanding console! Have been working on it for the past few months, and after getting used to the initially overwhelming routing abilities, I am in love with it and getting the smaller
DM-1000 for my project studio. The converters sound outstanding, as do the eq and compression.
As far as it's live application, I know for a fact that Sound Associates here in New York have been putting it into pretty much every major theatrical
facility in town. Hope this helps.