About the Soundcraft K2

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The factory original Soundcraft K2 is an analog work-horse built to handle anything from the demands of touring to stationary setups in Front-of-House or Studio. They were manufactured in  24 to 48 mono input channels configurations, plus additional 4 stereo inputs, 8 busses, and matrixes, apart from the masters. 

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The k2 includes many features including:

• Wide-range, low-noise input pre-amp with switchable ‘Range’, as used Vienna II and Europa

• Sweepable High-pass filter

• Four-band EQ with two swept mids plus switchable Q

• 8 Aux sends with external pre/post switching in pairs

• 8-segment LED input metering on every channel

• Midi-controlled muting system with 128 selectable scenets, and 8 mute groups plus MIDI program change

• 8 mono subgroups

• Stereo plus mono mix buses

• 8 stereo returns (four on full length strips)

• 11x4 Matrix

• VU output meterbridge fitted as standard

• Master facilities include oscillator, talkback, monitor outputs and solo control

• ‘Swap’ mode allows the aux outputs to access the group fader and insert point, or use on foldback mixes

• The console is available in 24, 32, 40 and 48ch sizes

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The desk has a fixed meterbridge, which has been used to strengthen the frame. It contains 11 VU meters; one for each of the eight groups, the remaining three for the left, right, and mono outputs. The mono VU doubles as a solo indicator.

 

For the K2 to achieve its "budget friendly" goal, Soundcraft implemented these circuit designs by using generic capacitors and IC chips, housed in a "semi-modular" console to reduce the cost.  "Semi-modular" means the frame is formed with a single piece of sheet metal, 24, 32, 40, or 48 channel wide, but internally the individual channels are still on separate PCB's.  This makes it possible to remove, service, and replace individual channels without the need to send off the entire console.

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What to expect with our baseline mods

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1. Upgrade all IC chips (opamps) in the audio signal path with newer opamps that have better specs all-around. These chips have what we consider to be an optimal slew-rate for the circuit. To fast of a slew-rate will create oscillations in the circuit, which are requiring of special compensation caps to filter out. Anytime you add caps, it has the potential of having a negative impact on your phase response. As a result of the slew-rate being right “in the pocket” with these new chips, the circuits no longer require compensation capacitors to filter out high-frequency oscillations generated by excessively fast chips. The end result of the new chips are –

   • Much better phase response specs, which provides for tighter-punchier low-end (bass) response and much smoother high-end (treble)

   • lower THD+Noise

   • less crosstalk for more discretion between different legs of the circuits and more separation in your Left & Right stereo pathways (equals wider stereo imaging)

   • more headroom because the chips power more effectively rail-to-rail, so you can dial in gain and most settings hotter without hitting clipping/distortion as soon

   • less DC offset in the signal path after the chips, which allows you to remove even more DC-blocking caps to improve the phase-response

   • lower noise-floor all-around. Say goodbye to that noisy hiss in quiet parts.

2. Improved decoupling on the ICs. The new chips we use are actually surface mount chips in a SOIC-8 package. We install them into the original thru-hole (DIP-8) footprint of the circuit using an adapter socket of our own creation. It’s called the “Rock-It Socket.” This adapter has special caps built right into it that allow you to easily apply decoupling to the chips. Decoupling does two main things. It:

   • Allows any AC-noise found on the DC power rails (+/-17VDC) that power the chips, to be shunted to ground through the cap, while allowing the DC voltage that powers the chip to remain untouched.

   • Provides a quick reservoir current to the chips by way of the charging of the caps, so that when you’re reproducing faster transients, the chips have access to the charge in the decoupling caps themselves as well as the current on the power rails themselves

3. Upgrade all Electrolytic capacitors.  These caps typically only have a “shelf-life” of around 20 years before they begin to leak and the specs drift.  The new caps we use restore the circuits specs for things like bandwidth, phase-response, DC-blocking, decoupling, etc. We install lower Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) caps from either Nichicon or Panasonic. A lower ESR means they act more like a cap and less like a resistor. Any time you add resistance to a circuit, you effect things like the cumulative load of circuit as a whole, which combines together with the capacitance of the caps and creates unwanted filtering affects. One of the most immediate improvements posed by our new caps is an improved low-end (bass) response and a slightly wider bandwidth, as well as improved phase-. 

4. New Self-healing fuses. Each of the power rails for the audio circuits in the Soundcraft console (+/-17VDC) has a fusible link, a small value resistor that will burn out if the current exceeds a certain threshold on the power rails, either due to failures in the circuit itself, problems with the power supply that aren’t handled quickly enough by the power supply itself, or some other current anomaly (ie lightning strike, or power surge). Fuses like this are great, but if the circuit has a failure, and these burn out, you not only have to fix the circuit, but also replace the fuse. Self-healing fuses, in contrast have these two added benefits:

   • Protects the circuits without requiring replacement if something fails. They reset themselves, or “Self-Heal” after a set amount of time. Think of it like the breakers in your fuse box. They spring open if the current exceeds a certain threshold, but then they’ll slowly close, bridging the gap, after a set-time.

   • Increase headroom by about 1 VDC, rail-to-rail. Because they don’t burn off excess current, as is the case with the resistors, you end up “having your cake and eating it too” keeping the extra voltage. More headroom before you hit distortion/clipping by exceeding the maximum voltage.

5. Gold jack upgrades on all Inserts & the heaphone jack. The original 1/4" TRS jacks on the Soundcraft K2 used for the Inserts have normalling contacts in them. Whenever no jack is inserted, signal "normals" through these contacts, and passes back into the circuit. The non-gold jacks on the older stock K2S had a tendency to develop corrosion between the normalling contacts, which could introduce stray capacitance leading to unwanted filtering / distortions / signal loss. Since standard cleaning procedures don't always address the corrosion between these contacts, the best option is to upgrade just the inserts and headphone jacks to corrossion-resistant, gold-plated Neutrik 1/4" TRS normalling jacks. Say goodbye to signal loss!​

6. Full Refurbishments.  To learn more about our Pro Audio Restoration process, click here. 

 

The end result of all this is a really a “night-and-day” difference between the original circuit and the modified one. As our owner, Alex Welti (former national service manager for Harman-Soundcraft) used to say, “It’s like lifting the wet-blanket off your tone.”

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PRICES UP TO DATE AS OF: September 4th, 2026.  Due to the volatility of parts prices, it is recommended to lock-in current pricing with a deposit to acquire parts when you are ready.  Prices may change without notice.​

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Fully Modified Console Cost 

• 24 Channel Soundcraft K2: $10,600* (Currently SOLD OUT)

• 32 Channel Soundcraft K2: $12,550* (Currently SOLD OUT)

• 40 Channel Soundcraft K2: $14,500*

• ​48 Channel Soundcraft K2: $16,450* (Currently SOLD OUT)

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Additional Accessories:

• CPS-275 Power Supply (upgraded): $650*

• Power Umbilical: $175*

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NOTE: Additional mods such as the Dual Mono Opamp upgrade can be performed on the Master Section summing pathways to reduce crosstalk and further increase separation between the Left & Right signal pathways, which effectively widens your Stereo Imaging up to an additional 2dB of separation apart from our baseline mods. Call for pricing.

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Apart from all these “base-line” mods, we can also do all kinds of other premium mods, like:

• installing input/mic-pre transformers or output transformers on the MIX or Group outputs for added color, galvanic isolation, harmonic saturation, etc. (available with or without bypass switches)

• Modifiying routing

• Installing balancing circuits on the direct outs

• Installing newer faders (TKD, Penny+Giles, etc.)

• Installing D-sub connectors to replace direct outs

• Changing the LED back-lights on the VUs, altering colors or brightness

• Installing additional monitor outputs to feed multiple speaker sets (available with custom switching)

• And a few others… the sky’s the limit in most cases, but it’s not always practical (especially if you’re on a budget).

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Contact us to inquire about other mods and pricing. 

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​*Pricing is subject to change. Please CONTACT us for current prices.

*Plus TN tax (9.25%) unless you have resale or tax exempt status.

** Soundcraft Ghost Sidecars & separate Meterbridges are rarer-to-find items on their own, but we occasionally come across one. If you're looking for one, be sure to contact us and get placed on our waiting list.

 

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