Odyssey FZMIDM32DHW flight case for Midas M32 mixer

I wasn't going to leave a review for a flightcase, it seemed crazy to review a box, but I have quite a few flight cases, and there are some significant differences between these and this Odssey case. I bought a Midas M32 to add to the X32 I already have. This case is typical of the usual European cases - using familiar extrusions and hardware. I priced one up, and then spotted these cases which came in at an almost identical price. I wanted the dog box at the rear, the same as my X32, and would have been happy with a two piece case, but this Odyssey is a three piece version, which is nicer to use as the sharp edges of the extrusions at the front are of course missing, once the front is off. This was a £60 upgrade to the other brand.



The case arrived on a pallet, in a decent cardboard wrapper, with the castors and bolts inside the case. I removed the front and top and fitted the castors - two locking, two normal. They are supplied with washers and locking washers. The case hardware is quite different from our normal aluminium style fittings. These are similar, but feature chrome style finish - making the hardware catches quite shiny. They seem a little more lightweight but perfectly functional. The extrusion design and profile is also quite different from our usual type. There are a few rough edges where extrusions butt together, but these are not in easily reachable places. The internal foam is of high quality and is shaped to match the mixer shape in some areas. My old case uses rectangular blocks. and sitting in the store, the weight compresses the edges, making for a 'looser' fit. The dog box has 'Midas' routed or moulded into the top panel (NOT shown in every photo, so I wasn't certain when ordering). The dog box lid also locks shut - my other flight case does not do this. It has a pair of neat catches that you release, to enable the top to be opened. It is hinged at the rear top, and lower down making it very easy to see the quite tall back panel of the mixer. Cable access is both sides. The dog box also has a pair of straps fixed to the flight case bottom that can be used to tie down items in the large storage space. The finish is a matt black that takes stencil marking well - I always stencil my cases, having lost a few over the years, and some cases have a slightly oily finish that prevents the paint bonding properly - this one has a surface the paint keys to nicely, making ID marks difficult to remove. The case weight is not excessive and the castors are wide enough spaced on quite a deep case to make accidental overturning unlikely. The mixer and case are NOT suitable for single person lifting. I can, with effort, get my X32 case up onto a table on my own. Pushing it to the edge, then lifting in up, using the table edge as a 'hinge', then once slid on, you spin through 180 degrees. This case is a little taller, making it safer to hinge it up to the table, but the combined weight of the case and mixer is too heavy for safe single person lifting. It's a two person lift 100% My X32 case has two front to back battens on the bottom which makes sliding simple. The M32 case has four corner feet instead. Price wise, the case is good value at the moment, and to be honest, at the usual mid five hundred pound price, it's worth considering. Shipping is expensive - at £50, but it's so heavy and large pallet delivery is the only sensible way to get it to you. You get a pallet to keep - which is either useful, or not. It's worth remembering that this means delivery by a large rigid lorry. They have a pallet truck, but if access to your premises is via stairs, or small roads, delivery will be tricky. Pallet delivery also can from time to time mean a re-delivery fee if you are out and they have to return another day. It's simply too big for TNT/UPS/FEDEX etc.



Odyssey is made in California, and is my first case from this manufacturer. I will happily buy more.



For those people VAT registered - Bax are not based in the UK, so you will be involved net - no VAT being charged.They do have a UK office, but invoicing comes from the European mainland, not the UK. Makes no difference if you are not VAT registered - you pay the full price.