The PRO X-CC-IP from Midas offers 29 faders and two daylight viewable TFT displays, and it can control up to 168 input channels and 99 mix buses.
The PRO X HyperMAC router provides a dual redundant snake connection to the NEUTRON Audio System Engine over optical fiber and copper for 192 bidirectional channels of 96 kHz digital audio.
HyperMac and AES50 networking foster up to 288 inputs and 294 outputs.
Multiple PRO Series consoles can be connected together to create either larger mixing systems, or multiple discrete mixing consoles can share a common resource of networked and distributed I/O interfaces. Remote access of key control functions and metering can be accomplished with the MIXTENDER app for iPad.
PRO X is compatible with all PRO Series digital I/O units as well as any 96 kHz enabled AES50-equipped devices. More than 10 stage boxes are available from Midas, with the largest, the DL351, supplying eight card slots and up to 64 inputs and 64 outputs.
The VENUE | S6L, the new flagship mix system from Avid, is expressly designed to be modular and scalable. The S6L control surface is available in three configurations, including the S6L-24 with 24 + 2 faders and a touch screen, the S6L-24D with the same plus two integrated channel touch modules, and the S6L-32D with 32 + 2 faders, a touch screen and three integrated channel touch modules.
The E6L engine is available in two configurations, the E6L-192 with 192 processing channels, 96 mix buses plus LCR main outputs, and the E6L-144 with 144 processing channels, 64 mix buses, plus LCR main outputs. The engine uses two processors, with one dedicated to handling all routing, channel and mixing functions and the second managing all AAX plug-in processing.
Remote I/O is obtained by using a single or multiple modular Stage 64 racks that can be loaded with analog or digital strips providing up to 64 inputs and 32 outputs. Additional connectivity can be accomplished by using optional interface cards for Ethernet AVB, Dante, MADI and Thunderbolt. The S6L system offers integrated live recording capabilities providing seamless Pro Tools recording and playback.
Last year, PreSonus debuted the StudioLive CS18AI surface that offers hardware control of up to 64 channels and all mixer features of StudioLive AI Rack Mount (RM) mixers. They’re available in two sizes: RM16AI with 16 inputs and 25 buses, and RM32AI with 32 inputs and 25 buses.
Recently announced software updates allow any two RM mixers to be cascaded via AVB to combine their channel counts. This update also adds a new Stage Box mode, in addition to the existing Remote I/O + Monitor-Mixer mode.
Additional connectivity is provided via FireWire, AVB, or Dante option cards. Recording and playback are accomplished using the built-in 54 x 34 multi-track recording interface to a computer running the included Capture software or over the Dante network. Engineers can also mix wirelessly or over a wired network using UC Surface touch-control software for Mac, Windows, and iPad. Performers control their monitor mixes with the QMix-AI app for iPhone and iPod Touch.
The recently launched DiGiCo S21 offers a compact footprint, with 20 faders in two fader banks of 10 with four layers available, along with two touch screens. Forty Flexi (stereo or mono) channels and 16 Flexi buses are provided, along with a 10 x 8 matrix and two stereo or mono solo buses. A pair of DMI card slots offer up to 64 I/O per slot and can accept option cards for analog, Dante, MADI, Waves SoundGrid, Optocore, and Calrec’s Hydra 2 network.
I/O expansion is accomplished with the D Rack, which provides up to 32 inputs and 16 outputs, as well as interfacing with an SD-Rack, SD-Mini Rack and SD-NANO Rack (optics only). The S21 has an integrated USB2 audio I/O interface for recording and playback of up to 48 channels. Waves plugins can easily integrate with the S21 via the DiGiCo SoundGrid module.
Another recent DiGiCo development is the Orange Box interface, a rack-mount box that has two DMI slots that accept any of the 10 available interface cards to convert from one format to another. This is handy for interfacing a console with a recording unit or DAW, as well as being able to connect to almost any network.
