Dante, the media networking solution created by Audinate, has transformed Nashville’s legendary 12th and Porter concert venue in facilitating a networked sound reinforcement system.
The club has operated as one Nashville’s premier label showcase venues, hosting thousands of live performances over the years. Morris Light & Sound of Nashville was contracted the club’s sound system to retain its reputation as a premier live performance venue. New owners gave John Mills, vice president at Morris Light & Sound, the freedom to specify the end-to-end audio system.
The systems integration team at Morris Light & Sound, which handled the audio upgrades, also significantly reduced labor costs in choosing Dante as its audio networking solution. “We saved well over $1,000 in labor costs by using Dante instead of the traditional analog snake,” Mills notes. “The minimal termination requirements saved us a lot of time. Using Dante, I am saving money at the end of the day because I can get the job done much quicker.”
The presence of two separate networks gives house sound engineers and the band’s sound engineers more options in networking audio between front of house and the stage, while increasing channel capacity and contributing to sound quality improvements.
Mills sought a clean and modular networked solution to route multi-channel audio, while offering plenty of flexibility – as well as room for growth. “We established two separate networks so that a band could easily patch its own console straight into the system DSP,” he says. “This ensures the owner doesn’t have to call me to the club to remove the main console every time a band wants to use its own. And the modularity of the Dante network gives the club owners plenty of room for expansion.”
The main network includes a Dante-enabled Yamaha CL3 console with a Yamaha Rio stagebox, with the second network running between the system DSP and the NEXO amplifiers. The complete solution accommodates high-capacity audio I/O and extremely versatile routing, with Dante playing an important role in overall sound quality.
“The quality of the gear we put in this club is amazing, and Dante is an important reason why everything sounds great,” concludes Mills.“The CL3 console with Dante allowed us to replace all the old analog cabling and is a very clean and cost effective way of moving audio. The response from the club owners, musicians and attendees alike has been extremely positive.”