Dante - enabled remote preamps?

[jabney]

An iLive (Allen & Heath ) fixed-series MixRack equipped with a Dante card in Slot B would give you 16, 32, or 48 channels of 24 bit 48k mic' pres. You can control each pre via the free iLive editor (preferably running on its own PC unless used only for set-up). That includes controlling phantom power.

best,

john

[kosmokrator]

Nice, thanks John.

Anything else?

[jmcarlock]

I am using Focusrite Rednet 4. The overall design of Rednet is excellent, the boxes are built to be very solid but are not actually very heavy in weight. The sound of Rednet 4 is at the high end, it is neutral, quiet, and fast. All of the associated software works well enough and at higher latencies it seems to be stable with Dante Virtual Soundcard.

Rednet 5 should work well with Protools.

I am really impressed with how Dante works so seamlessly on a network. One thing to note is that Dante is particular to which network switches are used and how they are configured, as clocking must be given priority.

[Plush]

Cool stuff, Jason

Do you then use a laptop or other computer to do your recording? Do you plug the ethernet cable right in to the computer?

I ask because I am ignorant in this area of specialty.

[jmcarlock]

Originally Posted by Plush

Cool stuff, Jason

Do you then use a laptop or other computer to do your recording? Do you plug the ethernet cable right in to the computer?

Hello Plush,

Yes, mainly I am just testing out one Rednet 4 8 channel preamp and plugging it right into a laptop to do a backup recording. Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS), which is included as a free download with the box, sets up a 32x32 interface at 96k (or a 64x64 interface at 48k). All devices/boxes in a Dante setup are connected using a simple network switch and create a standard computer network automatically. Routing is done for Dante within the Dante Controller software, or with Rednet through Rednet Control where preamp levels can be controlled remotely.

I monitor through my computer's built in output or my Mytek w/Firewire by using an audio monitoring application called AudioMonitor.

The connection is really fast. Plug in the inputs, plug in the preamp, connect it to my computer, start DVS, route the inputs and outputs, and record. On a Mac it is all very stable live recording with Boom Recorder and should be fine in recording sessions with Reaper.

A JoeCo Blackbox with Dante, Rednet PCI-e, or output from another Dante box/mixer can be used to record in lieu of a computer. Also, multiple computers can be routed the same channels simultaneously allowing for a stable backup recording.

Cable run can be up to 100m on solid CAT5e/CAT6. Or connect an inexpensive optical to ethernet converter to run fiber over longer distances. The only key restriction is that audio will not run over Wifi. But I am sure that many venues already have ethernet wired from the stage to the control room. Rednet 6 will be able to connect MADI equipment for ethernet cable runs and connection to DVS.

It is a super cool setup!

All the best,
Jason

[kosmokrator]

Just wanted to share what I went with in this scenario.

We planned the whole facility, the post production studio will access the DANTE-enabled remote inhouse- locations with - depending on budget - either the NTP Penta 721 router or the DAD AX32.

Thanks again for the suggestions. The Allen&Heath was a no-go since you cannot control the preamps via DANTE.

[jabney]

Originally Posted by kosmokrator

...
Thanks again for the suggestions. The Allen&Heath was a no-go since you cannot control the preamps via DANTE.

Alhough the same computer hosting the Dante Virtual Soundcard would also be able to host the free iLive editor which does let you control the preamps.

best,

john

[kosmokrator]

Originally Posted by jabney

Alhough the same computer hosting the Dante Virtual Soundcard would also be able to host the free iLive editor which does let you control the preamps.

best,

john

There would be no Dante Virtual Soundcard-host in this environment (Protools HDX based).
The Allen&Heath doesn't emulate the Avid PRE protocol so couldn't be integrated nicely with the ICON controllers.

Also, you would need two ethernet connections.

All in all, not an elegant solution in this case.