Search Results for 'DX168 AB168'

Hi, I am quite new to this world and I have a little bit of general knowledge about the SQ6.
I am currently 16 years old and I take care of the light and sound at my school. At school I use a SQ6 for the audio. I have been doing this for several months now, but I’m running into a few things, so that is why I am here, and I hope you can help!

1. For music evenings at our school, there are often many different instruments, each with its own preamp, gate, HPF, PEQ and compressor. On my SQ6 this is already available for a number of instruments in the library, but instruments such as trumpets, saxophones and grand pianos are missing. Is there a library for this online somewhere that I can load onto my SQ6?

2. For these music evenings we often also have a number of inputs for the same category, such as singing or a drum kit. I can find DCA and groups on my SQ6, but I really have no idea what to use and when. I have watched all the videos about the SQ6 on YouTube, but they focus more on how it works rather than when to use it. I already looked at this forum: https://community.allen-heath.com/forums/topic/when-to-use-dcas-and-when-to-stick-with-groups
But I didn’t quite find the answer there either. I also saw this video on this forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMMmR1u0CFk. But many groups were used here, while I only find 4 in my SQ Mixpad under the Mix heading. In addition to these 4 groups, I also find 8 aux outputs that I use for the monitors, and next to them are my LR and 3 mixed groups. In that video he makes a separate group for L and R, but I would have no idea how to approach that. Then he sends the groups through a VCA again, while on my SQ6 I only find 8 DCA. I also see a tablat with MIDI with 32 different options.
Below are my specific questions:
Can anyone tell me what to use when (DCA, Group, Mix Group) and how to set it up?
What is MIDI and what can you use it for?
What is VCA?

3. And then I have another question that is fairly unrelated to this:
We currently use an analog stage block for our music evenings and we want to switch to a digital stage block with SLink. We use a maximum of 28 inputs. I looked for an Allen & Heath stage block but I only found stage blocks of 16, 24 or 48 channels. 16 is not enough for us, we are considering possibly buying 2 and linking them. 24 is still too little for us, so that is actually not an option. 48 is really way too much and is also too expensive for us. Now I was looking at stage blocks with 16 inputs and I found the AB168, among others. This also does not need to be built in and can easily be taken with you. I also saw the DX168. They have the same number of inputs and outputs, but the DX168 is more than 400 euros more expensive.
Can anyone explain the difference to me and give me advice?
(We may also consider a stage block from another brand, but we are familiar with Allen & Heath and know that it is really of quality. If anyone has a good alternative, I would like to hear it!)

Maybe these are too many questions, but I hope someone might have an answer for it. Thank you very much in advance for all your efforts!

[Flo84Participant]

Hi,
Sorry to tell you that because you have already ordered your setup but Avantis only have 1 integred SLink port (multiple A&H protocols compatible).
AR2412 will work on SLink port but :
– 2 AR2412 with Avantis shouldn’t work beacause AR2412 works with dSnake protocol which is 40 IN / 20 OUT max. (you can plug AR2412 + AB168 or AR84 on same line and you can’t cross AR/AB stagebox with other DX or GX due to the sampling frequency difference 48 vs 96 KHz).
– You need a second SLink port but unfortunaly there is not SLink extension card for Avantis now. Only DX card or Dx hub who don’t support dSnake protocol.

With your ordered setup if 40 In / 20 out is acceptable on stagebox and eventually completed with locals in/out: keep one AR2412 and replace the other by one AB168.
If you want absolutly 48/24 on stagebox you need to consider other options and you need to check I/O possibilities on A&H website (ie GX4816 + DX012 give you 48 In + 28 Out or 3x DX168 + DX card or DX hub for 48/24 like you want).

Best

Hello, I’ll be in charge of a band tour that need 38 inputs.
For the 6 musicien I need 7 mixes (4 IEM and 3 wedges)
After touring with in house console of each venues, i’m thinking of buying a console + stage box.
Working sometime with Dlive make me think that the low latency and the phase alignement of the A&H consoles is a priority.
The musiciens all agree on the “better” sound when giging with A&H Dlive.

Dlive is out of budget for that projet, so plan is SQ5 for portability with stage box.

With the cost of SQ5 + Case + Cat5/50m and the Comp+MB plugins bundles, my options are from low to most expensive :

– AR2412 + AB168 (Total 7429€)
– AR2412 + Slink + DX168 (Total 8084€)
– GX4816 (Total 9176€)
– 3*DX168 + DXHub (Total 11227€)

As I’ll use it in the my home studio (Focusrite Clarett 8Pre + Arturia Audiofuse on ADAT) I don’t want a downgrade in Pre/convertion.

The dream rig we’ll be the last one (Quality of the Dlive Pre/convertion and 3 stage box for better placement (need 2 Cat5 though) but the budget is too high for now.

1) Is the GX4816 as good as the DX168 in studio use ?
2) AR2412 + Slink + DX168 seems more flexible live and in studio, but is the latency differences (48khz and 96khz) can cause problèmes (that the GX4816 will solve ?)
3) Or i’m too concerned and the AR2412 + AB168 (at 48khz) combo will be good enough even in studio compared to my actual Clarett 8Pre ?
4) In live situation having to deal with 2Cat5 cables (option 2 and 4), isn’t that the best way to create problems, most venue work with only 1, and don’t ever look at Spec Sheet ?
5) In studio USB recording of 32 tracks is enough for me, but is it rock solide ? Or do I need Dante ? (I’m using Mac with fast ssd)

I’m happy to hear your expérience of quality vs modularity/convenient both live and in studio with the SQ série and différent stage box from A&H.

[TomParticipant]

See
SLink Connections

You would need an SLink card in the IO port, so you have 2 SLink ports in your desk:
one SLink port in DX mode for DX168 and one in dSnake mode for AB168.
Obviously not an option, since you need the Dante card in the IO port.

You could also buy the Dante version, DT 168.
Costs more, but might be more flexible in terms of network topology.
Or any other Dante converter with enough output channels for your Subs of course.

Hey All,

New to the forum! Wanted to pick your brain.

In a conference auditorium, I’m running Dante from my SQ5 to access the sound system and grab their Shure mic rack inputs. I used the console SLink port to a DX168 under the stage to drop my preferred subs for the room and have control over them. I dropped an AB168 in the production trailer for GFX/Playback inputs and to output audio for Hyperdeck recorders. Ran the cat6 from the stage to the trailer box. The stage box links and patches perfectly. But I cannot communicate with the trailer box at all. I swapped the boxes in the signal chain just to run a test. Still nothing from the trailer. So my next assumption is that this config is just not possible, that AB and DX boxes just don’t work together.

Is there something I’m missing or am I right and just need to purchase a second DX168 for the trailer? I’ve used both boxes separately a million times but haven’t used them chained before so this is new territory for me.

[ScottParticipant]

No, the DX168s are 96K boxes using the DX protocol, and GLD is a 48K console which uses the dSnake protocol. You will need AB168s or any of the ARxxx boxes for GLD.

[ScottParticipant]

I would recommend looking at an AB168. It would be a great expander for the AR2412 for both the GLD, and the SQ, giving you up to 40 channels on stage. It can also be used as a stand-alone 16×8 box with either unit, and Qu mixers if you happen to pick some of those up too.

You could connect a DX168 directly to the SQ, then send the audio from that out via tie lines to Dante, where it can be picked up on the GLD. The SQ Dante card would need to be configured at 48K to work with GLD.

The SQ will always still work at 96K internally even when connected to 48K stageboxes. The audio is SRC’d at the SLink card whenever AR/AB boxes are attached. We have DX168s, AB168s, and AR2412s, and have used all of these with SQ. While the DX boxes sound great, the AB/AR boxes also sound really good too, and we regularly use 48K Dante for multi-track recording, which also sounds really good.

Hello all. I am hoping someone here has some sort of hack that will work for my situation.

I work for an audio visual installation company and we purchased an Avantis board with a DX Hub and 4x AB168 Audio Racks. These items were ordered before I started with this company (Feb. 2021) and we have just now received all of the pieces. I have come to discover that we should have purchased the DX168 Audio Racks instead of the AB168s as the DX version is 96k and the AB version is 48k. Is there any way possible to get the DX Hub and the AB168 rack to play nice with each other by changing a setting or are we totally screwed?

[TimParticipant]

Also, would be great to hear the opionions of anyone who has A/B listened to the DX168 stage box and the AB168 stage boxes,
I am aware that the preamps are different and one is 48kHz and the other is 96kHz, but in a blind test, is there much difference tonality wise?
Would be used in a church that can be rather loud with Audience singing so, we are looking to save money where we can. Cheers

[Andre SParticipant]

Hi Lozion,

that is sadly correct. The ME units work at 48kHz and your DX168 is a 96kHz device. Cheapest solution: IIRC, You could purchase an optional SLINK Card and connect your ME-1 to it. More expansive: AB168, AR2412 and the GX4816 (which is also 96kHz, but has a dedicated ME output) are the stageboxes that can be directly connected to ME units.

Cheers
André

[KeithJ A&HModerator]

@Poli84

Unfortunately there is no way to do this with the A&H protocols, in brief:
ACE = Audio and Control over Ethernet
dSnake = Audio and preamp control over ethernet (but we decided not to go with ‘APE’ for some reason… shame).
GLD supports the ACE card but runs only dSnake (the ‘brain’ is in the surface, unlike iLive with a mixrack and surface for control).
The SLink port on SQ supports dSnake, but needs to ‘discover’ an expander.
The GLD cannot be made to be discovered in the same way that we were able to achieve with Qu (it’s a completely different platform).

Therefore, the only way to connect an SQ and GLD digitally is through use of Dante, Waves or MADI option cards.

You wouldn’t be able to do this with 2x AR2412’s, as you can only have one of these on a port (and it needs to be in the first position), meaning you would need to be using the built-in port on the SQ along with an SLink option card, just to connect the two 2412’s.

So GX4816 to the SLink port on the SQ, tie lines to an option card and then option card to the same option card type in the GLD would be the best way to build the system you describe.
Or 3x DX168’s + 1x DX Hub in place of the GX.
Or AR2412 or AB168 + AB168 + SQ Local inputs in place of the GX.
Or 3x DT168’s with Dante cards in both mixers (though you would only get preamp control from the SQ).

Sorry it’s not a simple one! This is why we’ve been moving to ‘Everything I/O’ over the past few years, so you CAN hook everything up.

Thanks,
Keith.

[Andre SParticipant]

Hi Ken,
No, AB168 is working with 48kHz, the DX boxes with 96kHz. You can´t daisychain two boxes with different sample rates. You could however buy the optional SLink card and have the internal SLink port work with the AB168 and the additional SLink card with the DX168. The sample rate conversion is done in the cards.
But you would have to buy another Cat5e cable…

Cheers,
André

[ioTonParticipant]

https://community.allen-heath.com/forums/search/DX168++AB168

NO

[Søren SteinmetzParticipant]

@Bra you have a problem (or issue) then

To have both a AR2412 and a DX168 on the same console, you need the extra S-link card in the slot, but that is already occupied by the Dante card as I understand it.

You would need to use either a AB168 with the AR2412, OR a DT168 via the Dante network.
(or use an analog snake to use the 24 inputs on the console, to max the 48 channels 😉 )

[KeithJ A&HModerator]

Hi @fher ,

It appears the manual was too large to attach here, but having looked up the unit online, it uses a Dante interface for the digital connection.
So yes, presuming the Dante on that unit is either 48kHz or 96kHz (doesn’t appear to be included in any spec info I can find), you would be able to connect it to an SQ via the SQ-Dante option card.
Note that there would be no remote preamp control as you would get with any of the similar A&H expansion options (AB168 or DX168 direct to SLink port, or DT168 also via SQ-Dante card).

Cheers,
Keith.