Avantis, MEU, GX and DX config change question

[Yoda]

Hey guys, I’m new here looking for a couple pieces of info related to a change we’re planning to make. We’ve currently got an Avantis running at FOH with an MEU, a GX4816 and a DX168 back stage giving us 64 stage inputs. The Avantis has a 64×64 Dante card and we have a DT168 at FOH with 14 channels of wireless coming into it. From the Avantis we send 64 channels over Dante (tie lines) to a DAW in another area of the building for live streaming.

We currently have the GX4816 connected via S-Link from the GX port to the Avantis S-Link port, the current DX168 is connected to the DX1 port and the MEU is connected to the DX2 port on the GX. Our Dante card is connected to a managed audio switch just like our DT168. We send stage inputs via tie lines/Dante on the Avantis to the DAW, we also send the 14 channels of wireless to the DAW via Dante through the Avantis.

We are planning to repurpose the DT168 to a different room and replace it with a second DX168, at the same time we’re moving our wireless gear to back stage. My plan is to chain the second DX168 off of the first which is already connected to the GX4816. My question is how does the Avantis distinguish between 2 DX168s when there’s 2 of them chained off of a GX4816? Does the first DX plugged into the GX automatically become inputs sockets 49 – 64 and the second becomes sockets 65 – 80 or is there some sort of configuration we’ll need to do in the Avantis once we make this change?

[Brian]

The Avantis will automatically set the I/O numbers for the connected boxes. There is no way to override this.

The GX4816 will be listed first with inputs 1-48 and outputs 1-16. However the first DX168 hanging off the GX4816 will have inputs 65-80 and outputs 65-72. The second DX168 will have inputs numbered 81-96 and outputs 81-88.

This may seem like strange numbering, but you have to consider that Allen & Heath numbers it this way because if you were to add an ME system to the GX4816, it actually needs to use 56 outputs. It’s these ME outputs and the fact that Allen & Heath I/O architecture tends to work in blocks of 32, that you end up starting with I/O counts starting at 65 and moving up from there.

[Yoda]

I hadn’t thought about that but it makes sense, thanks.

[Author]

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