Connecting two SQ7 via Dante (One Primary and the other is secondary)

[Taifi]

Hello,

my client has an auditorium and they used to use two ilive T112, one FOH as a primary and one in the control room as a back up (secondary) in case the primary stopped working using audio flex along with the iDR- 48.

now the system i mentioned is a 15+ years old system and they need to upgrade it.

i was thinking to get two SQ7’s one FOH as a primary and the other in the control room as a secondary connecting them via dante.

will that work and if not, what is the best solution for my situation?

Thank you.

[htevents]

This will work no problem. Both desks need to have a Dante card installed. On the first SQ, you connect all inputs (maybe via SLink with a stage box, or using the local inputs of the first SQ). On the first SQ you use Tie Lines to “split” all the inputs to the Dante out (one on one patch is in my opinion the best way). On the second SQ, you patch the channels from the Dante card inputs.

Keep in mind that you also have to patch all the channels from the Dante cards in Dante Controller. If you keep a one on one patch, it will make it the most simple to setup.

[Tobi]

You could consider using SLink for connection between the two desks… much cheaper.

[Taifi]

Thank you very much, that was very informative.

Just to be sure, connecting the SQ7s via slink can assign one of the SQ7s as a primary and the other as a secondary? As I thought the Slink is just to add more inputs and outputs. Would really appreciate your help on that.

Regarding the 1st comment from htevents, I already have 2 dante cards in the equation. But I want to be sure that the idr48 is compatible with the SQ line. And also the audia flex has some public address speakers connected to it and then the audia flex is connected to the idr48 . I want to do the same but with an upgraded system.

Please excuse my ignorance haha I never worked with audia flex before so I really don’t know what they do exactly.

Thank you for your time. Much appreciated!

[Brian]

First, SLink is actually just a name A&H has given their multiprotocol connection. The port actually uses GigaAce, DX, DSnake, ME or other proprietary A&H data protocols to transfer audio across network cables. In this case, if you were to connect two SQ consoles together using SLink connections, the system would actually use a GigaAce connection to transfer the audio.

Second, these proprietary A&H protocols simply move data from one device to another. Obviously Dante is a different protocol, but the end result is very similar to using a Dante connection.

Third, one of the difference between these proprietary A&H protocols and Dante is the fact that the A&H protocols are designed to be “end to end” connections. This means you are suppose to connect one device directly to another device, without switches or other network gear in between. A Dante connection on the other hand can be “split” between many devices by using network switches, etc.

Now that some foundational knowledge has been layed out, lets talk about your situation.

You absolutely can use Dante to connect the two consoles (and any other Dante devices) together. Each console will need a Dante card however if you want to use the Dante system as the “link” between the consoles. However as suggested, you can look to the SLink ports to create the connection between consoles as well. However, you will need one SLink port on each console to make this connection. If you are already using the SLink port for another use (connecting a stage box for example), you will need to add a SLink I/O card to add the required SLink port. However it is likely that your “backup” console would not have anything plugged into it’s SLink port, so you can likely use the built in SLink port to make the connection to the primary console. If you want to use Dante in the system, you could put a Dante card in the backup console’s I/O card slot and then route and Dante I/O to the primary console over the SLink connection. In other words, you don’t need both consoles to have a Dante card as long as the two consoles are connected together using the SLink ports.

If attached a diagram to help demonstrate the two options being discussed. I realize this can be confusing, so please let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification on anything.

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