Dante setup with SQ6

[Luke Smyth]

Hey guys, can someone help explain to me exactly what I need?

I have an SQ6 at FOH with x2 DX168’s. I also currently have an SQ6 that I am using as a broadcast console and they two consoles are connected via an I/O port at FOH and send tie lines to broadcast. I would like to get rid of the broadcast for a different purpose in our building and so I am looking at Dante to connect the 2 desks.

Can someone confirm that to do this I would need: Dante card at FOH, Cat cable from FOH Dante Card to network switch upstairs (where broadcast console normally is), connect Mac running Pro Tools to the switch and purchase Dante Virtual Sound Card and Controller for use on the Mac and I will be good to go? Or am I missing something? Do the DX’s need connected in or will they be okay since they are connected to FOH SQ via SLink port? Thanks.

[Brian]

You can’t directly connect the DX boxes to the Dante network. However once you have a Dante card in the FOH console, you’ll be able to route any of the I/O (local or connected stage boxes) over the Dante network using the routing tab. There are several routing options/methods and you might select one method over another depending on the exact goals of the system. In this case where you simply want to send “raw” source to a broadcast DAW, tie lines would be the most appropriate IMHO.

As far as the required equipment, you don’t need a switch if you only need to connect the console’s Dante card to the computer. You can use the Cat cable and have a direct connection between the two devices. A switch is helpful if you have several devices you need to connect at a single location, but it also adds complexity and potential failure points to the system. I personally would not use a switch unless I needed the extra capacity that a switch offers.

The rest of your assumptions about the required equipment are correct however. You will need a Dante card in the SQ console as well as DVS software licensed and installed on the computer.

[Luke Smyth]

Brian thank you so much. I have never had a more accurate and to the point reply on a forum like this one ha! Appreciate it.

[RobG]

Luke & Brian I hope you don’t mind my adding another question to your post – I’d like to know if the following would work: Two SQ6’s (FOH and live stream), the FOH SQ6 feeds an ME-U hub via its built-in SLink port and reads XLR inputs from a DX168 via an I/O port SLink card. Problem is how to send the FOH SQ6 48 channels to the Stream SQ6 since there are no more SLink ports on the FOH SQ6 and A&H doesn’t make a dual-port card. Would it work if I daisy chain from the DX168 to the Stream SQ6’s SLink port? I think I could pull it all off with a dual-Dante-port I/O card and a DT168, but want to know if the above cheaper solution would work. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Brian]

RobG – there are several ways to make this work…..

Option #1 – you could use a GX4816 as your main stage box. This stage box has a ME port built into it which means you can connect the GX4816 to the console via a SLink port and connect the ME devices right to the GX4816 – effectively “saving” an SLink port on the console. You could then use the second SLink port to connect to the second console. While this isn’t a cheap option, it is certainly cheaper than getting two Dante cards and a DT168 to accomplish the same thing.

Option #2 – move either the stage box or ME connection to the second console (Livestream). You’ll need to get a second SLink card for that console as well, but then you could connect the two consoles together using the free SLink port. The FOH console will need two SLink ports with one connected to the livestream console, and the other connected to the stage box (or ME). The Livestream console will have one SLink port connected to the FOH console, and the other port connected to the ME box (or stage box). This is certainly a cheaper solution, but requires the Livestream desk have two connections (one to FOH and the other to the stage for either stage box or ME use). Depending on the facility, this might be possible or impossible to add.

Option #3 – use Dante to connect the two consoles together instead of SLink ports. This is the solution if you think you’ll need Dante for other purposes. The rest of the solution can look exactly like Option #2 however. There is no requirement that you use a DT168 box when you have an SLink port available for the DX168 box. If the wiring requirements of Opt2 and the Livestream console don’t work, then you could go to a DT168 box and use the SLink port on the FOH console for ME use.

Hopefully you can follow my explanations well enough.

[RobG]

Brian thank you very very much for your helpful insights. God Bless you and Luke and all y’alls audio equipment!

[Brian]

I always forget about the AR2412 stage box. This is another stage box that allows the ME system to connect directly to the stage box (like the GX4816). This is an older stage box that operates at 48k. The newer DX/GX stage boxes operate at 96k. The main difference is that you cannot connect the two types of stage boxes using the same SLink port. In other words, you can’t daisy chain the DX168 to the AR2412 (or vice versa) for expanded I/O. You can use both style of boxes on the same system, but each “speed” of box needs their own dedicated port of the appropriate type on the console to connect to.

The AR2412 is quite a bit less expensive than the GX4816 (which makes sense because it only has about half the I/O of the 4816), so that may be a more economical solution.

[SQuser]

It has nothing to do with the original Dante request, but since you mentioned the AR2412, allow me to mention the AB168 as well.
It has the same quality as an AR2412, but the size of a DX168 or DT168.
And 1 or 2 AB168 or the combination of an AR2412 and AB168 also allow to connect ME.

[SteffenR]

The AR and AB boxes are very budget friendly, btw. 😉

[Author]

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