Mixing with two mix SQs or QUs

[FaithChurchParticipant]

I first wanted to be more familiar with the functions of using an SQ7 with a QU16 before trying it myself.

I use an SQ7 for FOH and would like to use a second mixer in another room to mix for a livestream.
With the function of using two SQ mixers or an SQ and a QU, can you mix on two different devices, or is the second device only for more inputs?
If you can mix on two devices simultaneously, how do you send the two sets of outputs, Main L&R and Livestream L&R, to the main SQ?

[mfusaParticipant]

I do this today with a GLD at FOH and SQ5 at Livestream position. The GLD receives its inputs via dSnake audio racks. I use Waves I/O cards in both boards along with Waves SuperRack. Using this setup I can use Waves Super for both processing and routing between the two boards. However, it doesn’t have to be Waves if you don’t want to invest in that setup. You can use SLink to send tie-lines from the board with inputs to the other board. You can also use Dante. So give it some thought and decide if you’re trying to do anything more than just send audio between the two boards. If you want complex audio networking abilities then Dante might be a good choice. If you want outboard processing then Waves SoundGrid might be a good choice. If you simply want to send signals between two boards then Slink might be the easiest and cheapest. A lot of folks will have an opinion on this; that’s mine.

In this setup, the second board isn’t really a remote control for the primary board. Rather it can receive its own copy of inputs and you can then have independent processing and output to another destination (i.e. LiveStream).

A simple way to tackle a livestream position is to make a Livestream Aux on your main board, route the audio to your livestream streaming device + headphones for monitoring, and then use a remote tablet or computer with the corresponding apps (i.e. SQ Mixpad) so that someone, in a remote room listening to that output, can control a separate mix without having to have a whole other board and complex audio networking. This is a good starter solution at least.

I don’t think you’ll be able to send audio between an SQ and QU via Slink but not 100% sure. The QU doesn’t have an expansion slot so that rules out Dante or Waves.

Your mileage may vary.

BTW, here is a nice article that discusses this in detail with SLink
https://support.allen-heath.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4402939344017-SQ-Example-patching-SQ-to-SQ

[BrianParticipant]

The two consoles would be independent of each other – with one major exception….. the consoles both utilize a input’s preamp. In other words, there is only one physical preamp circuitry for each input and the output of that preamp is sent to both consoles. This means that if a person turns the preamp gain up 10db on channel 1, it will also turn up the gain of the corresponding channel in the other console by 10db. Also, changes to phantom power, polarity, etc affect both consoles because they both utilize the same physical preamp circuitry.

There are ways around this issue however. Most commonly, people set the preamp gain level “correctly” to start with and then each console can make adjustments to the volume of that channel by using the “trim” functionality. Trim is located on the individual consoles and not part of the preamp, so changing the trim on one console does not affect the volume at the other console. Also, some systems (like the DLive system) have automatic gain compensation where turning the preamp gain up on one console by 10db will also cause the trim to be turned down by 10db on the other console. This automatic trim adjustment nullifies the preamp gain change on the second console (which still happens).

Other than the preamps however, each console would be independent. Your settings/mixes/faders/FX etc on one console would not carry over or affect the other console at all.

[Author]

Posts