new DT168 portable stage boxes

[avenueservices]

I see that A&H have finally announced the new ‘Super’ Dante cards for dLive 128×128 @ 96khz and the new portable 16/8 stage boxes on dante as well… With having locking ether cons etc, can I ask why these stage boxes come on IEC and not powercon for locking power connections too! It surely wouldn’t take much?
Please can these boxes come with powercon when they are released into the wild?

They look great and love the simple network drop in anywhere function of them, just the power…

https://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/dt168/

[Barryjam]

Hmmm, I recognize that you are talking about Dlive, but I see that DT168 is also presented as a connected box for SQ. I get that DT168 could be placed anywhere on a Dante Network at either 48 or 96K. Does everything on a Dante network have to be on the same rate, or could you have some devices on 48k and others at 96k?

I would gladly purchase a book called “Dante for Dummies.”

[Anonymous]

I would gladly purchase a book called “Dante for Dummies.”

Here ya go. It’s even free.

[Wolfgang]

can I ask why these stage boxes come on IEC and not powercon for locking power connections

This problem has already been solved very elegantly:
there have been IEC cables for some years that lock themselves when plugged in.
Here is an example:
https://www.iec-kabel.shop/epages/83540076.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/83540076/Products/PRO-600

[Wolfgang]

Which would interest me very much:
in my system I have an “old” Dante card.
Can I also use the new DT168 with this card? Sure, there will probably be a restriction to 48KHz, but is it also possible to remote the preamps?

[Nicola A&H]

@Wolfgang

Can I also use the new DT168 with this card?

No I’m afraid. To control the DT168 or DT164-W, you will need one of the new dLive Dante cards (or the SQ Dante card on SQ). The old M-Dante card does not support preamp control of the Dante DT expanders.

[Wolfgang]

I was afraid of that, of course.
But thank you very much for the feedback.
I have two DX168, which are still enough for me 😉

[Mfk0815]

A simple remote app (Desktop, Laptop or Tablet) to control the gains and phantom power (similar to Yamaha’s App for RIO/TIO stageboxes) would be nice. It is not the same as an seamless integration to the console but it would help to use this new stageboxes in more or less legacy systems as well as stand alone as audio interface in recording studios.

[Barryjam]

I still want to ask here… I get that DT168 could be placed anywhere on a Dante Network at either 48 or 96K. Does everything on a Dante network have to be on the same rate, or could you have some devices on 48k and others at 96k?

[Jgrift]

Berryjam,
Dante devices can have different sample rates all on the same network. And they even share the same clock. Obviously you wont be able to route between sample rates but everything will work just fine.

[Barryjam]

Let me be very specific in my question before I spend some money. If I got a Dante card for SQ and a proper switch, could I then connect a DT168 to the switch, and then also connect an ME-1 to the switch, would the SQ pass audio correctly to the ME-1? (I’m thinking about situations where the Slink out on the SQ may already be connected to 96k devices).

[scruffyd]

I believe you cannot mix ME-1 and DANTE on the same switch unless its a managed switch and you are capable to make a separate vLan for the ME-1 system.

[SteffenR]

you can’t mix Dante and ME
the ME-U has a Dante input option, if your system is running on 48kHz it is possible to route Dante to the ME-U
if you want to stay at 96kHz than it is not possible (ME-U is 48kHz only)

[Barryjam]

Thanks to both of you. I went ahead and got Dante Certification level 1, so I’m understanding more of this now. I now get that each device must actually be a Dante device to be subscribed (not merely exist on a network) and must also be at the same sample rate to pass audio between them. One of those “Duh, of course” moments.

[Barryjam]

Has anyone seen ANY version of pricing on the DT168. Or availability date?

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