Qu-24 + AR84 + AB168 + ME

[packinpennies]

Hi all,

My A/V department owns a Qu-24, an AB168 stage rack, and an AR84 expander. I like this setup because we can use either or both of the stage racks for various I/O configs depending on the gig. We also have an ME-U hub with 4 ME-1 units.

For our next gig, we need all 24×12 I/O’s that the AB168 and AR84 offer when daisy chained together, but we also would like to use the ME-1’s with the ME-U for in-ear mixes for the musicians as well. Only problem is, neither the AR84 or the ME-U offer dedicated expander ports like the AB168 does to daisy chain to either the AR84 or the ME-U.

I thought of 3 possible solutions, and I wanted to know if any of them will work before I try them:

1) Use the ME-U hub as a switch for both the ME units and the AR84. The chain would be Qu-24 -> AB168 -> ME-U. Then the ME-1’s and the AR84 all connect into the ME-U’s dSnake outputs.

2) Use a layer 2 network switch as mentioned here. I would go Qu-24 -> AB168 -> network switch from expander port, and then connect both the ME-U hub and the AR84 into the switch. Then the ME-1’s all are connected to the ME-U.

3) Daisy chain the ME-1 units directly and not use the ME-U hub. The chain would be Qu-24 -> AB168 -> ME-1’s -> AR84 at the end.

Do any of these configurations work, or is it impossible to use an AB168, an AR84, and ME units with the Qu-24 all at the same time?

Thanks,
Justin

[Nicola A&H]

Hi Justin,

I’m afraid none of the configurations you suggest would work. A Layer 2 switch can be used in between any two devices, for example to extend the cable length, but given the nature of the dSNAKE protocol you cannot connect a third device to the switch.

I would suggest looking at a second AB168 or at an AR2412, perhaps you could hire one in for this particular gig?

[packinpennies]

Hi Nicola,

Thanks for the heads up. Does that mean that the ME-U’s dSnake monitor outputs are not the same as dSnake expander outputs?

As for the gig, we are opting to omit the ME units and just run mono & stereo mixes from the board to headphone amps for their in-ears.

-Justin

[Nicola A&H]

The ME-U works as a hub broadcasting the input stream to the 10 ports, it doesn’t allow bidirectional communication with the devices. The AudioRacks on the contrary need to establish a connection with the mixer hence wouldn’t work with ME-U.

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