According to sound engineer, Per Wennling, the benefits of a digital network are appreciable, not least in terms of dramatically reduced installation costs in comparison with a traditional analogue solution. "A large scale CAT6 network cable installation was already planned, so adding a bit more cable for audio use was easy," explained Wennling. "We opted for audio distribution over EtherSound because of its extremely low latency, excellent sound quality and because it is compatible with equipment from a large number of reputable manufacturers, so we can be flexible in how we build our system."
In this instance, a Yamaha DME64N digital mix engine was selected as system controller, while the mixing console is connected directly to the EtherSound network using an AuviTran AVY16-ES card. Two Digigram ES8out devices are handling D/A conversion, chosen for both their simplicity and cost-effectiveness. "Combined with the old analogue cable system that we kept, this has resulted in a very flexible solution," noted Wennling. "One of the biggest benefits is the fact that we can move a mixing console or a stage box very easily now, because we only have one Cat 6 cable to deal with rather than heavy multicores. That's a great advantage when you are using the same stage for several events while two or more theatre productions are in progress. And the sound quality remains excellent throughout."
(Jim Evans)
