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Audio Review: Aviom Network Audio System
Moving audio signals from one place to another is, in theory, quite simple. In practice, however, physical considerations can complicate matters , making this simple transfer of signals a bit unpleasant. What comes to mind specifically is the use of large, heavy snakes used by portable churches to get signals back and forth between platform and the front-of-house mixer. Some of these snakes measure an inch and a half in diameter, and they’re heavy and unwieldy. Moreover, analog signal transfer over copper conductors is susceptible to RF interference. Upon further consideration, using wires to move signals isn’t the perfect, no-fuss process it initially appears to be. Digital snakes address and solve these issues, and are becoming more popular all the time.
Aviom is a company well known for its “more of me” personal monitor mixing controls. These controls enable musicians to sculpt their own monitor mix precisely the way they like it, obviating the need for a separate monitor engineer and absolving the front-of-house engineer from worrying about more than accomplishing a great sounding mix for the sanctuary. In developing the technology to accomplish this, Aviom put a lot of thought into that simple notion of moving signals from one place to another. That research has resulted in the development of a digital snake system and audio networking system. Digital snakes are vastly preferable to analog snakes for at least two reasons; they are much lighter and easy to drag around, and they are not susceptible to RF interference. Aviom’s digital snake utilizes Cat-5 network cable, as do most such systems. Two major drawbacks of digital signal transfer that formerly gave us pause have been virtually eliminated in modern digital snakes—unacceptable latency and diminished audio quality. Aviom has indeed reduced these shortcomings to infinitesimal proportions and made the digital snake a very appealing option.
The system sent out for evaluation by Aviom consisted of four units: a 6416m Mic Input Module, a 6416o Output Module, an MCS Mic Control Surface, and an RCI Remote Control Interface. These devices can be incorporated into Aviom’s Pro16 or Pro64 networks, facilitating the network transfer of audio signals wherever they’re needed. Aviom has quite a number of interfaces and controllers available to make this possible, including an interface card for Yamaha digital consoles, a digital I/O module, and merger hubs for fiber connectivity and parallel connections. The grouping of these particular devices is intended very specifically to serve as a digital snake transferring 16 signals from platform to front-of-house. More specifically, this system is intended to capture the input from 16 microphones, as distinct from a system using Aviom’s 6416i, which features 16 balanced line-level inputs. With additional input and output modules, the system can be expanded up to 64 x 64 channels. On its front panel, the 6416m has 16 channels worth of controls and displays. Namely, there are buttons for muting, selection, and editing each channel, along with an LED meter with six segments, and LEDs to indicate polarity, high-pass filter, pad, and 48V phantom power. Each adjacent pair of channels (1 and 2, 3 and 4, etc.) have a button that links them together as a pair. The unit’s high-pass filters roll off at 85 Hz and are relatively steep at 18 dB/octave. The pads attenuate signal by 24 dB. There is also a knob on the front panel that sets gain in increments of 1 dB on the selected mic pre. Other front-panel controls include navigation and operation buttons to facilitate control over signal routing through Aviom’s proprietary A-Net. Sample rate is determined by a single pushbutton and indicated by one of six LEDs (44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, and 192kHz rates are available.) There are also pushbuttons and LED indicators for operation of Aviom’s VDC slots. VDC stands for Virtual Data Cable, and it provides a handy secondary use for some of the network’s bandwidth. Non-audio data can be transferred in addition to the audio, including RS-232/422, MIDI, and GPIO, or General Purpose I/O. GPIO includes TTL and contact closure type controls. The rear panel of the 6416m obviously includes 16 XLR mic inputs, and also features two DB-25 audio thru ports representing channels 1-8 and 9-16. These could be used as regular inputs or as a recording split. There are two EtherCon RJ-45 ports for connection to the network, and MIDI and RS-232 ports. Additionally, Euro blocks allow for contact and TTL connections. In addition to the expected IEC power input, there is a DC power input that can be used as an alternate or back-up power source.
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