For nearly a decade, Middleton, Wis.-based Electronic Theatre Control's (ETC’s) Ion consoles have brought powerful control to theatres, concert venues, studios and events around the world. With the 2017 release of two Ion Xe consoles and two new fader wings, the Eos line saw an upgrade.
Power in a small package
With compact footprints and full-featured Eos software, Ion Xe consoles are designed to bring high-level, award-winning programming power to smaller venues. Since the consoles feature the same backlit keyboard layout as their larger Eos family, users' workflows can transfer seamlessly from desk to desk, ETC reports. Ion Xe desks support up to external two multi-touch monitors, so users can take hands-on advantage of color tools, Magic Sheets, Direct Selects and more.
Ion Xe consoles feature full main playback controls, fader controls, level and rate wheels, four rotary parameter encoders and support for up to five USB-connectable wings and devices.
Ion Xe consoles feature full main playback controls, fader controls, level and rate wheels, four rotary parameter encoders and support for up to five USB-connectable wings and devices. Ion Xe consoles are available in two output counts: 2K (base) and 12K (expanded), providing control for a wide variety of rigs. For extra security and flexibility, ETC has also released a new Ion Xe Remote Processing Unit (RPU), that can serve as a backup, remote programming station, or primary controller for your system.
“The Ion brand is much loved for its compact footprint and powerful feature set at a very attractive price,” explains Eos family Product Manager Anne Valentino. “We wanted to ensure its replacement maintained those attributes, while providing a more consistent hardware design with the larger products in the family. Ion Xe is a powerful addition to a product line-up that covers a broad cross-section of the market.”
Customizable faders
The new Eos Fader Wing accessories provide 20 or 40 non-motorized faders in handy, USB-connectable modules that match – and are compatible with – all the latest Eos family hardware. The wings share the profile of the Ion Xe and Eos Motorized Fader Wings, and they can be used with all Eos family products (with the exception of Element).
Fader wings make it easy to customize the Ion Xe to the specific needs of a show, according to the company, allowing users to connect up to three motorized or non-motorized fader wings to an Ion Xe desk. For those wanting manual playbacks as a permanent feature of the work surface, the Ion Xe 20 model streamlines the control booth setup with a built-in bank of 20 page-able, non-motorized faders.
