Allen&Heath DM0
The Allen & Heath dLive mixing system has made significant inroads in the touring and permanent install markets in recent years. With the introduction of a few key pieces of equipment, the new dLive DM0 system, first seen at the InfoComm show this past June, is now poised to address audio routing and distribution (and similar) applications. This First Impression article looks at dLive DM0 in this new context, with an eye toward a full review in a future issue.
dLive uses the “brains in a box” approach, putting the audio routing and processing power of the mixer in a rack-mounted unit. This MixRack functions as the hub of the dLive system, to which you can connect hardware control surfaces (which look a lot like a mixer), additional analog and digital I/O, dedicated controls and displays, as well as remote iPads or tablets.
Once you take audio to the digital realm and remove the smarts from the mixer itself, countless options become available. The key word here is flexibility. A modular system that got its start mixing music, for example, can easily be configured for audio distribution or recording or broadcast or any number of different applications.
For traditional audio mixing duties, the dLive system offers three MixRack configurations with increasing amounts of analog I/O. The DM32, DM48 and DM64 offer 32, 48 and 64 input channels respectively. The new DM0, as the smallest of the MixRack units, sports no analog I/O (other than a headphone output). Instead the DM0 bristles with the sort of digital I/O options needed for "everything, everywhere" audio routing and distribution.
Basic digital interfaces of the DM0 include redundant Allen & Heath's proprietary GigaAce connectors for a control surface, four DX connectors for analog I/O, one ME connector for the Allen & Heath personal mixing system and wordclock. Three slots accommodate optional I/O cards, each routing up to 128 channels of 96 kHz audio. These cards offer such protocols as Super MADI (BNC and fiber), Allen & Heath's FibreAce, Waves V3, AES, Dante, ACE and Ethersound. This gives dLive the ability to route and process audio across more than 300 inputs and outputs in any of the major formats. Impressive.
DM0 has the same horsepower under the hood as the other MixRack models--a serious amount. Using Allen & Heath's own FPGA (field-programmable gate array) processing core, every MixRack offers 160x64 channels at 96 kHz. Up to 128 inputs, 16 stereo effects returns and 64 output busses get the full complement of filtering, EQ, dynamics and delay. Everything feeds into a 96-bit accumulator that makes internal clipping a thing of the past (over 500 dB dynamic range). All that power works quickly to boot, with the MixRack boasting latency of just 0.7 ms. We've seen and heard the dLive MixRack in a traditional mixing environment, and we look forward to seeing how all that power fares in the somewhat more mundane world of audio distribution.
Other new products include the DX Link I/O card and DX Hub half-rack unit. DX Link allows up to four additional 32-channel interfaces to be attached to a MixRack or control surface. DX Hub is a remote DX expander that performs a similar function at the end of a GigaAce cable. Both offer the ability to move their digital audio payload up to 100 meters. Need to go further? dLive works with the FibreAce and MADI optical protocols for runs of up to 500 meters and 2,000 meters respectively.
Other dLive products aimed at the audio distribution and permanent install niches include the IP1 remote control wallplate, IP6 and IP8 control surfaces, and GPIO interface. All reveal Allen & Heath's new emphasis on solutions for any venue from boardroom to boardwalk to worship center. If you need to route, split, process, delay, mix, record or broadcast your audio, dLive wants to get it done.
The dLive system is clearly more than a simple audio distribution hub or digital splitter. One could argue it's overkill, as the MixRack DM0 offers enough processing power to mix an enormous live show. That said, it appears no venue would ever lack for options with a dLive DM0 system installed. We plan to put this flexible system to a full test in the near future.
