Solotech, a major rental and tour-sound company, has prepared two touring rigs using the supplied equipment. Each rig consists of two Yamaha PM5D mixing consoles with four AVY-16ES cards, giving 64 channels of digital I/O over Cat 5 100TX Ethernet cabling/Network, plus eight NetCIRA MS-8 AES/EBU inputs, and two NetCIRA MS-8 AES/EBU outputs. In addition, eight Yamaha AD8HR Mic/Line pre-amp units are used for collecting the analogue sources and feeding them into the EtherSound network via the MS-8 AES/EBU encoders. All 64 channels of encoded audio then travel, via just 1 Cat 5e cable, to the AVY-ES16 in the respective Yamaha PM5Ds.
The main criteria for Solotech in evaluating their various digital options were audio quality, minimal network latency, and ease of installation/setup, say the company. After multiple tests of different technologies and configurations, they found the NetCIRA/AuviTran solution had the best audio quality through the equipment-network link, and total combined system latency of only 2.8ms (2.5ms of this being attributed to the the consoles alone). The first setup is currently on tour with renowned Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, on their 'In Between Evolution' North American tour. The second setup is in Las Vegas for Havana Night Club - The Show, a new Cuban music and dance show at the Stardust. These two installations reinforce the viability of EtherSound digital audio over the Ethernet for real life live sound applications.
NetCIRA by Fostex offers a full range of innovative products for distributing real-time multi-channel audio over the Ethernet. Network Commercial, Industrial, and Residential Audio (NetCIRA) is a new and expanding range of products providing practical and cost-effective digital audio distribution using EtherSound audio source transmission technology, where more than 63,000 addressable modules can access 64 channels of 24-bit 44.1/48kHz digital audio, with just 125 microseconds initial system latency.
(Lee Baldock)
