Xilica manages audio over IP at boutique hotel
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J&E Pro Audio specified Xilica with the systems design, which called for a complete AV over IP infrastructure as part of the ground-up construction. While connected to the central IT infrastructure, J&E Pro Audio configured a dedicated LAN with managed network switches to separate all audio and video signals from standard IT traffic. The company selected the Xilica Solaro FR1 DSP to optimize quality and multi-channel performance over the network, while citing its modularity and seamless integration with Dante audio networking as other deciding factors.
“We ran our network on the hotel fibre infrastructure, with dedicated switches that run parallel to the hotel network,” said Jaire Lopez, president, J&E Pro Audio. “We programmed the Xilica Solaro FR1 to process, manage and transport audio across multiple public spaces, including a 16th floor rooftop bar, fourth-floor meeting rooms, a second-floor fitness centre, and a ground-floor restaurant and lobby to support background music.”
As Lopez explains, the Xilica Solaro FR1 manages a mix of analogue and digital signals that are ingested and routed across many spaces. This includes live music from the rooftop DJ booth, which injects analogue signals into the Solaro FR1 over Dante. In all, the redundant Xilica Solaro FR1 configuration manages 64 audio inputs and outputs, and optimizes audio quality before feeding Powersoft amplifiers via Dante. Xilica’s built-in control software also allows hotel staff to manage audio and video signal flows using an iPad, which eliminates the need for a dedicated, expensive AV control system.
Lopez adds that the sleek 1RU design of the Xilica Solaro FR1 takes up minimal rack space while not limiting the end user to a dedicated configuration. Should the Carte Hotel need to scale in the future, the Solaro FR1’s modular design will allow J&E Pro Audio to add new cards and expansion slots to accommodate new services and higher capacity. In fact, Lopez has already made adjustments from the original DSP design.
“Near the end of the project the customer requested a wireless microphone system for the hotel’s meeting space,” said Lopez. “We simply added a few microphone input cards, and the application was immediately ready to go. The new design of Solaro FR1 frame makes it even easier to make changes, because there is no need to take the unit apart. We can simply remove the rear cover and insert the cards without removing the unit from the rack. It’s very simple and modular.”
(Jim Evans)
