In Broadcast - July 2014 - 34

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 33 - JULY 2014

N E W S

InSOUND

Advances In Audio Mixing Technology

The longevity of the manual fader as a method of control is undoubted, but the sophistication of the
control methods has increased along with the data GUI information available...

By David Kirk
Contributing Editor

ack in the late 1990s when
the International Broadcast
Convention graced Brighton's
pebbly shoreline, I asked SSL's then
Sales Director (latterly Managing
Director) Anthony David whether
traditional audio mixer control
surfaces would survive into the
long-term future. He surmised,
quite correctly as it transpired, that
they would. A quarter-decade on,
the manual fader is still a common
tool in practically every live sound
studio and the great majority of
post-production studios. The
essential change is the practically
universal deployment of assignable
rotary controls supplemented by
the data display GUIs which SSL
itself was one of the ﬁrst companies
to introduce.
Lawo makes quite a neat case for
the software approach in describing
the merits of its CrystalClear mixer:
"Faders never get dirty or fail, buttons
never break or need lamps replaced,
and even novice users can learn the
system in minutes without training
or making frantic phone calls during
the overnight shift. In addition, the
system can be accessed by an
engineer using standard tools -
even remotely." That said, even the
software brigade generally offers a
plug-in control surface with manual
faders and an assortment of pulsecounting knobs or potentiometers.
AEQ's Capitol is designed to make
digital technology available to radio
and TV stations where converting to

digital has not hitherto been feasible.
Based on the same technology as
the AEQ Arena and Forum digital
mixing consoles, it offers the same
performance as the Forum but in a
ﬁxed format with a limited number
of options adapted to the needs of
the majority of stations.

Allen & Heath's rackmountable
QU-16 audio mixer

Allen & Heath's QU-16 audio
mixer incorporates 16 total recall
preamplifiers with a padless 1
decibel step gain stage. The
analogue signal is captured by 24bit analogue to digital converters
matched to 24-bit digital to
analogue converters to deliver the
required outputs. Features include
17 ALPS motorised faders, 16
arranged over two layers, allowing
instant access to all channels and
masters, plus a dedicated master
fader which dynamically follows
the mix selection. A third layer is
available for ad-hoc user strip layout,

Avid's S6 can be customised for speciﬁc workﬂows

where any combination of inputs,
effects sends, effects returns and
mix masters can be assigned.
Avid's S6 audio mixing control
surface allows simultaneous control
of multiple audio workstations via
Ethernet. It can be customised
by adding the modules needed
to match a specific workflow.
Preconﬁgured S6 M10 or S6 M40
surfaces can be purchased with the
required controls already provided
or, in the case of the S6 M40, further
personalised with different channel
control combinations. Compatible
with Pro Tools and other EUCONenabled products, the S6 enables
up to eight audio workstations so
be controlled simultaneously.
Calrec Audio's Summa audio
console simpliﬁes broadcast tasks
such as creating mix-minus feeds.
Users control it via a 17-inch
multi-touch screen. Conﬁgurable

displays are also provided to show
bus, output, and loudness meters.
The physical control surface is
available in ﬁxed 20, 32 and 44 fader
conﬁgurations. Each channel strip
has a fader, two ﬂexible control cells
and a dedicated gain potentiometer.
Summa uses Calrec's Bluefin2
technology providing 180 channel
processing paths which can be
assigned as mono, stereo or 5.1
channels. Because there is no
resource-sharing across the DSP, all
facilities are available on all channels
at all times. Summa has eight
groups, four mains, 16 auxiliaries,
and 32 tracks. It includes complete
system redundancy, dedicated
delay on all paths with additional
assignable input and output delay,
PFL on all faders, and three 5.1
studio monitor outputs.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

Calrec Audio's Summa audio console features a 17-inch multi-touch screen
for user control

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