The Presonus SL-Dante-MIX option card now available for the StudioLive AI family mixers allows your StudioLive AI Console or RM series rack mixer to be used on a standard Ethernet network to send and receive audio to and and from other Dante enabled devices.
Dante (Digital Audio Network Through Ethernet) is a proprietary digital audio technology created and licensed by Audinate. It is a combination of software, hardware, and network protocols that deliver uncompressed, multi-channel, low-latency digital audio over a standard Ethernet network.
There is currently no support for Dante "StageBox" mode at this time. For AVB Stagebox mode setup, please see this link here.
All Dante routing and configuration is done through Audinate's Dante Controller application running on Mac or PC.
All PreSonus devices with Dante cards installed will be seen and configured from this application, including both StudioLive AI PA speakers with the SL-Dante-SPK option card installed, and now StudioLive AI family mixers with the SL-Dante-MIX option card installed.
Audinate's Dante Virtual Sound Card is an application that allows your computer to send and receive Dante audio streams to and from a Dante network. It can be used to play back and record Dante audio to and from any Dante devices on the network, including your StudioLive AI family mixer with the SL-Dante-MIX option card installed. Dante Virtual Soundcard can be purchased and downloaded from Audinate's website.
While Dante utilizes standard networking hardware, there are a few best practices to keep in mind. What follows is a brief guide on selecting hardware and configuring your Dante network. More information can be found at www.Audinate.com and in the PreSonus Audio Networking guide, available for download from your My PreSonus user account.
Selecting the Right Switch For Dante Networks
Dante is compatible with standard network hardware, but there are a few basic requirements to keep in mind when choosing your network switch:
• Non-blocking layer-2 gigabit switch with a packet-forwarding rate of 1.488 Mpps per port. For example, if you purchase an 8-port switch, the packet-forwarding rate would have to be 11.904 Mpps (1.488 Mpps x 8).
• Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) , also known as Green Ethernet or IEEE 802.3az, reduces power consumption when there isn’t much traffic on the network. Unfortunately, this can lead to audio interruptions and can degrade clocking. If your switch provides this feature, make sure that you can and do disable it. Refer also Audinate's Unsupported non-managed switches list.
• Managed switches are preferred and required if you plan to use UC Surface with a wireless device, such as an iPad, to remote control your loudspeakers as well. Managed switches can also help you create a more stable Dante network if you have a complicated setup.
• Most managed switches support Quality of Service (QoS). This allows you to choose Dante clock synchronization as the highest priority and audio data as the next-highest priority. This is especially important if you are transferring large amounts of data over your Dante network or if you are transferring non-Dante data over the same network.
• If you are using multiple switches on your Dante network, we recommend using the same make and model to simplify setup and guarantee compatibility. Refer also to the Audinate Networks and Switches FAQ
Adding a Wireless Router on Your Dante Network
Dante audio cannot travel over a wireless network. You can still wirelessly remote control your StudioLive AI-series mixer over a Dante network using UC Surface and QMix-AI, but you will need to do some additional setup:
1. To connect a wireless router to your Dante network, you will need to purchase a managed switch and dive into its configuration settings.
2. Select the port to which you’ve connected your wireless router and set Multicast Filtering to “On.” This will stop the flow of Dante traffic to that port and allow it to be used for wireless remote control of your mixer. Do not connect Dante devices to the ports on a wireless router. Please consult the documentation that came with your managed switch for instruction about enabling Multicast Filtering on a specific port.
3. Because your mixer is hardwired to the switch, no additional setup is required to remote control it from UC Surface. Simply connect your device to the wireless router network and launch UC Surface.
Complete instructions UC Surface can be found in your StudioLive AI-series Software Manual available from your My PreSonus user account and at www.PreSonus.com.
NOTE: Installation of the SL-Dante-MIX option card disables the use of the USB Wi-Fi LAN adapter for StudioLive AI-series mixers. All control must be done through the Ethernet connections on the option card.
Additional Considerations
• The SL-Dante-MIX cards only support 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz sample rates, so both the mixer and the SL-Dante-MIX card's setting must match. The mixer's sample rate is set either in UC Surface on the Settings page, or with the Console mixers, on the mixer's System menu. The SL-Dante-MIX card's sample rate is controlled through the Dante Controller software, as are all Dante devices. If you are having trouble passing audio on your network, click here for more troubleshooting steps.
• SL-DANTE-MIX option cards work with Dynamic IP (DHCP) routers only. When no DHCP server is recognized, the mixer will provide a Link-Local address for direct connection to a computer. For use of StudioLive mixers with Link-Local (Self-Assigned IP) address network configuration, watch this video below on the different network modes of AI consoles.
StudioLive AI Network Modes (Firmware 7784/7786 and above)
• NOTE: StudioLive AI PA speakers only support Dante audio at 48 kHz sample rate, so when running a StudioLive AI mixer with StudioLive AI PA speakers via Dante, you must run set both the mixer and SL-Dante-MIX card to 48 kHz.
Here are some additional resources regarding all things Dante
https://www.audinate.com/resources/faqs
https://www.audinate.com/products/software
https://www.audinate.com/resources/technical-documentation
https://www.audinate.com/resources/training-and-tutorials
https://www.audinate.com/resources/videos