Avid Pro Audio Community - HDX with Dante Via

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- - HDX with Dante Via (https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=399373)

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Seaberg (Post 2489866)

We purchased three of the Focusrite Red 4Pre which has built-in Dante and Avid DigiLink. Works GREAT in combination with our Avid HD IO and is seen as another 32 channels on the HD card. The Focusrite Red 8Pre does give you the full 64-channels on Dante. The units also have Thunderbolt and we will, eventually, lose our HD Native cards and go totally Thunderbolt with these and build out a larger Dante network within the facility.

BTW, the Red 4Pre is currently on sale at $700 off!!

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...srite-red-4pre

I will never understand why Focusrite, and only Focusrite, seems to think Dante is a 32 channel interface. They make some really impressive looking products which are utterly useless because of this single fact. An engineer at Focusrite said to me “I really don’t know why we do that.”

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artysan (Post 2613699)

Eventide does the same.
Due to duplexing (of Dante, MADI, etc.) it's to guarantee 32 i/o when at 96k. So vs giving 64 i/o at 44.1/48 and 32 i/o at 88.2/96, they just limit to always being 32 i/o.

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artysan (Post 2613699)

I guess you missed the Focusrite PCIeR Dante card, which is 128x128 channels of Dante at 96k (192x192 at 48k).

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by BScout (Post 2613718)

Eventide does the same.
Due to duplexing (of Dante, MADI, etc.) it's to guarantee 32 i/o when at 96k. So vs giving 64 i/o at 44.1/48 and 32 i/o at 88.2/96, they just limit to always being 32 i/o.

That is the most pathetic reasoning I have ever heard for halving the capability of an interface. I’m NOT referring to your reply, which I appreciate! Seriously, two companies do this, dozens more don’t. Dante is a 64 channel interface, period. Same with MADI. Have you ever heard of a MADI interface being limited like you described? No, never.

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCBigler (Post 2613720)

I guess you missed the Focusrite PCIeR Dante card, which is 128x128 channels of Dante at 96k (192x192 at 48k).

No, I didn’t miss that. Try getting that into Pro Tools HD. If it doesn’t have HDX connectors, it doesn’t exist for me.

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artysan (Post 2613721)

And on a sidenote, the Dante interface in MTRX Studio is 64 channels at all samplerates, all the way up to 192 kHz.

Re: HDX with Dante Via

I totally share the sentiments of disapproval of Focusrite's design choices. It cost me $400 USD to add a 64 channel audinate Dante card to my DAD DX-32R. I suspect most of Focusrite's Dante products are well equipped to handle 64 channels of Dante, but they are trying to leverage 32 channel limits to sell more hardware.

Just as an example, at Sweetwater today it will cost $4000 to buy 64 channels of Dante to digilink through Focusrite. An Avid MTRX on the other hand costs $4999, includes 64 channels of Dante, 64 channels of digilink, Adat I/O, 16 channels of first class AD/DA, full monitor controller and routing matrix, and SPQ speaker calibration.

If other manufacturers are anything to go by, the difference between a device offering 32 or 64 channels of Dante is a couple of hundred bucks... not a couple of thousand...

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artysan (Post 2594060)

Not according to the Focusrite manuals and site. 32ch Dante per unit for the entire 4/8/16 line, which is turning out to be a dealbreaker.

You are right, however, the main reason the line only has 32 channels of Dante is, in my opinion, because of Avid. You only get 32-channels of IO per DigiLink cable, so why have a device with 64-Dante when you can't get it into your HD/HDX card? Two devices with 32 each, two DigiLink cables into HDX, and you've got 64-channels.

We're using the Focusrite D64R with our SSL console, converting 64-Dante to MADI into an SSL MADI router and converted to Digilink to HDX, but it does take two DigiLink cables to get 64x64 Dante.

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Seaberg (Post 2613775)

Re: HDX with Dante Via

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDS (Post 2613763)

It is an infuriating situation, and, I’m sorry, but all the attempts to justify it are nonsense. There is no correlation between Dante’s capability and HDX’s. It’s been years since anyone produced an interface with fewer than 2 HDX ports, and for good reason. 32 channels serves pretty much no professional user’s needs.

It damages the reputation of a company like Focusrite to continue down this wholly unjustifiable path. The responses I’ve received from Focusrite support about this are, frankly, embarrassed and embarrassing. Their outstanding support team must cringe each time they are called on this.

I have the money to buy from Focusrite, but they simply refuse to build the product I, and many pro users, need. A 64 channel interface (their words, not mine) that can only support 32 on its most important professional connection, is a slap in the face to the industry they purport to lead.