GLENSOUND DARK8MAI MKII MICROPHONE AMPLIFIER Dante/AES67, desktop, 8 inputs

AoIP2M has the same housing design as AoIP22u and AoIP22 audio interfaces, however it features dual 3-pin XLR microphone inputs with output to Dante digital audio network.

Intended for live on-air broadcast applications, AoIP2M is has a ‘rugged, lightweight’ aluminium chassis with anodised and laser etched panels. The unit can be fastened in situ using cable ties and the drilled holes on the top and bottom plates.

The rear facing panel has 2 balanced, mic-level XLR connectors, a lockable Neutrik Ethercon RJ45 connector, 12V DC power input, and a micro-USB connector for device firmware updates. The primary 100Mbps ethernet IP interface allows connection to a Dante network with a single amber LED indicating network activity. AoIP2M can be powered via PoE or the DC jack input or for redundancy measures - both at the simultaneously.

The front facing panel of the AoIP2M has all user controls including independent input gain control for each channel along with 4-stage LED meters. A +48V phantom power switch and signifying red LED are provided for each channel. Finally, an LED illustrates power on.

Network audio: Compatible audio networks: Dante uncompressed, low latency audio & AES67. AES67 Compliant: The Audinate Ultimo chipset used in this product is AES67 compliant. Network connection: Neutrik RJ45 EtherCON. Dante network resolution: 24bit. Dante network sample rate: 44.1/48/88.2 & 96kS/s. AES67 network sample rate: 48kHz.

Power: Can be powered by PoE. Consumption: 2.6W. Dimensions (WxDxH): 153 x 105 x 41mm. Weight: 420g.

Glensound DARK8MAIR is a 19-inch, 1U rackmount analogue to digital converter designed to connect mic/line level analogue audio circuits to a Dante/AES67 audio network. It has eight low noise mic/line inputs which are remotely controlled by GlenController, a downloadable Windows 10 app, see Glensound GlenController software. The outputs of the microphone amplifiers are transmitted on a fully redundant Dante/AES67 network interface.

DARK8MAIR can be powered from two independent sources to provide a redundant power option. Each of the two copper network connections accept a PoE power source, allowing suitable network switches to provide power and data connectivity to the unit. This means that just one cable can carry power and audio date to/ from the unit.

The front panel of the DARK8MAIR shows four available power LEDs. These indicate when a suitable power source is attached and turned on. The rear facing panel shows the eight analogue mic/line audio inputs. Each of the eight inputs can be individually switched to accept either mic or line level input. The mic input can also have +48 volt phantom power turned on/off with input selection and phantom power settings are enabled/disable within GlenController. There are two Neutrik RJ45 Ethercon connectors, along with two SFP slots to fit preferred fibre interfaces for the network connection.

GlenController is a Windows 10 app that provides full remote control of the DARK8MAIR. It allows switching of the input types, gain control, level monitoring and more. GlenController can connect to multiple DARK8MAIRs, or multiple instances running on different PCs can connect to a single DARK8MAIR. For users regularly using the units at different events and functions settings can be saved, and assigned names for quick recall and imported/exported between different units.

Frequency response: 20Hz to 22kHz, +/-0.25dB. Maximum input level: +18dB. Input impedance: greater than 20k Ohm. Distortion: 0.0013%, at 100Hz; 0.0022%, at 1kHz; 0.00094%, at 10kHz, reference to +8dBu output. Noise: -93dB at line up, A weighted RMS, 22Hz to 22kHz. Inter-channel crosstalk: greater than 101dB, at 0dB with 1kHz tone. Dynamic range: greater than 111dB. Input type: Electronically balanced, can be wired unbalanced. Mic inputs frequency response: 40Hz to 22kHz, +/-0.25dB. Input range: -67 to -15dB, for -24dBFs line up; -61 to -7dB, for -18dBFs line up. Input gain resolution: 3dB steps. Input impedance: greater than2k4 Ohm. Equivalent input noise: 127dB, 22Hz – 22kHz, Terminated 300 Ohms. Distortion: 0.013%, at 100Hz; 0.002%, at 1kHz; 0.003%, at 10kHz, reference to + 8dBu output. Phantom power: +48 Volts. PoE Inputs: 2x standard 48V, one on each network RJ45. PoE consumption: less than 15Watts. Weight: 1.9kg.

Included Items: 1x 2m RJ45 cable and handbook.

The Dark1616M is a dedicated, rack-mounting, Dante Ethernet interface, designed for use in demanding broadcast environments. It has sixteen inputs and outputs available in parallel as both analogue and digital formats. Analogue balanced inputs may be selected to microphone, microphone with 48V phantom power or line-level, with analogue outputs available as line-level only. Digital inputs and outputs are offered as eight AES inputs and outputs (sixteen digital channels). It can be used as a stand-alone interface into a Dante network or in conjunction with a second, directly-linked, Glensound interface as an audio 'snake', or used as the network-connected or point-to-point interface to Glensound's Dante commentator units.

It has both redundant network cable connections and redundant power supplies for extra resilience, and has redundant SFP slots, providing the option to use multimode, single-mode or single-core fibre connections for additional range. It is compatible with Glensound DARK series or AoIP44 Dante interfaces when directly connected as a 'snake'. Dante is a software and hardware solution, offering high-performance audio distribution over standard IP networks, supporting hundreds of simultaneous channels of uncompressed audio with low latency and accurate synchronization. For further information, DANTE networking basics. In a Dante network, the Dante Controller web interface controls audio routing. Any Dante input can be routed to any other output on the network, or to multiple network output points.

The four network connections of the Dark1616 can be configured as a switch. In this configuration, if the primary and secondary redundant SFP/fibre slots have been used as the network link, the RJ45 connections can be used to loop out to further local DARK units or other Dante devices that will all be shown separately on the network within the Dante Controller configuration utility. The DARK1616M contains a web server, 'allowing remote functionality to an engineer from any PC connected to the network via any web browser'. Remote control of the input switching (microphone / microphone with 48V phantom/line), input gain and microphone on/off is available. Network settings can be configured.

The front panel of the 1U high, rack-mounting chassis has eight LEDs to indicate the status of the DARK1616Ms primary and secondary redundant systems. PSU1, PSU2, primary link, and secondary link all have indicators to show either normal or fault mode. A nine-pin, D-sub connector is used to relay any fault information via GPO. This can be used to trigger alarms on other systems in the event of link or power supply failures.

A mini-B USB socket allows connection to a PC for performing firmware updates, in conjunction with 'Identify' and 'Update' buttons. Two SFP slots are provided to take optional primary and secondary SFP fibre interfaces for the network connection. Two Ethercon sockets provide primary and secondary copper Ethernet connections.

The rear panel contains six 25-pin, D-sub connectors. Two of these are for the AES input/outputs, AES 1-4 and AES 6-8. Two are for the analogue inputs, analogue in 1-8 and analogue in 9-16. The final two are for the analogue outputs, analogue out 1-8 and analogue out 9-16. All analogue and AES outputs are always available. On the inputs, any valid AES signal will have priority over the analogue inputs. Two IEC power inlets feed the main and secondary redundant power supplies.

Microphone level inputs: -67dBu to -15dB dBu, for-24dBFs line up, -61dBu to -7dBu, for -18dBFs line up, 2400 ohms. Input gain resolution: 1dB steps. Response: 40Hz to 22kHz, +/-0.25dB. Distortion: 0.002% THD, 1kHz. Noise: -127dB EIN, 22Hz-22kHz, terminated 300 ohms. Phantom power: +48 volts. Line level analogue audio: +18dBu/+18dBu, maximum, input/output, 20k ohms / 50 ohms impedance, Distortion: 0.0022% THD at 1kHz, referred to +8dBu output. Noise: -93dB at 'line up', RMS, A-weighted. Dynamic range: 111dB. Inputs and outputs are electronically balanced and can be wired unbalanced. Digital audio: AES3. Response: 'Flat to 22kHz'. Maximum levels: 0dBFs, inputs and outputs, 110 ohms. Distortion: 0.00018% THD+N. Noise: -123dB RMS, A-weighted, residual. Inputs and outputs are transformer balanced. Dynamic range: 141dB. Input frequency: 16-192kHz (sample rate converted to meet Dante network frequency). Output frequency: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 192kHz (output matched Dante network). Power source: 2x AC inputs,100 - 240V AC, 47-63Hz; 18W at 230V AC. Dimensions: Rack mounting, 1U x 300mm deep excluding connectors. Weight: 3.3kg.

Included accessories: 2x power cables, with UK 13A connectors.
Optional accessories: Dante/SFPS, Dante/SFPM, Dante/SFP1, and Dante/SFP2.