The networked system

Digital snakes began as proprietary links. CobraNetPeak Audio / Cirrus LogicCobraNet1996CobraNet, developed by Peak Audio, carried uncompressed multichannel audio over standard Ethernet. Cirrus Logic bought the technology in 2001 and in 2003 put it on a single chip, the CS18101.Open profile → and EtherSoundDigigramEtherSound2002EtherSound, from Digigram, carried low-latency multichannel audio over Ethernet hardware. Its first products, the ES8in and ES8out bridges of 2002, put eight analogue channels on or off the network over Cat5 and standard switches.Open profile → carried audio over Ethernet. AES50, Optocore and RockNet connected stage boxes to consoles. Audinate, founded in 2006, developed DanteAudinateDante2006 development; first commercial deployment 2008A widely adopted IP audio networking technology with software-based routing and synchronized transport.Open profile →; its first commercial deployment came in 2008, in the Dolby Lake ProcessorDolbyDolby Lake Processor2006The Dolby Lake Processor combined Lake Contour and Mesa EQ technology in a modular unit up to 4-in, 12-out, with circular 'Portal' meters and networked wireless control software.Open profile →. Dante routed multichannel audio and clock over standard IP networks. Open standards followed: AVB, Milan, RAVENNAALC NetworXRAVENNA2010RAVENNA is an open IP media transport introduced at IBC in September 2010, developed by ALC NetworX with Lawo and partners including Genelec, Merging, Innovason, Schoeps and DirectOut. It supports up to 192 kHz PCM at 24 bits and is compatible with AES67.Open profile → and the AES67Audio Engineering SocietyAES672013AES67, published on 11 September 2013, defines an interoperability mode for audio over IP covering synchronisation, transport, encoding and session description. Begun as AES-X192 in December 2010, it defines a common subset of systems such as [[ravenna|RAVENNA]] and Dante rather than new technology.Open profile → interoperability layer.

Peak Audio / Cirrus Logic CobraNetCobraNet · Public domainDigigram EtherSoundCLI · GFDLAudinate DanteAudinate Pty, Ltd. · Public domainDolby Dolby Lake ProcessorTiago Cassol Schvarstzhaupt · CC BY 2.0ALC NetworX RAVENNA© ALC NetworX · © ALC NetworX, used for identification and historical commentaryAudio Engineering Society AES67© Audio Engineering Society · © Audio Engineering Society, used for identification and historical commentary

Networking reshaped the console. The DiGiCo SD7DiGiCoSD72007–2008DiGiCo showed the SD7 as a concept at PLASA 2007 and confirmed it in 2008. Designed by John Stadius, it introduced Stealth Digital Processing, combining a large FPGA with Tiger SHARC DSPs for 256 processing paths at 96 kHz.Open profile →, Avid VENUE S6LAvidVENUE S6L2015The Avid VENUE | S6L, introduced in April 2015, succeeded the 2005 [[digidesign-venue|VENUE]] with a touch-based surface, the E6L engine and Stage 64 I/O. It supports AVB, Dante and MADI plus Thunderbolt for Pro Tools recording, with over 300 processing channels at 96 kHz.Open profile →, Yamaha RIVAGE PM10YamahaRIVAGE PM102015The RIVAGE PM10, announced in November 2014 and shown in 2015, comprises the CS-R10 surface, DSP-R10 engine and RPio622 I/O rack. Its Hybrid Microphone Preamplifier adds digital modelling of Rupert Neve Designs transformer circuitry and SILK to an analogue stage.Open profile →, CL5YamahaCL52012The Yamaha CL5, launched in 2012, was Yamaha's first console built around Audinate's Dante network with remote I/O. It offered 72 mono and 8 stereo inputs, 24 mix buses and 16 DCAs, with Rupert Neve Designs-modelled processing, at $27,499 MSRP.Open profile →, Allen & Heath dLiveAllen & HeathdLive2015Allen & Heath launched dLive in June 2015, separating MixRacks (DM32, DM48, DM64) from control surfaces around an FPGA-based XCVI core at 96 kHz with 128 processed inputs. Its DEEP processing runs compressors and EQ models inside the FPGA itself.Open profile →, Midas PRO XMidasPRO X2014Midas launched the PRO X in 2014 as the first console on its NEUTRON engine, with 168 inputs and 99 buses in a surface under 1.5 m wide and AES50/HyperMAC networking.Open profile → and SSL Live L500 treated inputs as shared network resources. Front of house, monitors, broadcast and recording could all draw on the same stage split.

DiGiCo SD7Duncan Underwood · CC BY 2.0Avid VENUE S6LBasshag · CC BY-SA 4.0Yamaha RIVAGE PM10© Yamaha · © Yamaha, used for identification and historical commentaryYamaha CL5© Yamaha · © Yamaha, used for identification and historical commentaryAllen & Heath dLive© Allen & Heath; photographer not credited · Copyright retained by the original rights holder; reproduced for identification and historical commentary (fair use). Reuse permission not established.Midas PRO XJim J · Public domain

Loudspeakers joined the network too. L-Acoustics’ K1L-AcousticsK12008–2010L-Acoustics announced its K1/KUDO pilot programme in August 2008, field-testing the K1/KUDO/LA8 system with its rental network over a planned 24-month validation before launch. K1 succeeded [[l-acoustics-v-dosc|V-DOSC]] for stadium-scale touring.Open profile → and K2L-AcousticsK22014L-Acoustics introduced K2 in 2014, offering K1-class performance in a lighter 3-way quad-amplified enclosure. Its PANFLEX fins and DSP let engineers choose 70°, 110° or asymmetric 90° horizontal coverage on site.Open profile →, Meyer’s LEOMeyer SoundLEO2012Meyer Sound's LEO is a self-powered line array system built from the LEO-M element, the 1100-LFC low-frequency element and the Galileo Callisto processor, launched in late 2012 as Meyer's first live product sold as a complete system.Open profile → and LYONMeyer SoundLYON2014Meyer introduced LYON at ISE in February 2014, putting [[meyer-leo|LEO]] technology in a lighter enclosure as the LYON-M and wide LYON-W, with the 1100-LFC and Galileo Callisto. Bazelmans AVR ordered 40 at launch.Open profile →, d&b’s J-Seriesd&b audiotechnikJ-Series2006d&b's J-Series of 2006 combined J8 and J12 full-range cabinets with the cardioid J-SUB. The J8 and J12 share drivers, size and rigging but differ in horizontal coverage (80° and 120°), so they can be mixed in one array.Open profile → and SL-Series, JBL VTX V25JBLVTX V252010sThe JBL VTX V25 is a full-size three-way line array element with D2 dual-diaphragm compression drivers on an RBI waveguide, two 15-inch and four 8-inch Differential Drive drivers, sold with Crown amplification and JBL control software as a system.Open profile →, Adamson E15 and NEXO STMNEXOSTM2012NEXO's STM ('Scale Through Modularity') uses four proportional modules, M28, M46, B112 and S118, combined into arrays from club to festival size, designed in NEXO's NS-1 software.Open profile → were driven by networked amplifiers such as Powersoft X SeriesPowersoftX Series amplifier2010sPowersoft's X Series (X4, X4L, X8) combines multichannel amplification with full DSP, routing and matrixing in one chassis; the X8 gives 8 channels up to 40,000 W total, with a universal three-phase supply and optional Dante.Open profile →. Software like LA Network ManagerL-AcousticsLA Network ManagerIn documented use by 2011Integrated control, monitoring, tuning, and grouping across networked amplified controllers.Open profile → reported the load, temperature and fault status of every amplified controller channel. The same networks now carry the dozens of independent feeds that immersive rendering requires.

L-Acoustics K1© L-Acoustics · © L-Acoustics, used for identification and historical commentaryL-Acoustics K2Retired electrician · CC0Meyer Sound LEO© Meyer Sound; photographer not credited · Copyright retained by the original rights holder; reproduced for identification and historical commentary (fair use). Reuse permission not established.Meyer Sound LYON© Khoi Ton / Meyer Sound · Copyright retained by the original rights holder; reproduced for identification and historical commentary (fair use). Reuse permission not established.d&b audiotechnik J-Series© d&b audiotechnik · © d&b audiotechnik, used for identification and historical commentaryJBL VTX V25© JBL Professional (HARMAN) · © JBL Professional (HARMAN), used for identification and historical commentaryNEXO STMMrSadist · CC BY-SA 4.0Powersoft X Series amplifier© Powersoft · © Powersoft, used for identification and historical commentaryL-Acoustics LA Network Manager© L-Acoustics · © L-Acoustics, used for identification and historical commentary

Kennedy's FOH survey traces how this era's flagship arrays multiplied. L-Acoustics' 2007 KUDO gave system tuners manual control of horizontal coverage through internal K-LOUVER deflectors, and its K1L-AcousticsK12008–2010L-Acoustics announced its K1/KUDO pilot programme in August 2008, field-testing the K1/KUDO/LA8 system with its rental network over a planned 24-month validation before launch. K1 succeeded [[l-acoustics-v-dosc|V-DOSC]] for stadium-scale touring.Open profile → arrived in 2008 as the new stadium and festival platform, followed in 2014 by the lighter K2L-AcousticsK22014L-Acoustics introduced K2 in 2014, offering K1-class performance in a lighter 3-way quad-amplified enclosure. Its PANFLEX fins and DSP let engineers choose 70°, 110° or asymmetric 90° horizontal coverage on site.Open profile →, with adjustable Panflex horizontal directivity, which became the dominant choice for premium touring fleets. Martin Audio's 2010 MLA used optimisation software to control individual cells of drivers for even level across the seating; d&b's 2011 V-Series built passive cardioid low-mid control into a mid-size array to keep low-frequency build-up off stages; Outline's GTO debuted on Peter Gabriel's 2011 New Blood tour. JBL launched VTXJBLVTX V252010sThe JBL VTX V25 is a full-size three-way line array element with D2 dual-diaphragm compression drivers on an RBI waveguide, two 15-inch and four 8-inch Differential Drive drivers, sold with Crown amplification and JBL control software as a system.Open profile → at NAMM 2012 as VerTec's successor, Meyer Sound's LEOMeyer SoundLEO2012Meyer Sound's LEO is a self-powered line array system built from the LEO-M element, the 1100-LFC low-frequency element and the Galileo Callisto processor, launched in late 2012 as Meyer's first live product sold as a complete system.Open profile → followed in 2012, and EAW's 2013 AnyaEAWAnya2013 prototype deployments; documented production use by 2014Anya replaced the familiar curved concert-array hang with straight columns and individually processed drivers. Coverage could be changed in software after the rig was flown, making audience shape, reflections and offsite noise active system-design variables.Open profile → replaced mechanical splay with software beam shaping in a straight-hung array. NEXO's 2013 STMNEXOSTM2012NEXO's STM ('Scale Through Modularity') uses four proportional modules, M28, M46, B112 and S118, combined into arrays from club to festival size, designed in NEXO's NS-1 software.Open profile → let rental companies combine modules by event size, and d&b's 2016 GSLd&b audiotechnikGSL SystemApril 2018The first large-format member of d&b's SL-Series, designed to control directivity through the low and mid frequencies.Open profile → carried full-bandwidth cardioid control to stadium scale. Kennedy also notes that Audinate's DanteAudinateDante2006 development; first commercial deployment 2008A widely adopted IP audio networking technology with software-based routing and synchronized transport.Open profile → debuted at the 2006 San Francisco AES show, with the Dolby Lake Processor as the first Dante-enabled device two years later.

L-Acoustics K1© L-Acoustics · © L-Acoustics, used for identification and historical commentaryL-Acoustics K2Retired electrician · CC0JBL VTX V25© JBL Professional (HARMAN) · © JBL Professional (HARMAN), used for identification and historical commentaryMeyer Sound LEO© Meyer Sound; photographer not credited · Copyright retained by the original rights holder; reproduced for identification and historical commentary (fair use). Reuse permission not established.EAW Anya© Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) · © Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW); used for identification and historical commentaryNEXO STMMrSadist · CC BY-SA 4.0d&b audiotechnik GSL System© d&b audiotechnik · © d&b audiotechnik, used for identification and historical commentaryAudinate DanteAudinate Pty, Ltd. · Public domain