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Most of us now find recording and mix-ing digitally a common occurrence com-pared to 10–15 years ago. Digital technol-ogy brings with it the promise of better con-nectivity and interactivity amongst pieces ofgear, computers, and software. A naturalextension of that idea is networking—numerous devices all communicating abouttheir capabilities, eliminating some of therestrictions posed by the point-to-pointwiring we’re all accustomed to when usinganalog. Just as with setting up a computernetwork for an office, where multipledevices can share hardware like printersand servers, a network of audio devicesshould be able to share its resources. Ah,but that’s easier to say than do.With a computer network, there’s a set

of industry standards that allow devices tocommunicate; there’s rules for Mac usersand PC users. Follow the rules and itworks (most of the time—you can tell I’mnot an IT guy, right?); you find all theprinters, you share files, etc..But audio is a bit different. What works

for your typical printer will not work for yourmic preamp, digital audio workstation(DAW), mixing console, digital snake, etc..Your typical Ethernet-based computer net-work has far too much timing unpre-dictability and latency to be practical in alive performance or recording environmentwhere timing is everything. It’s totally unac-ceptable to have the drummer’s timing andfeel expanding and contracting by even acouple of milliseconds. For these reasons,many audio guys have found networking tobe confusing and frustrating.As a result, manufacturers have been

coming up with proprietary protocols fordistributing digital audio to their productsfor years now, and it’s for a simple rea-son—there really isn’t one good way to net-work products together that’s available toeveryone. Audio devices in a professionalenvironment require precise synchroniza-tion and sample-accurate clocking. SoManufacturer A’s products cannot neces-sarily connect to and communicate withproducts from Manufacturer B, and so on. That’s where a protocol such as

Audinate’s Dante comes in. Dante is anaudio over IP (Internet Protocol) network-ing technology that becomes the back-bone for the communication between

devices, regardless of who manufacturedthem. Dante communicates over simple,readily-available Cat-5 (Ethernet) cablingand has lower installation and transportcosts, while at the same time eliminatingsome of the other nasty problems thatplague analog systems: heavy and costlymulti-core cables, RF interference andnoise, cumbersome routing, and difficul-ties when attempting to split the sourcesfor multiple users. Of course, Dante is not the only audio

networking technology out there that hasbeen designed for the specific needs ofaudio (and video) professionals: DigiGrid,CobraNet, HiQNet, MADI, A-Net, andEtherSound have all been introduced tohelp solve some or all of the same set ofproblems. Audio Video Bridging (AVB) hasbeen in development for about five yearsnow, and it too promises to become thatuniversal pipeline that finally does for audiogear what Ethernet does for computer gear.I’m focusing on Dante as an introduction tothis technology because it’s widespread,adopted by many companies that are notall part of the same larger corporation, andeasy to understand; the basic principles willcarry to other networking standards inmany cases.

So how does it work?Dante runs over standard, off-the-shelf 100

Mbps and 1 Gbps (Gigabit) networking gearand switches, using readily available Cat-5and Cat-6 cabling, and does not require anyspecial connectors. The protocol can flowthrough standard Mac OS X or Windows PCcomputers using the Ethernet ports theyalready have; no special sound cards oradapters are required. Dante allows devicesand their individual channels to be labeled,and those labels flow throughout the networkto all connected devices. That makes it easyto keep track of what you’re doing as youroute your audio signals. The protocol sup-ports various sample rates from 44.1 kHz to192 kHz and can support mixed samplerates in the same network. Audinate also offers the inexpensive

Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) software, asimple way to add your computer andfavorite digital audio workstation to a Dante-based audio network. With Dante VirtualSoundcard activated, your computer and its

audio software see another source for inputand output routing. Dante Virtual Soundcardcan be configured in a variety of I/O sizes,depending on your needs: 8 x 8, 16 x 16,32 x 32, and 64 x 64 channels are avail-able (at a 48 kHz sample rate). Figure 1shows the basic control panel for DVS.

Setting up a Dante networkYou need at least two Dante-enabled

devices connected with Cat-5 cables to createa network. The devices discover each otheras they’re added to the network, so there isno need for individual device addressing. Forrouting channels from one device to another,you’ll need the Dante Controller software,which is available free from the Audinatewebsite (www.audinate.com). And, ofcourse, you’ll need a computer connected torun the Dante Controller software.Dante Controller is used to set up the

clocking, switched versus redundantmodes, and names for devices and theirchannels. Once your routing is complet-ed, the Dante Controller software and itscomputer can be removed; the deviceswill remember their routing assignmentsuntil they are changed. Of course, ifyou’ll be using the computer as a DanteVirtual Soundcard, it should remain con-nected as part of the network.Dante Controller is basically an X/Y table-

style grid of inputs and outputs; devices with

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Excerpted from the June edition of RECORDING magazine 2014.©2014 Music Maker Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission. 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder, CO 80301 Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119For Subscription Information, call: 1-954-653-3927 or www.musicopro.com

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inputs appear across the top row ofthe grid while devices with outputsare on the side. To set up a routing,expand the view of each device toshow the channel-level connectionsand then click the point in the gridyou want to connect; you’ll see asmall green check mark appear inthe grid once a valid connection ismade and broadcast throughoutthe network. See Figure 2.Dante Controller also pro-

vides configuration tools for thedevices connected to the net-work. You can set sample rate,encoding (where applicable),latency, and so on. Figure 3shows a simple example, an

optional addon card for Yamaha digital consoles.

Record meOne of the coolest applications of Dante networking technology is through the

Dante Virtual Soundcard. Anything that is active in your Dante network can berouted into and recorded by your favorite digital workstation software. That fea-ture alone is worth the price of admission if you have any studio or live perfor-mance gear that speaks Dante. Figures 4 and 5 show I/O configurations androuting in Steinberg’s Nuendo Live software, but pretty much any DAW can seeDante devices as ins and outs.

For live recording you cannow capture the entire gig forediting back at the studio. Thisis especially easy if you use aDante-based console such asthe CL Series from Yamaha. Allyou have to do is assign eachnetwork channel you want tocapture to an input of theDAW. Arm the channels forrecording and that’s it; it reallycouldn’t be an easier to capture a live performance for later editing.

The futureYes, it’s just that easy. Boxes appear on the network, are told how to com-

municate, and do so. We have a ways to go before this sort of networkingbecomes common in small personal studios; right now it’s mainly cost-effec-tive for big studios that share a lot of different computers, or for live instal-lations and PA systems. But it’s coming. I predict more and cheaper devicesusing networking protocols like Dante with every passing year, and moreand more studios making use of these elegant protocols.

Who’s Using Dante?

The following companies offer Dante enabled products. AEQ www.aeqbroadcast.comAllen & Heath www.allen-heath.comAshly Audio www.ashly.comASL www.asl-control.co.ukAttero Tech www.atterotech.comAuvitran www.auvitran.comAviom www.aviom.comBittner Audio www.bittner-audio.comBosch www.boschcommunications.comBose global.bose.comBSS www.bss.co.ukCadac www.cadac-sound.comCrest Audio www.crestaudio.comDelec www.delec.deDHD dhd-audio.deDigico www.digico.bizDigital Audio Labs www.digitalaudio.comEAW www.eaw.comElectro Voice www.electrovoice.comESS www.essaudio.cnExtron Electronics www.extron.comFocusrite global.focusrite.comFour Audio www.fouraudio.comGlensound www.glensound.co.ukHarman www.harman.comInter-M www.inter-m.comJato www.jato.co.jpJoeCo joeco.co.ukKlark Teknik www.klarkteknik.comLab.gruppen AB labgruppen.comLake lake.labgruppen.comLectrosonics www.lectrosonics.comLinea Research www.linea-research.co.ukLink SRL www.linkusa-inc.comMidas www.midasconsoles.comNexo nexo-sa.comNTP www.ntp.dkOpen Access www.oa.com.auPeavey www.peaveycommercialaudio.comPeavey MediaMatrix mediamatrix.peavey.comPowersoft www.powersoft-audio.comPreSonus www.presonus.comRTS www.rtsintercoms.com/rts/lineSierra Automated Systems www.sasaudio.comShure www.shure.comSolid State Logic www.solid-state-logic.comSolidyne www.solidynepro.comSound Devices www.sounddevices.comSoundcraft www.soundcraft.comStagetec www.stagetec.comStewart Audio www.stewartaudio.comStudio Technologies www.studio-tech.comSymetrix www.symetrix.coTelevic Conference www.televic-conference.comTendzone www.tendzone.comTEQSAS www.teqsas.deXilica xilica.comYamaha www.yamahaproaudio.com

Ray Legnini (legnini@recordingmag.com) is a for-mer astronaut, Olympic weight lifter, gourmet chef,congressman, and part-time psychic. He now spendsmost of his time playing guitar and working as aproduct design and marketing specialist at Aviom(aviominc.com).

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Excerpted from the June edition of RECORDING magazine 2014.©2014 Music Maker Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission. 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder, CO 80301 Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119For Subscription Information, call: 1-954-653-3927 or www.musicopro.com