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AMSR
M I D A S X L 8
LIVE PERFORMANCE SYSTEM
n amongst the digital live console launches of late
System connections are all taken care of with
Some assumed Midas had a
little catching up to do. Has it
finally come out in the lead?
PAUL MAC previews the new
XL8.
there as been an obvious one missing. Surely Midas cable or fibre. While the details of the network are too
must go digital sometime? Finally, the answer is here, detailed for this article, a couple of things stand out.
accompanied by the typically bold sell: “Digital Goes First, all connections are dual-redundant at the system’s
I
Midas.” Inside that clever cliché reversal is an
important statement, emphatically backed up
by the decision to replace the XL4 analogue
with the XL8 digital – Midas claims it has got
the new flagship so right that it doesn’t need
the old one.
The first thing to note is that ‘XL8’ is the
name of a complete system, not just a board
and a hunk of DSP – open the box and find
everything that you need to rig an FOH or
monitor position from stage to stereo.
96kHz sampling rate. The DL451 system
router (two supplied for each system), for
example, features ten fully redundant AES
50 connections for local I/O.
‘XL8’is the name of a
complete system, not
just a board and a hunk
of DSP – open the box
and find everything
that you need to rig an
FOH or monitor position
from stage to stereo.
Second, the decision to go with AES
50, and specifically the Sony SuperMac
and HyperMac standards is wrapped up
with ambitious requirements for capacity,
latency, timing, data tunnelling, and
more. Latency is listed as ‘70µS per link,
and the specified total latency, including
A/D (often the weak point) is 2ms – which
for SR monkeys everywhere, is peanuts.
In addition, Midas says it has the whole
system phase and sample synchronous. If
The standard package includes four DL431
System Input splitters – each with 24 mic/line
inputs. Each of those inputs has three mic pre-
amps. The two variable gain amps feed two sets
of ADCs and two sets of rear panel balanced analogue you want a comb filter you’ll have to use the EQ.
splits and three splits, while the set of fixed gain amps
supply a broadcast/record split on the front panel.
Even the DSP rack in this system is modular and
includes ‘n+1’ redundancy (you only need nine DL471
Then there are five DL451 modular I/O boxes – each DSP Engine modules, but you get ten... just in case). In
capable of 24 input and output channels depending on a conversation with Midas it turns out that to lose a DSP
how they’re loaded. Other standard features here include module would be the worst failure as recovery for the
>
MIDI and GPIO.
affected channels can take around 20 seconds. Losing
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>
you, with only a single button press required
to bring the next 16 auxes onto the surface.
The solo section has A and B solo busses,
which are exclusive. In other words, if a
channel’s solo is assigned as a ‘B’ solo it
cannot be an ‘A’ solo at the same time. This is
useful for driving two monitor outputs, or for
dual operator use for exampe. Incidentally,
the console does have freely assignable A
and B sections for dual operator use or for
convenience. Both sections scroll through the
channels independently.
The automation on the XL8 is, as you’d
expect, pretty comprehensive. The system
stores all settings, and can even store
parameter isolation settings within each
scene, though there is independent isolation
available as well. The main feedback centre for
this is the centre-section screen, though on
the surface itself and large illuminated ‘next’
button does the obvious, along with Last, Now,
Confirm, and Cancel buttons. You can use the
jog wheel to navigate through the scene list as
well – when the show isn’t quite ‘linear’.
Incidentally, the two screens that
correspond to the centre sections show, by
default, colour-coded metering for the entire
console, and the plug-in rack.
There’s plenty more to talk about, but that
will have to wait for another issue. One point
of interest may well be the three KVM switches
inside the console and data tunnelling over
the network. This means you can feed
external video in to the console and switch
the screens around, you could plug-in your
laptop control system and run that from the
console controls, or you could even throw
strips are peppered with little round navigation compression types based on RMS, Peak, Linear,
TCP/IP and USB data around the auditorium.
buttons that assign that to the Channel Strip. and Vintage types. Again, Midas says it has been For a Sound Reinforcement community becoming
You don’t have to hunt for a select button, for working on these algorithms almost as long as it’s ever-more reliant on those kinds of systems, these
example, when you want to get into
the EQ – just press the button where
the EQ would normally be and the
Channel Strip is at your disposal. The
screen for that bay then displays the
detail of that control down its right-
hand side.
It’s worth mentioning the
compressor and EQ sections on this
console, mostly because Midas has
done an incredible amount of work
to give options and control to suit the
live sound engineer. Take for example,
work done on interpolation of the EQ
control. Midas says that one difficult
aspect of most digital EQs is the ability
to‘dial in’the right frequency – sweep
the frequency of an analogue EQ
been working on the console in order to are nice extras.
provide the best fundamental tools for
the XL8 user.
For a company that
was exclusively
analogue not so
long ago to recruit
the right people
and create such
a sophisticated
and SR-friendly
product as this
is an incredible
achievement.
Conclusion
The Midas XL8 is not cheap, but it does offer the
kind of scale, fail-safes, and completeness that is
Plug And Play
Also on board you’ll find a large array hard, if not impossible, to find elsewhere. For a
of plug-ins. The list will continue to company that was exclusively analogue not so
grow but for now the console has 16 long ago to recruit the right people and create
stereo effects processors with a choice such a sophisticated and SR-friendly product as
of auto-panner, chorus, stereo delay, this is an incredible achievement. Will it live up
DN780 reverb, stereo flanger, Midas to the legacy left by the outgoing XL4? I have a
reverb, and graphic EQs. As mentioned feeling it will.
earlier, graphic EQ control is via the Helix
Rapide controller.
∫
On the centre section of the console
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
you’ll find the 12 VCA group masters,
16 auxiliary masters (and associated
‘detail’section), and 16 matrix masters,
I N F O R M A T I O N
and a good engineer will settle in the right place as well as the main output controls, monitor,
almost immediately. Try that on a standard digital talkback and oscillator controls, dual track balls,
EQ and it will take some twiddling to hone in on and more.
Midas XL8 £194, 000 + VAT.
£
Midas (UK)
your target. Thus by doing analogue-like phase
shifting and detailed interpolation Midas claims mixes onto the faders, and lock particular
to have fixed this particular bugbear and make a auxiliaries to the two knobs on each channel
In monitor mode you can bring the auxiliary
+44 (0)1562 741 515.
T
∑
better EQ in the mean time.
In fact, there are several EQ types available auxiliaries and the 16 matrix outputs you have
to the user, just as there are a wide selection of access to the first 32 mixes right there in front of
strip. By assigning your mixes to the first 16
Midas USA (Telex Communications, Inc)
+1 952 736 4031 Ext. 84031
T
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