Genex Audio and Tonelux Designs have teamed up to offer a mic-pre A/D converter package. The basic unit houses 48 mic preamps, 48 A/D converters and front-panel indication, all in a 4U rack box.
Several different mic-pre designs will be available in the package, and each card holds eight channels. This allows mixing of different mic-pre types in one box. The Stage Box is controlled via Ethernet, and the application running it allows complete control of every feature, including gain, polarity, input –20dB pad, output –6dB pad, mic/line input switching, 48V phantom power, remote VU metering, auto gain set, a Performance Pad and the ability to monitor the 48V phantom-power level on each channel with the remote controller as a volt meter for advanced troubleshooting.
The auto gain set feature allows specific channels to watch for the signal-level peaks and adjust the gain to a user preset level. You can select auto gain set, and within seconds, each mic pre will be set to a safe level. Once that level has been stored, you can press the Performance Pad and reduce all preamps a few dB (user selectable) to compensate for crowd noise and “excitement” of the band.
The A/D conversion is done with the Genex converters, allowing 44.1 to DSD out of the unit through MADI, Super Mac, Opto and AES outputs. The Stage Box is a solution for A/D conversion with mic pres built in, and with the current design, Genex will be offering a D/A card and format converters for the system, so the unit could house 24 mic pres and A/D converters, as well as 24 D/A converters.
Both companies will also be offering a 1U, 8-channel box for a smaller package and fewer channels.
For more information, visit www.genexaudio.com and www.tonelux.com. For more new product announcements, visit mixonline.com/products/new/.
