TheJackAttack
26 March 2013
Anyone utilized these CAT6 I/O boxes? I'm thinking of these for a HS auditorium. There is a "sound booth" in the back of the loge that is useless as rarely does the teacher/conductor have much help to run anything. One Mi8 unit on each side of the stage hard mounted to the wall and a pair Mo8's in a sling bag (to either provide recording to the booth or to the conductor prior to beginning the concert) therefore could conceivably cover about any situation except a full blown theater musical production. CAT6 is very easy to run and Mikrotik switches are bulletproof.
Thoughts?
Comments
Hey John, I have not used those particular boxes. I have, howe
Hey John,
I have not used those particular boxes. I have, however, used the Aviom digital snakes on a few installations with very satisfactory results.
The one thing that comes to mind that might be a concern in your stated application would be this - gain control on the end of the snake I can't reach. If it were a situation where the input sources and their respective gain/phantom/etc. would be the same more often than not [touring band, church install, long-running theater production] - it might be cool. If it were something that needed the gain manipulated often, I think it would drive a FOH guy in the balcony nuts unless he had someone on the stage side who knew what they were doing.
I've read that the ProCo input module can control Phantom power and Gain from a remote (MTS) device, or PC - whereas the Aviom has physical switches and knobs on the input module for 48v, Gain, Low Cut, and Phase. (so wear comfortable shoes)
Another thing that is a costly annoyance with the digital snakes I've seen, is the incremental nature of the modules. I'm perfectly happy handling my inputs in increments of 8 or 16, but maybe I don't want or need 8 or 16 returns on my digi-snake (especially since most/all of my monitor returns have been rendered obsolete by the X-number of personal monitor mixers on stage) in a lot of these systems. Since I always pull extra Cat5/6, no matter what the application - as an alternative, I've been known to use a passive analog [="http://audio-video-supply.markertek.com/search?w=ETS+instasnake"]ETS[/]="http://audio-video-…"]ETS[/] Cat5/6 snake for my 4 returns.
Other than those things (and the overall pricetag), you've got to like the system flexibility, the loss-free and ground loop free digital splits, and capability of feeding personal monitor mixers available from Cat5/6 snakes. And for all the more Cat5/6 cable costs, you can go nuts and pull it to multiple locations extremely easily.
Also FYI, if you decide to move forward with any of these things read the manufacturer's specs before you pull the Cat5/6. Some recommend shielded twisted pair, others say shielded wire will be detrimental to the performance.
If you're ok with B-stock, [[url=http://="http://www.proaudio…"]these B-stock prices[/]="http://www.proaudio…"]these B-stock prices[/] are insane. I've never dealt with them, but wow that's a helluva discounted price.
If I may float one other alternative solution -- digital mixer in the booth hardwired to the stage in the usual fashion + iPad control in the hands of the teacher/conductor. Saves a lot of miles on those shoes, but now depending on digital mixer brand - the gain might be at the end of the snake I can't reach again.... damn.