With the cost of Dante compatible gear being on the spendy side of things, seeing a sub two hundred dollar option for getting audio on and off of the network, especially from Audinate, is a huge milestone. Rather than the Focusrite X2P being an extension to the range, the range is a logical expansion of the X2P way of working.If you’re working with Dante networks regularly or have thought about moving in that direction, the new AVIO adapters by Audinate are something you’ll want to know about.
Now that the benefits are manifest, a strange thing happens: The job of converting everything else to AOIP suddenly becomes a lot less daunting. As well as passing audio and remote control data over IP the X2P can also take its power over the same ethernet cable from a PoE switch or injector, removing another historic obstacle to physical placement. Where you’ll have them is up to you.Ī couple of smart design touches mean that A) The unit can be tabletop or screwed onto a mic stand thread and B) If the talent on the business end of the Mic can’t be trusted – the main controls of the mic pre (phantom power, gain level etc) can be ‘locked-out’ and adjusted only remotely by the audio engineer.
What you’ll have is access to a pair of Focusrite Evolution mic pre’s (or line ins) and a stereo analogue output, plus cans with a clever ‘more me’ mix.
Assuming nothing other than bog standard Cat5e or Cat6 network infrastructure is already in place, then with the software installed and the X2P connected, you’re in the club.
A dainty dante doorway, which will ship complete (according to our Focusrite contacts) with a bundled copy of Dante Virtual Soundcard. Perhaps ‘gateway drug’ is too strong: In X2P we have a toe-in-the-water, albeit a pedicured one. The other being altogether more mysterious. Particularly when the concept of implementing an AOIP setup often feels like a wholesale and complex switch from one – familiar – technology to another. The option of doing nothing is ever-present. There will be other customers contemplating whether the new wave of Audio-Over-IP technology is right for them. Thus the benefits of that flexibility never materialise. The likelhood is that the absence of plumbed-in tie lines has always put the sword to that thought process. Most working studios and facilities can come up with a handful of examples. The question becomes ‘”Where might it be useful to be able to put a mic or an output, and does that place have a network socket?” Rather than starting with the finer points of your DAW rig or RedNet setup and working outwards, the X2P flips the argument 180 degrees: Why not start with your premises, your business needs, and work back from there? A wolf in sheep’s clothing – It’s a gateway drug.Īs much as it’s preaching to the Dante-converted choir, the X2P is one of the best reasons yet to consider going down the AOIP route in the first place. Here at Resurface we think there’s much more to this product than meets the eye. Certainly it’s now the easiest and least expensive introduction to RedNet I/O. Ostensibly the Focusrite X2P could be seen simply as an extension to the RedNet range, a step further from the AM2 stereo output interface. All presented in their reassuringly attractive brushed red metal. Charming and adorable: the Focusrite X2P is a compact 2 x 2 interface with dual Mic Preamps and stereo line/headphone outs. IBC 2017 saw the launch of Focusrite’s new product: Ecstacy.