new studio build: possible audio over ethernet?

[stephend2]

I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience using any of the many audio over ethernet products out there, I've glanced around at ethersound and livewire.

I'm leaning more towards livewire, as it is geared more towards broadcast use vs. ethersound which is geared more towards live sound applications.

I'm looking for input from someone with more experience than I, this will be my first studio build and I'm hoping I don't have to move all the individual audio lines that are at the current studio.

the new location is going to be 2 on air studios + dedicated production room that will have access to everything needed to go on air in an emergency situation. We have an am news talk station and an fm. the am is pretty complicated as it sits now, 15 sources used throughout the week, several of which are only used one day a week. the FM is dirt simple, satellite format and one port of the westwood one receiver for news. Also need to bring in 2 rpu feeds as well as a remote talk show that comes in over the internet. Currently the morning talk show is not automated at all but that would be nice to automate in the future.

I like the livewire system in that you can run software on the PCs so there is no need for the analog sound cards in the network, but since I know the owner is not going to go for a livewire enabled console and the related hardware, we are going to have to have a livewire box in the studios for the analog ins and outs, so might as well keep the current lynx two cards.

would I be doing right in calling up axia and going through this with them? I've not dealt much with them, the only reason I even know about livewire is the omnia one processor we have on the AM can accept livewire audio directly.

Thanks in advance for any help,

 

[RadeoEngineer]

I just did an 11 studio Axia installation. Call them and tell them what you want to do. They have infinite solutions to exactly what you're trying to accomplish. It's great stuff.

 

[stephend2]

what does the cost look like, for say a 3 studio setup like what we're looking for? I'll call them tomorrow, I've been reading everything I can find about their stuff it does indeed look good.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

It all depends on what you're going to do and how far you can take it. With an Axia console you can get away with fewer faders than with an analog board for instance.

 

[RealityCheckr]

So, the intention is to move the equipment but save on the labor of re-wiring. Makes sense.

Basically you will want two or three Ethernet switches, one for each studio and one for everything else. The will be linke together.

Each Axia "Node" gets a connection to a switch.

The nodes are 8 stereo in 8 stereo out and you can buy AES or Analog nodes. The nodes each connect via a Cat6 cable to the appropriate switch. You won't need distribution amps either, because you can configure as many outptus as you want to play a given stream.

Any unbalanced sources pretty much have to be converted to +4 balanced.

Wiring to the nodes from the equipment will be very easy as it uses Radio Systems Studio Hub+ wiring.

At each piece of gear you will need Studio Hub adapter cables. For example 2xmale XLR. They make a whole variety of these so for the most part you are talking plug and play. They even offer balanced to unbalanced and unbalanced to conveters.

Each of these adaptors has an RJ-45 style connector that then connects to cat 5e. The analog or AES then runs of the cat 5 to the node and gets plugged in there. SO all you really need is a bunch of Cat 5e cables of assorted lengths. On the ethernet itself they recommend Cat 6 just to ad some robustness.

I don't understand why you would want to continue using sound cards when the computer's ethernet port, connected to the studio switch will do the same thing.

You then use a web browser to assign what each source is called and assign audio to each output.

Voila, at that point you have audio and it will be almost all standard connectors or one kind or another.

 

[stephend2]

what I'm talking about doing is slowly transitioning this in if he even decides to do it. he is not too keen on replacing sound cards just yet and I understand to some extent being that we are still going to be using analog consoles for a while longer. We're on a pretty tight budget and I'm going to have to do whatever costs the least probably. I'm thinking the labor and copper saved is going to make livewire the way to go.

I'm going to be working with a couple people that are going to help with the design, I'm still learning all this as of right now. I've only been in the engineering field for a little less than a year at this point. but I do know when to ask for help instead of getting in over my head.