Audio over IP, and in particular Dante, has become very popular in broadcast and live sectors of the audio industry as well as in some of the larger studios and multi-room facilities. But what about smaller facilities and one-room studios? It is this setting that we are going to explore in this article.

I started using Dante in 2017 when I was looking for a new audio interface. Up until then, Audio over IP and Dante had not really been on my radar, even though I had heard about them, at the time it seemed to be mainly for broadcast and live environments.

My particular wish list for a new interface was to have a product that supported low latency native (over Thunderbolt 2/3), as well as Pro Tools HDX. One product came up in the search - the Focusrite Red 8Pre, which did all of this, as well as providing 32 channels of Dante. As part of my research into the Red 8Pre, I learnt a little more about Dante as a technology.

Over time I expanded my studio with more Dante equipment. My main recording studio interface is now a Focusrite Red 16Line, expanded with a pair of Focusrite A16R’s and a Focusrite X2P giving me 48 channels of analog IO together with 32 channels via Dante. I have a couple of other Dante products to hand as well, an SSL Nucleus 2 and an Audinate AVIO 2 channel input adapter, as well as several computers running Dante Virtual Soundcard.

Why Did I Choose An Audio interface With Dante?

Channel Count And Expandability

When I purchased the Focusrite Red 16Line I quickly decided to expand it beyond its 16 channels of I/O. Either I could go for an ADAT converter and use the light pipe inputs on the interface, or I could add a Dante converter, connected to the network with a single Ethernet cable. As a technology, Dante affords some very high channel counts, well beyond what I could ever use. Adding more channels is simply a matter of purchasing a device that provides the necessary number of channels that you require.

Simplified Cabling And Clocking

As mentioned all you need to do is to connect that new device to your network switch with a single Ethernet cable. A second connection for redundancy is also an option but requires more networking hardware and most smaller studios will not need this.

All clocking is handled via Dante and all the devices can be set to clock from the what is known as the “preferred master” device, which in my case is the Red 16Line. For the first time in 20 years, I’ve not had to bother with word clock at all.

I’ll also say that maintaining the Dante network takes very little effort, once you’ve connected a device and patched it in Dante Controller, the settings will be remembered until you change them, there is no need to become a networking guru in order to get the most out of it.

Interoperability Between Brands

I also was not limited to purchasing from a single brand. As mentioned I already have Dante equipped hardware from Focusrite, Audinate and SSL. There is a huge range of products that all talk Dante that I can choose from.

As my needs are growing I am looking beyond what I am currently using and able to expand my channel count quite easily without being constrained to one brand.

Cable Run Length

Over standard Ethernet cables, I’m able to have cable runs between devices of up to 100 metres. That is more than enough for my use but if I needed more, then there are optical solutions, which can extend that to kilometres.

Low Latency

The latency between devices can be as low as 250 microseconds. Yes, 0.25 milliseconds. However, we must also consider our audio workstation’s buffer for a total roundtrip latency but rest assured that Dante devices do not add any perceptible latency by themselves.

It is probably best to describe a few scenarios as to how I am using Dante in my studio with the aforementioned equipment. This isn’t meant to be any sort of definitive list, but rather how I have found myself using Dante in the studio over the last 3 years.

Easily Expanding Audio Interface IO

The Focusrite Red 16Line interface offers 32 channels of Dante, in addition to its own 16 channels of conversion. Each device added to the Dante network can be routed to and from the master interface independently. I can also send signals from the Red 16Line to multiple destinations (for example headphone mixes). Adding a new device is as simple as connecting it to power and connecting the device in Dante Controller. Here I use the IO from the A16R’s to connect my analogue outboard, mostly compressors and EQ’s that are not found in software form, which I can then use as hardware insert effects in Pro Tools and Logic. You can click on this image to see a larger version.

Reduced Cabling Between Parts Of The Studio

On one side of my studio, I have quite a lot of electronic instruments, including synthesisers, drum machines and a Eurorack modular system. Rather than running multiple analogue cables across the floor (which, due to the way my studio is set up would mean tripping over them), I patch these devices into a small mixer which is connected to a Focusrite X2P’s inputs, sending the audio back to the Red 16Line over a single Ethernet cable. Sub-mixing the synths does mean that I currently have to solo them on the mixer when I want to record them into the DAW. Alternatively, I could add a 16 channel Dante converter and connect all of the devices individually but I don’t currently have that need.

Using Another Space In The House As A Makeshift Live Room

My studio is a converted garage, about 6m x 4m in size, which is attached to the house by a long corridor. This does mean I do not have a dedicated live space at this stage. Given most of the time, I am either recording myself or mixing the work of others, it isn’t a huge problem. From time to time I do need to record others here, like the odd vocal or acoustic or electric instrument, never acoustic drums. With Dante, I am able to repurpose parts of my house as makeshift live spaces.

When we redecorated the house I ran a few Ethernet cables from the studio to various parts of the house. In our case we ran the cables externally, tied to the guttering fascia and largely invisible, but you could also run those cables in cavity walls or under floors. With that cabling in place, all I need to do is place a Dante converter in the room, with a couple of microphones and a set of headphones and the talent can sing and play to their heart’s content. I also use the corridor connecting the studio to the house as a place to re-amp guitars for some of the projects that I mix.

Before Dante, I would have to run analogue multicore throughout the house, which is significantly more expensive. I also do not think my wife would be that happy having analogue patch panels in our living spaces. Ethernet ports are much less obtrusive and also provide us with connectivity for our wireless base stations.

Another advantage of Dante is it will work on what is called a converged network, that is one carrying audio, video and data. I do not maintain a separate network for our internet connection, everything coexists together. One caveat to that is the studio computer and any devices running Dante Virtual Soundcard must be connected to the Dante network via a wired ethernet connection, wifi is not suitable.

Working With Multiple Computers

My studio has always had two or three computers running simultaneously. Until my recent Mac Pro purchase, I’ve never found one computer sufficiently powerful to allow it to do everything. I would usually have a master computer running Pro Tools and Logic, a PC running Samplitude, Wavelab and Acid Pro plus one dedicated computer for Max/MSP, usually a Mac.

Prior to running Dante in the studio, I would need to physically patch the outputs of an audio interface attached to the PC or the Max/MSP computer into the inputs of the main computer’s audio interface. With Dante, I simply connect the computer to the network with an ethernet cable, run Dante Virtual Soundcard, choose the number of channels I would it to run with and then patch it into my audio interface’s available Dante channels.

In the above instance, (you can click on the image to see a larger version) you can see that I am using 8 channels of output from my Max/MSP machine and a stereo pair from my PC. These would show up as Dante channels 1-8 and 9-10 respectively. As far as syncing the devices together for transport control that can be done with the excellent ipMIDI application from nerds.de.

Using Audinate AVIO Adapters To Put Devices On The Dante Network

So far we’ve looked at solutions that require a fairly healthy investment in order to get audio onto a Dante network.

However, Audinate has released a line of affordable devices that allow two channels of analogue input, analogue output, AES and USB for between $129 and $169 USD. I have the Dante 2 channel Analogue Input network adapter, which allows me to put either a stereo pair or two mono signals on the Dante network. These devices require Power over Ethernet (PoE), a facility in some network switches, or what is called a PoE injector in order to power the device. I don’t have this device permanently on my Dante network but rather use it in situations where I have an instrument or device in my studio on a temporary basis.

Another use for an input to a Dante network could be the output from a guitar modelling device or a bassist’s DI, essentially any line-level signal can be converted from analogue to digital audio and place on the Dante Network.

Future Plans And Conclusion

Hopefully, this has given some insight into how it is possible to enhance your workflow with Dante in a project studio and I am finding that the more I work with Audio over IP and Dante the more uses I find for it.

For some time I have planned to expand my IO capacity but this means I also have a choice to make quite soon. My current audio interface has a limit of 32 channels over Dante, which I have already filled with the A16R’s with my studio outboard and so I have no spare channels available.

In order to use other Dante devices currently, I have to disconnect some of those channels. My plan is to purchase a different audio interface such as the Avid MTRX, which has a 128 channel Dante expansion board, or the recently announced MTRX Studio, which gives 64 channels of Dante. I haven’t yet decided which way I am going to go, but stay tuned and I’ll be sure to update you once I’ve made a decision.