Midas DL16 I/O Stage Box with 16 Remote-Controlled MIDAS Microphone Preamps

The world-renowned engineers at Klark Teknik, Midas, Turbosound, and Behringer have all come together to create something truly innovative that will change live and studio workflow forever—ULTRANET. This revolutionary technology seamlessly transmits up to 16 independent channels of 24-bit digital audio and control data via a single Cat 5 cable between compatible digital devices, including mixers, I/O stage boxes, powered loudspeakers, and personal monitoring systems. Advantages realized through ULTRANET digital networking, versus traditional analog methods: audio signals are impervious to Radio Frequency Interference (RFI); signal crosstalk is eliminated; and ease of setup translates directly into significant time saved during installation. ULTRANET effectuates a powerful digital eco-system that gives you unparalleled control over every element of your audio production environment from one convenient location.

The DL16’s onboard ADAT Outputs enable splitting the high-quality Midas Pro Series preamp signals to outboard devices, including recording systems. When more channels are required, these optical sockets can alternately be used to connect ADAT-equipped D/A converters (such as the Behringer ADA8200) for up to 16 additional analog outputs.

Connecting over a single shielded (STP) Cat 5 cable, up to three DL16s can be daisy-chained to deliver 48 channels in and 24 out to the stage. Klark Teknik’s AES50 simultaneously provides high channel counts, extremely low and deterministic latencies, accurate phase-aligned networked clock distribution, error detection, network redundancy, with simple deployment and ease of use to meet the needs of the live performance industry. This unique combination also benefits both live and studio recording applications as well as postproduction, broadcasting, and audio routing infrastructure. 

• 48 bidirectional audio channels at 48 kHz over Neutrik etherCON-terminated shielded (STP) Cat 5 cable
• Single cable duplex interconnection for audio and sample clocks
• Ethernet physical layer audio data transmission
• High channel count and ultralow deterministic latency (2×3 samples = 1⁄8 ms per node)
• Accurate phase-aligned clock distribution
• Comprehensive error detection and management
• Provision for redundant networking—Minimal configuration—total ease of deployment and use Ethernet TCP/IP protocol-compatible auxiliary data channel
• Royalty-free implementations available as Xilinx FPGA cores
• OEM modules available from developer partners

DL16’s ingenious monitoring/head amp control section allows you to select any of the 16 inputs, 8 bus outputs or P-16 output streams for immediate line checks. In addition to signal metering at the stage box, you can also set individual input channel Gain, apply +48 V phantom power, listen directly to the input signal via headphones, and much more. Once set, all configuration settings can be locked at the console for total system security.

For easy setup and signal routing verification, a headphones jack is conveniently located on the front of the DL16, giving you the option of listening directly to any of the 16 inputs. Simply select the signal you need to monitor by scrolling through the 16 channels whilst adjusting the gain and selecting the operating mode, all via a single robust rotary control.

Using scene automation has never been simpler or more convenient. The automation scenes allow MIDI events to be incorporated, so that external MIDI-compatible devices can be controlled as part of a scene change via your console’s MIDI output. Additionally, console events can be triggered from an external MIDI source via your console’s MIDI input. You can also control the gain and phantom power settings remotely using the MIDI communication functionality.