In collaboration with Audinate, Allen & Heath has announced the Dante 64 x 64 networking card for the iLive digital mixing series. With this upcoming release, Allen & Heath's iDR MixRacks and iLive will work better with common audio interface and networking standards.

Audinate's Dante is a standards-based IP media networking solution that transports low-latency uncompressed audio over a standard IP Ethernet network with sample accurate synchronization. Dante is said to simplify installation with its easy signal routing and support for automatic device and channel discovery.

About iLive: the iLive digital mixing series is made up of several Control Surface and MixRack variants, which can be mixed and matched in any combination. Since they share the same firmware, files are transferable between systems via a USB key. They connect together with CAT5 cable and use the Ethernet protocol for control. All MixRacks feature the same 64 x 32 RackExtra DSP mix engine architecture, providing processing for 64 channels, 32 mixes, and 8 stereo FX processors. Likewise, the modular iDR10 MixRack has two slots for networking plugin cards, while the fixed I/O iDR-16, iDR-32, and iDR-48 MixRacks have a single card slot.

The Dante 64 x 64 bidirectional networking card will include the Dante Virtual Soundcard, which turns a PC or Mac into a Dante-enabled device. Like that of a physical sound card or audio interface, the Dante Virtual Soundcard features the ability to play and record audio using any Windows audio application with standard ASIO multichannel audio support, or any Core Audio Mac application. It uses the Ethernet port on the computer to communicate with a network of other Dante-enabled devices without the need for pricier soundcards. Aside from the Dante Virtual Soundcard, no other special hardware is required.

For more on the forthcoming Dante networking card and this partnership, visit allen-heath.com.