The MiNi-DiGiRack was designed to give even more flexibility to the D1 and D5 live systems. The 19 inch rack mount unit itself is just 4U high. It houses two power supplies with separate mains connectors and switches. The MiNi-DiGiRack can be fitted with a Standard MADI pod or even an Optical MADI pod. The back plane allows any slot to be either input or output for analogue connections, or both in and out for digital connections, such as AES/EBU.

The MiNi-DiGiRack is so flexible that it can perform many functions, for example:

It can be a local rack for front-of-house, allowing outboard equipment such as external effects, CD players and recorders to be connected to the console; it can be fitted with 32 AES/EBU for record and playback to external multitrack machines; it could have 32 Mic inputs and an optical interface, allowing 88 inputs from stage when added to an existing D5 Live 56EX; and 32 outputs could be fitted for extra feeds for a monitor console, extra IEM feeds or for multi-speaker venue applications such as theatre.

Card Options

The following card options are available:

• A. Mic input card with 24-bit A/D on XLR connectors
• B. Line input card with 24-bit A/D on XLR connectors
• C. Analogue input card with 24-bit A/D, mic & line inputs
• D. Analogue output card with 24-bit D/A on XLR connectors
• E. AES/EBU input/output card with Bi-directional sample rate conversion
• F. Aviom D-16c A-Net Card - ultra-fast A-Net™ Pro16 protocol connectivity
• G. Ethersound 8 channel input/output and control card
• H. DiGiCo D-Tube - Remote controllable tube mic preamp 

A further option is the Combi Card, which provides 16 GPI’s, 16 GPO’s and an extra MIDI port.
 

Digital Tube Mic Preamp

Valve/tube technology has long been considered an elegant means of reproducing music. Until now, the large dimensions of the traditional 19-inch rack mount valve/tube pre amps have been a consideration, especially in the touring market where space is often at a premium. Not to say tubes sound better but they do colour the sound of a vocal or a particular instrument and make it sound different. Typically, sound engineers like to experiment, so they insert them into their systems to provide characteristics they can’t otherwise get from either analogue or digital mixing consoles. The new DiGiCo D-TuBe presents a unique alternative to this traditional technology by making it part of a digital console. This is true valve/tube-based technology, not a software emulation.

The D-TuBe was developed in conjunction with TL Audio and supplies no less than eight channels of tube pre amp. It has been designed to fit neatly into existing DiGiCo systems by simply replacing the last input module on a stage rack and moving the output module along one. This keeps the full complement of 56 inputs to the stage rack, with the last eight inputs now being TuBes.

As the D-TuBe is able to slot into the Stage DiGiRack, it has the shortest cable length between the mic and pre amp possible, giving exceptional signal to noise ratio. It has the same facilities as its solid state counterpart, including analogue and digital gain controls with Gain Tracking™. As the analogue gain is inserted before the D-TuBe it also acts as a drive control, and with digital gain after the D-TuBe a wide variation of colouration (DiGistortion™). And, as is standard on all DiGiCo products, these settings can be saved as part of the consoles snapshots and sessions.