Is it possible to connect 2 SQ-5 consoles via router / switch / network ports on sq5 to use the other console just to have PAFL and to mix aux 1 LR. This is that we have our own stream mixer, but no analog split or anything like that. We have one stagebox where everything is connected, which is slink. So the only thing is to “Remote control” the FOH mixer with the stream mixer.
No, you cannot use a network switch to “split” the signal to two different destinations. The A&H Audio protocols (D-snake, ME, DX, GigaAce, etc) are designed to be “point to point” - meaning one device/console should be connected directly to another console/device. In your situation where you need to connect a stage box to a console and you want to connect another console you will need to install a S-Link card in whichever console you expect to connect the stage box to. This will give you a total of two SLink ports on that console to connect both the stage box and the second console.
The long story is that you might be able to put a network switch between two devices and use a dedicated VLAN for that connection (and that connection alone). But the connections still need to be point to point - meaning you still can’t split a signal from one console and send it to two destinations. You would still need an SLink card installed in one console - giving your two SLink ports where you can use one for the stage box and one of the other console. (The only reason you would want to add a network switch is if the ethernet cabling between the two devices is run in such a way that you are forced to use a switch along the way. Ideally it would be a ethernet cable run between the two devices without any switches in-between).
Alternatively, a Dante network is designed to be routable and not point to point. You can send the output of a Dante device to multiple destinations and you can receive inputs from multiple sources/devices at the same time as well. This is one major advantage to using the Dante protocol and if you need to send/receive sources to/from multiple destinations, this is one easy way to do it. To make this work in your situation, both consoles would need a Dante card installed in the expansion card slot. So it is a solution that is a lot more expensive than just using one extra SLink card.
So i can’t use the other mixer as a “mixpad” like the app?
You will never be able to “control” one console from another, even if you connect them via a SLink connection. That “connection” provides audio only. The SLink connection effectively provides a “digital split” even when you are not using an analog split on your sources. This gives you two completely independent mixers when you set it up like that. Each console would have it’s own faders, busses, FX racks, etc and changing any of those settings on one console would not affect the other console. (Just keep in mind that you do share the preamps being used, because there is only one physical preamp per XLR input. So changing the preamp level, polarity, etc on one console will affect the other console too).
If you simply want to control the FOH mixer “remotely” (usually so that a broadcast engineer can mix a broadcast “aux” buss while the FOH engineer mixes the main LR output), then there is no benefit to connecting two consoles together. You should use a software solution like the A&H Mixpad apps, or I would highly suggest using the third party app called “Mixing Station” because it is so much easier to use IMHO (and more customizable too).
If you want “remote control” over one console, but are wishing for some physical faders to mix on, you might look into using Mixing Station along with some motorized MIDI fader controllers (like the Behringer X-Touch devices, or the Waves Fit Controller, etc, etc, etc) because it is easy to connect that type of device to MS and therefore have physical buttons, faders, etc to use.
EDIT - I will say that while it doesn’t work “out of the box”, you might be able to program something like a “Bome Box” and connect the two consoles together over MIDI. It’s possible you could program the faders and buttons on the console acting as a MIDI device to actually control the audio on the primary console. In theory it should be possible to set it up like this, but I don’t recall seeing anyone attempt this before, nor can I say that it would work. Honestly it’s a really convoluted way of connecting things anyway. Why go to the expense of adding a second console if you only plan to connect it via MIDI? That would be a really expensive solution to a problem that can be solved for a lot less money (using a much cheaper motorized Midi controller like the Waves Fit Controller for example).
Thank you for the answers! I will try to do something nice with the mixing station or some type of digital split.
Just a minor correction: POL is not part of the preamp, but rather of the mix channel, which also makes more sense. )
I will do it like this “Stagebox Slink to FOH mixer → via dante from FOH to network switch → From switch to Stream mixer → Stream mix back via dante to FOH → FOH to stagebox outputs 7 and 8 for stream LR” I will send from the foh mixer direct ip out and then i will make independent mix on the stream mixer and then send that back to mix ext in to aux 6 and route the aux 6 LR to the stagebox.
This is the routing diagram. Few words are in Finnish but you don’t need to understand them, they are only the locations (band, sideroom, etc). Would this type of setup work
That routing should work. Both consoles will have the ability to “mix” the sources without affecting the other console. As noted earlier, just keep in mind that the actual preamps will be shared through the digital split. So if you change the preamp gain on the FOH console, it will adjust the volume on the broadcast console as well.
There will be a “trim” adjustment on both consoles so that the users can adjust the gain of a particular source without affecting the other console. The broadcast console will only see the digital trim setting for the Dante sources while the FOH console will control the preamps of the stage box that is connected to that console but also have a trim adjustment that the person can use to adjust the gain on only the FOH console.
You’ll need to use “tie lines” on the FOH console to send the Dante Input from the broadcast console (the broadcast mix buss) and send it out of the stage box without actually bringing it into the FOH console as a “mixable source”.
Okay! Thank you for the help and i will try to do it right! I will keep in mind that the preamp is shared, but i will make a gpod gain staging first.