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PRODUCT PREVIEW
A high-specced
chameleon
that can take to
the stage as easily as
the studio, says
STEPHEN BENNETT of
DiGiCo’s new SD
console.
DiGiCo’s successful range of SD consoles is
based on the power and programmability of
the company’s Stealth Digital Processing, via
a Super FGPA engine. This has allowed DiGiCo to develop
a series of smart solutions aimed at the various strata
of the live, broadcast, and theatre marketplaces, the
similarity of implementation of features across the range
making it easy for the user to swap between the various
consoles and to share peripheral resources. The latest
additions to the family – which includes the SD7, SD8,
SD9, and the also new SD11 – are the SD Ten live console
and its broadcast specific counterpart, the SD Ten B.
“The SD Ten sits between the SD8 and the flagship
in our range, the SD7,” says James Gordon, Managing
Director at DiGiCo. “This is both in terms of price and
performance, with the SD Ten providing 96 channels of
full processing – 12 of which are full Flexi Channels – and
48 assignable busses – far more than you get with any
other mid-market console currently available.”
A common design from engine to surface interface
provides easy access to the console’s audio control.
The SD Ten works with DiGiCo’s second-generation I/O,
the SD-Rack, which delivers up to 192kHz, and has the
ability to connect up to 14 racks and five redundant-
engined consoles to the system, with 448 audio channels
on a single redundant loop. “As well as
talk to output with dim control.
DiGiCo has also partnered with Israeli Software
Company Waves to bring its Sound Grid technology onto
the SD platform. “If you think of quality plug-ins, they are
the first brand that springs to mind,” says Gordon, “and
the Sound Grid platform is a very low latency system,
which was imperative for us.”
The Waves plug-ins are provided in addition to the
console’s own Stealth FX, and provide access to much
of Wave’s renowned software including bundles such as
Mercury, SSL 4000 Collection, GTR3, JJP Analog Legends,
Studio Classics Collection, the API Collection, and Gold, as
well as individual classics such as the L2 Ultramaximizer
and C4 Multiband compressor.
All of this makes the relatively diminutive SD
Ten physically imposing as well as ergonomically
well equipped.
Especially For Broadcast
The ‘B’, when added to the SD Ten moniker, denotes the
Broadcast version of the console. The hardware remains
the same, but the software repurposes the control to
provide facilities specific to broadcasters – it gives the
ability to be two desks in one. “When you buy the SD
Ten you’re actually buying the potential for two consoles
– the live sound version and the broadcast versions,
DIGICO SD10 & SD10B
Live & Broadcast SD-Series Consoles
THE REVIEWER
STEPHEN BENNETT has been
involved in music production
for over 25 years. Now based in
Norwich he splits his time between
writing books and articles on
music technology, running his
own Chaos studios and working in
the Electroacoustic Studios in the
School of Music at the University of
East Anglia. He’s also a filmmaker
with several music videos and
short films to his credit. www.
stephenjamesbennett.co.uk
being
a great
live sound
option, the SD Ten
very much fits into the
bigger infrastructure for
our installation business, which
is an area of growth,” adds Gordon.
”Having a console that integrates with
the SD7 and SD8 is important – as is the fact
that DiGiCo consoles can all share racks, which is a
significant advantage for installs. For example, on a house
of worship system, you might be doing front of house,
monitors, and broadcast, which requires three consoles.
With almost any other digital console you would need to
have active or passive splits, which means an awful lot
more cabling infrastructure. With the DiGiCo system, you
have just one rack, with all of the consoles able to see all
of the inputs and able to allocate outputs in blocks of
eight. This means you can share the resource as if it’s a
big audio router.”
Technical Dedication
The SD Ten comes with a raft of new options that add
to the general utility of the console, and the SD Ten B
application specific extension adds a broadcast-specific
feature set. “We have included 37 touch sensitive faders,
plus four layers of 10 SmartKey Macros – that’s 40 user
defined buttons,” says Gordon. “And multi-channel ‘folding’
allows configuration of stereo, LCR, 5.1, or up to 11 mono
channels under a single fader strip, which is a really neat
solution and extremely useful in broadcast.”
The SD Ten’s powerful processing includes
channel delay, single and multi channel presets, HPF
and LPF, four bands of parametric EQ, compressor
and gate, dual insert points and access to all bussing.
Output channel processing includes output delay, eight
bands of parametric EQ (only available on the SD7 until
now), compressor and gate, dual insert points, groups
with buss to buss routing and Auxes which have direct
depending on which software you’re running,” says
Gordon. “This changes all of the terminology and much
of the functionality of the desk and makes it specific for
the intended market and significantly impacts on return
on investment: the SD Ten B, for example, could be used
for a sporting event for several months and could then be
repurposed as a live console for the rest of the year, adding
an additional revenue stream.”
DiGiCo has already had great success with this
approach via the SD7T, the theatre-specific version of the
SD7, and the company is confident that the broadcast
model of the SD Ten will prove just as popular.
“We have a track record in the broadcast industry
from our Soundtracs days and broadcasters have seen
our touring products via their close links with live sound,
whether that’s actual live events or during the audition
stages of shows like The X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent,”
says Gordon. “They have commented on the ease of
operation of our live desks, but wanted dedicated
broadcast facilities. There are a lot of extremely good
high-end broadcast consoles in the market already, but
the SD Ten B fits a different tier of budget and still offers
all the features and functionality of the bigger consoles,
such as surround sound, channel folding, large scale 5:1
monitor matrix, and so on. There’s currently no console
at this price point that offers comparable features.
The response we had at this year’s NAB launch, and the
interest from serious names in the broadcast world, has
been considerable. “ ∫
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INFORMATION
£ SD10 prices start from GB£35,000,
SD10B from GB£40,000 (exc.VAT)
A DiGiCo, Unit 10 SIlverglade Business Park,
Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2QL
T +44 (0) 1372 845600
W www.digico.biz
E info@digiconsoles.com
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AUDIO MEDIA MAY 2011