NAMM 2020: DiGiCo Shows Off Quantum338, Quantum 5, DMI-KLANG Equipment

NAMM 2020 sees DiGiCo reveal the latest in its new generation of Quantum consoles, the all-new Quantum338. Also, the company is debuting its new Quantum 5 console at NAMM 2020, with orders being taken now for delivery later this year. Finally, DMI-KLANG, an immersive in-ear mixing expansion that can be mounted directly into DiGiCo consoles, is being shown as well.

Quantum338
Like Quantum7 and Quantum5, Quantum338 represents a dramatic leap forward in power and connectivity. It includes impressive new design features and enhancements that offer ultimate flexibility, all with the same speed of operation that Quantum users have come to rely on, in a smaller format console.

“With Quantum338, we have ensured that we are providing a next-generation console that works in synergy with our Quantum Engine,” says Michael Aitchison, DiGiCo’s Senior Electronics Engineer. “We focused our R&D team on user experience, learning from the last 20 years, with our continuing main objective of merging new with familiar.”

Quantum338 is based on seventh-generation FPGAs and includes 128 input channels with 64 busses and a 24 x 24 matrix, all with full channel processing. There is a new look and feel dark mode application and three 17-inch 1000 nit, high brightness, multitouch screens, allowing both the meter bridge and soft quick select buttons to be displayed on each screen. There are also 70 individual TFT channel displays and the floating Quantum chassis features 38 x 100mm touch-sensitive faders laid out in three blocks of 12 fader banks, plus two dedicated user-assignable faders, each complete with high-resolution metering.

A new level of local audio connectivity and performance comes via the “Ultimate Stadius” 32 bit ADC and DAC conversion, which are built into Quantum338 as standard, alongside six single or three redundant MADI connections, dual DMI slots, and a built-in UB MADI USB recording interface.

Mustard Processing, Spice Rack, Nodal Processing and True Solo, all launched last year for the Quantum 7, are also standard on the Quantum338.

Mustard processing is a set of channel processing strips that work alongside standard Quantum channel processing. Each Mustard processing strip provides a choice of two pre-amp modelers, a four-band EQ (including all-pass filters), four different boutique-style compressor models and a gate/ducker. Quantum338 is equipped with 36 mono Mustard processing strips which can be used on any channel type.

The Spice Rack, meanwhile, supports plugin style native FPGA processing options, allowing you to build a rack of up to eight insertable processors. The first of these is the Chilli 6 – a six-band multi-band compressor which allows full control of all parameters, including DiGiCo’s unique, patented, release shape control, which means Chilli 6 is perfect for shaping vocals and instruments as well as focusing on problem frequencies.

“The entire system architecture is new and exciting,” concludes Austin Freshwater, DiGiCo’s General Manager, “but just to recap on a few cool highlights, we have improved transparency of audio, provided more audio toys, bigger, brighter multi-touch PCAP screens, increased visual feedback and an all new worksurface architecture!”

Quantum 5
Quantum 5 follows on from the huge success of DiGiCo’s flagship Quantum 7. As with Quantum 7, the Quantum 5 engine slots neatly into the existing SD5 frame and, with its 37 faders and three 15-inch full-color TFT touchscreens, provides Quantum processing features, power, and connectivity in both new and existing hardware.

Quantum 5 expands the SD5 to over 450 channels of processing at 96kHz. It includes up to 256 input channels with up to 128 busses and a 36 x 36 matrix. The engine is also equipped with four redundant, or eight individual, MADI ports and two DMI slots (DiGiCo Multi-Channel Interface) for AoIP and other connectivity options from the complete family of DMI card options, plus a built-in Waves port and up to two Optocore loops.

Other Quantum enhancements include the now highly regarded Nodal Processing which allows monitor engineers unrivaled creativity on their IEM mixes, and of course True Solo to allow them to hear exactly as their artist does. These are combined with the multiple flavors of 48 channels of Mustard processing and 12 Spice Rack processing slots, including Chili 6.

Mustard processing is a set of channel processing strips that work alongside standard Quantum channel processing. Each Mustard processing strip provides a choice of two pre-amp modelers, a four-band EQ (including all-pass filters), four different boutique-style compressor models and a gate/ducker. Quantum 5 is equipped with 48 mono Mustard processing strips which can be used on any channel type.

The Spice Rack, meanwhile, supports plugin style native FPGA processing options, allowing you to build a rack of up to eight insertable processors. The first of these is the Chilli 6 – a six-band multi-band compressor which allows full control of all parameters, including DiGiCo’s unique, patented, release shape control, which means Chilli 6 is perfect for shaping vocals and instruments as well as focusing on problem frequencies.

“Quantum 5 makes complete sense as an upgrade path for both new and existing SD5 users,” comments Freshwater. “It allows them to take advantage of all the new Quantum features while maximizing their ongoing return on investment.”

Along with the newly launched Quantum338, Quantum 5 is part of DiGiCo’s expanding Quantum range. As with all consoles in the range, Quantum 5 is developed with seventh generation FPGA devices that further expand audio processing power and allows DiGiCo to provide its users with unrivaled flexibility.

DMI-KLANG
KLANG’s immersive in-ear mixing systems make spatial and transparent in-ear monitoring possible. With lower listening levels – on average up to 6dB less – it eliminates the feeling of isolation associated with a normal in-ear stereo mix and offers less fatigue. Its applications range from personal mixing for touring monitor engineers to spatial mixing for recording studio sessions.

The DMI-KLANG follows in the footsteps of the KLANG:fabrik. “This is the first hardware product since KLANG and DiGiCo joined forces,” says Freshwater. “We took KLANG:fabrik’s immersive in-ear mixing core and rebuilt it with today’s latest FPGA technology. With one device, we can now deliver immersive mixes of 64 inputs for 16 musicians. This is the highest input count of any KLANG product to date. And the best thing is, we were able to bring the processing latency down to a quarter of a millisecond.”

The DMI-KLANG connects directly to DiGiCo consoles’ internal audio stream without any additional hardware I/O or overhead. This makes it possible to route any audio channel from the console to the DMI-KLANG and return the immersive mix to the Aux merge input. Via the DiGiCo KLANG console link, monitor engineers can stay in their usual mixing workflow, use snapshots, faders, and knobs, but with all the benefits of immersive in-ear mixing. This makes it the perfect companion for any monitor engineer who needs to deliver the ultimate 3D mix for their artist.

“The DMI-KLANG is just the beginning of a new line of products,” says KLANG’s co-founder Pascal Dietrich. “Together with the DiGiCo OrangeBox and the many I/O expansion cards available today, we can now interface with almost any professional digital mixing console.”

Available DMI cards offer MADI (TP, BNC), Optocore, Dante and many other digital formats. Additionally, by utilizing the KLANG:app, personal mixing can be done on any tablet, smartphone or PC/Mac.