- 48 Flexi Input Channels
- 16 Flexi Aux / Sub-Group Busses
- LR Master Buss
- 10 x 8 Full Processing Matrix
- 21 Dynamic Equalizers
- 96kHz Sample Rate
S21 : Overview
DiGiCo’s world-renowned innovation, deep feature-set and flagship audio quality of our high-end digital consoles is within reach of everyone. How? Meet the S21 – a world-class DiGiCo mixing console at an astonishing price.
Step up to the S21’s worksurface, complete with dual P-CAP multi-touch screens, 48 flexi-channels, the equivalent of 46 buses and benchmark 96kHz performance, and this console’s heritage is clear – the S21 is every inch a DiGiCo desk. It’s also a revelation in terms of what an introductory digital console can deliver.
Based on the same pioneering design approach as the industry-leading SD series, the S21 boasts the same proprietary audio algorithms plus a new ARM QuadCore RISC processor which runs in harmony with the FPGA core. The result is faster processing with lower power consumption, all packaged in the workflow that the industry’s most respected engineers rely upon – now available to everyone.
Under the Hood
Familiar to the touch and built for the road, the S21 offers mixing without limits. The integration of a high power QuadCore SoC with high bandwidth memory, a low power 484-ball array FPGA and a fourth-generation control SHARC DSP offers unprecedented power today as well as the potential for a future processing upgrade path. The compact footprint of the S21 has no relationship to the scale of processing power going on under the polycarbonate worksurface.
The two touchscreens each provide 10 channel strips, giving not only clear visual feedback and control of 20 simultaneous channels for a single user, but also the possibility when mixing large shows for more than one operator to take advantage of the newly designed drag, swipe and drop feature that simplifies custom fader layouts.
Visual feedback is further reinforced by the HTL (Hidden Till Lit) functionality of the encoder rings, while parameters currently not in use are automatically greyed out, always drawing your attention to the right controls.
The dual screen concept aims to aid the new user learning curve and remove distractions by not only giving you more channels to view at any one time, but also allowing one screen to be used as a setup or master whilst the other is utilised for operation. Both touchscreens are responsive to EQ shaping, with fine-tuning available via the tactile and intuitive rotary encoders.
Altering the Channel Bank layout, and mixing and matching any channel, aux, group, control group, or matrix within a bank, is easily accomplished by drag and drop at the touch of a screen.
I/O
The S21’s local I/O section includes 24 mic/line inputs, 12 line outs, two mono AES/EBU, and two DMI (DiGiCo Multichannel Interface) card slots which interface to standard industry formats such as Analogue, MADI, Dante, Waves SoundGrid, or Calrec’s Hydra 2 Network.
The console connects seamlessly with the DiGiCo remote I/O D-Rack providing an additional 32 inputs and up to 16 outputs.
Get instant access to 32 fully integrated low-latency Waves stereo MultiRacks, each with up to eight plug-ins per rack, by fitting the DiGiCo SoundGrid DMI card linked to external SoundGrid or DiGiGrid servers, giving a total of 128 additional I/O.
DMI Interface Options
DMI-AMM
This card offers both the SD-Range and the S-Series consoles 48 channels of automatic microphone mixing which can be used in any console input channel.
When dealing with live sound scenarios that involve several live microphones with unpredictable dialogue, mixing them can be a challenge for an engineer. DiGiCo are proud to offer the DMI-AMM (Automatic Mic Mixing) as a versatile solution for these issues.
The DMI-AMM system works by instantly fading up a microphone’s gain when one person begins to speak and reducing the gain of the other microphones. When the speaker pauses, all microphone levels return to medium gain, collectively matching the level of one microphone with the full gain share. The resulting effect is as if all speakers are sharing one microphone. When several people talk at once, the gain is shared between the speakers. Each channel is given a Share Meter, which is shown in percentage, not dB. This makes it easy to see what channels are taking the majority of the gain.
The DMI-AMM also allows adjustment of the relative sensitivity (or weighting) of the AMM on a per channel basis. This means that should one of the speakers be quieter than the others, they still have the ability to “take over” the system. Furthermore, the card features a vital noise floor control that imposes a lower limit on the level detector of all mics in the AMM to prevent a noisy mic from catching a disproportionate share of the gain.
This card offers both the SD-Range and the S-Series consoles two independent 48 channel automatic microphone mixers which can be used on any console input channel. Both the S-Series and SD-Range allow a Virtual AMM so that the AMM routing and parameters can be set before a card is inserted.
Main Features
- Two independent 48 channel automatic microphone mixers
- Weighting control on a per channel basis
- Share meter in percentage to show which channels are taking the majority gain share
- Noise floor control
- Simple integration into both the S-Series and the SD-Range software
- Virtual AMM to set up a session before the card is present
- Compatible with S-Series, SD12 and Quantum Range
DMI-ADC
This card provides 16 analogue inputs on 2 x 25 way “D” connectors. The ADC card is a line card only. There is no microphone amplifier or phantom power available. There is no gain control function for these inputs (only digital trim). Maximum input level +22dBu.
As a simple solution to expanding the local i/o of the S-Series, DiGiCo offer the DMI-ADC and the DMI-DAC. Both use 2 x 25 way “D” connectors to add either 16 analogue inputs or 16 analogue outputs. Both cards are compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4.
Main Features
- 16 analogue inputs
- 2 x 25 way “D” connectors
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
DMI-AES
This card provides 16 Inputs (8 pairs) and 16 outputs (8 pairs) on 2 x 25 way “D” connectors. All AES inputs are provided with sample rate conversion (SRC) by default. All AES outputs are synchronised to the mixer system clock.
Developed by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), this digital audio format was originally developed in 1985 and was the first professional digital audio format to gain widespread acceptance. There have been several revisions over the years. Also known as AES3 or IEC-60958 Type I, the data protocol includes up to two channels of up to 24-bit audio running at sample rates up to 96 kHz.
Multi-channel digital audio formats such as MADI have become popular, but AES3 is still a very useful format to distribute stereo signals (such as L/R mixer output) or to integrate stereo signal processors such as reverbs.
The DMI-AES provides 16 Inputs (8 pairs) and 16 outputs (8 pairs) on 2 x 25 way “D” connectors. All AES inputs are provided with sample rate conversion (SRC) by default. All AES outputs are synchronised to the mixer system clock.
Main Features
- 2 x 25 way “D” connectors
- 16 inputs (8 pairs) and 16 outputs (8 pairs)
- Sample rate conversions on all inputs
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
DMI-AVIOM
This card provides 16 output channels at 48kHz (with SRC) and Supports Aviom's proprietary A-Net Pro16 protocol. It has 1 Ethercon connection and faceplate DIP switched for Stereo output selection.
The DMI-AVIOM allows easy integration with Aviom’s personal monitoring systems through the use of their A-Net protocol. The card provides 16 output channels (8 stereo) at 48kHz with inbuilt sample rate conversion for seamless compatibility with consoles running at 48kHz or 96kHz and supports Aviom’s proprietary A-Net Pro16 protocol. It has 1 Ethercon connection and faceplate DIP switches for stereo output selection.
Main Features
- 16 output channels (8 stereo)
- Faceplate DIP switches for stereo output selection
- Inbuilt sample rate conversion
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
DMI-DAC
This card provides 16 analogue outputs on 2 x 25 way “D” connectors DAC card is line level only. Maximum output level +22dBu (Digital Full Scale)
As a simple solution to expanding the local i/o of the S-Series, DiGiCo offer the DMI-ADC and the DMI-DAC. Both use 2 x 25 way “D” connectors to add either 16 analogue inputs or 16 analogue outputs. Both cards are compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4.
Main Features
- 16 analogue outputs
- 2 x 25 way “D” connectors
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
DMI-MADI-C
This card can be used to connect another DiGiCo device that uses RJ45 Standard MADI (64 channels in and out) at 48KHz or 96KHz or an SD Series DiGiCo Rack with the appropriate connector (D-Rack, D2-Rack)
MADI (Multichannel Audio Digital Interface) is arguably one of the most popular protocols for transmitting high channel counts in professional audio. This is partially due to its ease of use, and the ability for cables to be run long lengths with minimal signal loss. Originally only capable of transmitting 56 channels, MADI is now capable of transmitting up to 64 channels.
DiGiCo offers two MADI DMI cards, each with different connector types. Both the MADI-B (BNC) and the MADI-C (RJ45) cards can be used to connect up to 64 channels of audio in and out at both 48kHz and 96kHz. At 48kHz, the B connection can be used as a redundant audio stream. Should the A stream fail during use, the B stream will seamlessly take over. At 96kHz, the B connection must be connected to provide the full channel count.
Main Features
- RJ45 connection
- 64 channels in and out at 48kHz and 96kHz
- Redundancy if working at 48kHz
- Only for use with DiGiCo audio over Cat5 devices
- Internal switches to determine whether connected to a console or a rack
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
DMI-MADI-B
This card can be used to connect a Standard MADI stream (64 channels in and out) at 48KHz or 96KHz or an SD Series DiGiCo Rack with the appropriate connector (D2-Rack, SD-Rack, SD-MINIRack)
MADI (Multichannel Audio Digital Interface) is arguably one of the most popular protocols for transmitting high channel counts in professional audio. This is partially due to its ease of use, and the ability for cables to be run long lengths with minimal signal loss. Originally only capable of transmitting 56 channels, MADI is now capable of transmitting up to 64 channels.
DiGiCo offers two MADI DMI cards, each with different connector types. Both the MADI-B (BNC) and the MADI-C (RJ45) cards can be used to connect up to 64 channels of audio in and out at both 48kHz and 96kHz. At 48kHz, the B connection can be used as a redundant audio stream. Should the A stream fail during use, the B stream will seamlessly take over. At 96kHz, the B connection must be connected to provide the full channel count.
Main Features
- 75Ω Coaxial (BNC) connections
- 64 channels in and out and 48kHz and 96kHz
- Redundancy if working at 48kHz
- For use with any standard BNC MADI audio device
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
DMI-DANTE
This card provides 64 input and 64 output channels at 48KHz and 32 input and 32 output channels at 96KHz. It is provided with Primary and Secondary (backup) Gigabit Ethercon ports for connection to the Dante network.
Audio over IP is becoming more and more sought after, due to the fact that it works over a standard IP network and can be sent over pre-installed infrastructure. Developed by Audinate in 2006, Dante provides uncompressed, low latency, multi-channel digital audio over IP and is a popular choice of protocol.
DiGiCo offer a Dante interface that allows 64 channels in and 64 channels out at 48kHz, and 32 channels in and out at 96kHz. The DMI-DANTE has a Primary and a Secondary port, both of which are Ethercon ports. The card has two modes that can be changed in Dante Controller. In Switched Mode, the ports are switched together. In redundant mode, the ports work as a redundant pair with separate IP addresses so that if the primary connection fails, the secondary connection will take over.
Main Features
- 2 Ethercon ports
- Switched mode switches the ports together
- Redundant mode allows the ports to work as a redundant pair
- 64 channels in and 64 channels out at 48kHz
- 32 channels in and 32 channels out at 96kHz
- Compatible with S-Series, Quantum Range, SD12, Orange Box and 4REA4
S21 I/O Racks & Options
The I/O rack that has it all
- 14 card module slots - 56 inputs and 56 outputs
- Fully compatible with our industry leading 32bit SD cards
- 192kHz high resolution ready
- HMA Optics
- Redundant power supplies
- Proven touring ready rugged design
DiGiCo I/O enters the next generation
With support for up to 192kHz high resolution analogue I/O converters plus a comprehensive range of digital formats, it’s no wonder that the SD-Rack is accepted as the finest I/O rack available. From MADI to AES/EBU, Dante, AES-42, ADAT, or Aviom, the SD-Rack has it all.
Based on the same Stealth FPGA technology as the world-renowned SD-Range of consoles, the SD-Rack can run on the optical loop at 96KHz, while providing a down-sampled 48KHz feed from one of the MADI output streams; ideal for a broadcast truck split. The result is industry-leading A/D conversion complete with DiGiCo’s famous Gain Tracking™, meaning all consoles benefit from +/-40dB of digital gain.
Once a user has set the gain on each channel, every console on the loop can Gain Track their own mixes, and if any tweaking of analogue gain settings is required then each Gain Tracked channel will automatically compensate to ensure the mix remains the same. Best of all, should clipping occur, any of the consoles on the loop can take control of an analogue gain and make the necessary adjustments without affecting anyone else’s mix.
The SD-Rack’s 14 slots give you up to 56 inputs and 56 outputs, and users can choose whether to include the Optocore optical fibre connectivity or connect the SD-Rack to the console using MADI. When running at 48kHz, the two MADI ins and outs provide 56 fully redundant input and output channels via duplicate connections. When running at 96kHz, the SD-Rack delivers a full complement of 56 channels of MADI across the dual MADI ports.
Lastly, for ease of use the SD-Rack offers hot swappable interface cards with are automatically identified and configured, plus a top-mounted, hot swappable power supply.
No matter the size of the rack you choose, up to 14 DiGiCo I/O racks can run on a single optical loop, while as many as 28 can be accommodated on a dual loop system. This, coupled with the ability for any of the five consoles that can sit on one optical loop to receive all inputs and individually address output slots on any rack, gives the engineer or system designer unprecedented versatility.
SD-Rack I/O Modules
SD-Rack
Compact, flexible and powerful DiGiCo I/O
- Compact 4U Rack
- 4 card slots for up to 32 I/O
- Optical or MADI connectivity
- Supports the full range of SD card options
A 4U stage box packed with I/O
Crammed with I/O but occupying just 4U, the SD-MiNi Rack joins the SD and SD-Nano racks as part of DiGiCo’s comprehensive family of high sample rate, remote rack solutions to meet any and every requirement.
The SD-MiNi accepts both analogue and digital input and output cards including AES/EBU, Dante, AES-42, ADAT, HD-SDI and Aviom. For purely digital applications, each card slot provides 8 channels of audio in and out, allowing the SD-MiNi to run up to 32 inputs and 32 outputs. In an all analogue scenarios, users can benefit from a maximum of 32 ins or outs, or any combination thereof in banks of eight (for example, eight in and 24 out).
With MADI connectivity as standard and optical as an option, the SD-MiNi offers full flexibility including multi sample rates to external devices over MADI and DiGiCo’s Gain Tracking™ functionality.
No matter the size of the rack you choose, up to 14 DiGiCo I/O racks can run on a single optical loop, while as many as 28 can be accommodated on a dual loop system. This, coupled with the ability for any of the five consoles that can sit on one optical loop to receive all inputs and individually address output slots on any rack, gives the engineer or system designer unprecedented versatility.
SD-MiNi Rack I/O Modules
SD-MiNi Rack
The ultimate compact stage box
- Ultra-compact 2U rack
- Redundant Power Supplies
- Up to 16 I/O across 2 card modules
- Supports the full range of SD card options
The tiny 2U rack with massive DiGiCo I/O
At just 2U, the SD-Nano Rack brings extraordinary flexibility to installations and live shows alike as part of DiGiCo’s comprehensive family of high sample rate, remote rack solutions, also including the SD and SD-MiNi racks.
The SD-Nano rack accepts both analogue and digital input and output cards including AES/EBU, Dante, AES-42, ADAT, HD-SDI and Aviom. For purely digital applications, the SD-Nano runs up to 16 ins and outs, while all analogue scenarios can benefit from a maximum of 16 ins or outs or any combination thereof in banks of eight (for example, eight in and eight out). The SD-Nano Rack is only available as an optically connected rack.
Ideal for projects that require maximum flexibility without sacrificing ease of use, the SD-Nano Rack is a crucial building block in the DiGiCo I/O family. No matter the size of the rack you choose, up to 14 DiGiCo I/O racks can run on a single optical loop, while as many as 28 can be accommodated on a dual loop system. This, coupled with the ability for any of the five consoles that can sit on one optical loop to address all inputs and individually address output slots on any rack, gives the engineer or system designer unprecedented versatility.
SD-Nano Rack I/O Modules
SD-Nano Rack
A world of connectivity
- 9U MADI connected high performance rack
- Option of 48 Mic In or 24 Mic/24 AES/EBU In
- Analogue and Digital output expansion
- Redundant power supplies as standard
Delivering 96KHz on BNC or CAT5
The D2-Rack spearheads DiGiCo’s digital connectivity with an expandable channel count and high sample rates, providing more than enough firepower to meet the needs of the most ambitious projects.
The compact 9U rack sports 48 inputs and 16 outputs as standard; these can be increased to 32 outputs by populating the two spare eight channel output slots with one or more of three available module options: Line out, AES or Aviom.
For further flexibility, the D2-Rack’s inputs can be specified as either 48 mic in or 24 mic/24 AES/EBU in.
Dual MADI ports, available on either BNC or DiGiCo Cat5e connections, either allow rack sharing at 48kHz between any two SD Series consoles or provide digital splits for recording. When combined, these ports create a single high definition 96kHz MADI connection with absolutely no reduction in I/O.
To ensure ultimate reliability the D2-Rack is equipped with dual redundant power supplies as standard.
D2-Rack
S21 Specifications
General Specifications
- 48 x Input flex-channels Mono/Stereo (equivalent of 96 DSP channels)
- 46 busses: 16 x flexi-busses Mono/Stereo (equivalent of 32 DSP busses), Stereo Master (2), Solo busses (2 stereo, 4 total), and 10 x 8 Matrix (8)
- 10 x Control Groups
- 1 x Compressor per channel and buss
- 1 x Gate per channel and buss (switchable to ducker, or compressor with side chain access)
- 16 x assignable 32 band Graphic EQs
- 8 x FX engines (reverbs, delays, w/modulation and enhancer)
- 21 x assignable DiGiTuBes
- 21 x assignable Multiband Compressors
- 21 x assignable Dynamic EQ’s
- User definable Macros
- An extremely high power headphone amplifier with 1/4 inch and mini jack socket
- 96kHz as standard
- 24 mic/line inputs
- 12 analogue outs
- 2 AES/EBU I/O (mono)
- Word Clock I/O
- 1 GPI and 1 GPO
- DVI out (for an external monitor)
- 2 DMI Card slots (up to 64 I/O per slot)
- 2 Ethernet connections for Networking
- 2 x 24 segment master/solo meters
- Touch sensitive rotaries with integrated switch & HTL
- 2 x multi-touch screens
- 21 x touch sensitive moving faders
- 4 x layers of banks of 10 faders
- Customisable bank and channel layout
- Snapshots
- Integrated USB2 Audio I/O interface for recording and playback of up to 48 channels
Audio Specification
- Sample Rate 48kHz, 96kHz
- Processing Delay 2ms Typical @ 48k (48 Stereo Channels, Stage Input Through L-R Buss to Stage Output) 1.1ms @ 96kHz
- Internal Processing Up to 40-bit, Floating Point
- A>D & D>A 24-bit Converter Bit Depth
- Frequency Response +/- 0.6dB (20Hz – 20kHz)
- THD <0.05% @ Unity Gain, 10dB Input @ 1kHz
- Channel Separation Better Than 90dB (40Hz – 15kHz)
- Residual Output <90dBu Typical
- Noise (20Hz – 20kHz)
- Microphone Input Better Than -126dB Equivalent Noise
- Maximum Output Level +22dBu
- Maximum Input Level +22dBu
Processing Channel Specification
Input Channel
- Input Name: User-Defined
- Channel Selection: Mono / Stereo
- Input Routing: Main Input
- Analogue Gain: -20 to +60dB
- Phase: Normal / Reverse
- Digital Trim: 40 to +40dB
- Delay: 0 – 682ms
- DiGiTuBe Drive: 0.01 – 50.0
- Bias: 0 – 6
- LPF: 20 – 20kHz, 24dB/Oct
- HPF: 20 – 20kHz, 24dB/Oct
- Insert A: (Pre EQ/Dyn) On/Off
- Equalisation 4 Band EQ: Parametric or Dynamic (Low/Lowshelf, Lower-Mid/Lowshelf, Upper-Mid/Hishelf, Hi/Hishelf)
On/Off
Freq; 20 – 20kHz
Gain; +/- 18dB
Q: 0.1 -20 (Parametric) / 0.10-0.90 (Shelf) - Dynamics 1: Single or 4 x Multiband (3-Band)
Compressor; On/Off
Threshold; -60 – 0dB
Attack; 500us – 100ms
Release; 5ms – 5s
Ratio; 1:1 – 50:1
Gain; 0 to +40dB
Hi Crossover; 20Hz – 20kHz
Lo Crossover; 20Hz – 20kHz
Knee; Hard, Med, Soft - Dynamics 2: On/Off
Gate / Ducker Threshold; -60 – 0dB
Attack; 50us – 100ms
Hold; 2ms – 2s
Release; 5ms – 5s
Range; 0 – 90dB
Key; Any Source
Key Listen
Freq/Width; 20 – 20kHz
Compressor; On/Off
Threshold; -60 – 0dB
Attack; 500us – 100ms
Release; 5ms – 5s
Ratio; 1:1 – 50:1
Gain; 0 to +40dB
Link; Any Channel / Buss
S/C Source : Any Source
S/C Listen : On/Off
S/C Filter Freq/Width: 20Hz – 20kHz - Insert B: (Post EQ/Dyn) On/Off
- Mute: Channel Mute
- Solo: Solo Buss 1 / Solo Buss 2 / Both,
- Channel Safe: Socket Properties, Input Route, Mono/Stereo, Label, Filters, Trim, Delay, Tube, Insert A, EQ, Dyn1, Dyn2, Insert B, Aux, Group Assigns, Pan, Fade, Mute, Direct Outs, Full Safe
- Output: Routing Buss,
- Insert A, Insert B,
- Direct: Post-Fade
- Fader: 100mm Motorised Fader ∞ to +10dB
Processing Channel Specification
Aux / Group / Matrix Output
- Name: User-Defined
- Phase: Normal / Reverse
- Digital Trim: -40 to +40dB
- Delay: 0 – 682ms
- DiGiTuBe Drive: 0.01 – 50.0 Bias 0 – 6
- LPF: 20 – 20kHz, 24dB / Oct
- HPF: 20 – 20kHz, 24dB / Oct
- Insert A: (Pre EQ/Dyn) On/Off
- Equalisation 4 Band EQ: Parametric or Dynamic (Low/Lowshelf, Lower-Mid/Lowshelf, Upper-Mid/Hishelf, Hi/Hishelf)
On/Off
Freq; 20 – 20kHz
Gain; +/- 18dB
Q: 0.1 -20 (Parametric) / 0.10-0.90 (Shelf) - Dynamics 1: Single or 4 x Multiband (3-band)
Compressor; On/Off
Threshold; -60 – 0dB
Attack; 500us – 100ms
Release; 5ms – 5s
Ratio; 1:1 – 50:1
Gain; 0 to +40dB
Hi Crossover; 20Hz – 20kHz
Lo Crossover; 20Hz – 20kHz
Knee; Hard, Med, Soft - Gate / Ducker Threshold; -60 – 0dB
Attack; 50us – 100ms
Hold; 2ms – 2s
Release; 5ms – 5s
Range; 0 – 90dB
Key; Any Source
Key Listen
Freq/Width; 20 – 20kHz
Compressor On/Off
Threshold; -60 – 0dB
Attack; 500us – 100ms
Release; 5ms – 5s
Ratio; 1:1 – 50:1
Gain; 0 to +40dB
Link; Any Channel/Buss
S/C Source: Any source
S/C Listen: On/Off
S/C Filter Freq/Width: 20Hz – 20kHz - Insert B: (Post EQ/Dyn) On/Off
- Mute: Channel Mute
- Solo: Solo Buss 1 / Solo Buss 2 / Both,
- Channel Safe: Mono/Stereo, Bus Mode, Label, Filters, Trim, Delay, Tube, Insert A, EQ, Dyn1, Dyn2, Insert B, Group Assigns, Fade, Mute, Direct Outs, Full Safe
- Output Routing: Outputs, Insert A, Insert B
- Fader: 100mm Motorised Fader ∞ to + 10dB