Focusrite RedNet Helps 3G Productions Keep Electric Daisy Carnival's Main Stage Connected

	"Kinetic Field" main stage at the EDC at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 3G Productions deployed the Focusrite RedNet D16 AES, creating a secure connection between the FOH position and the over-100 amplifiers used to power the system.

Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), a major festival of the electronic dance music world, took place earlier this year at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The fifth edition of the festival, which drew over 400,000 attendees, also marked the debut of the Focusrite RedNet D16 AES interface at the event, where 3G Productions, the sound reinforcement provider for three of the show's stages, deployed the D16 AES for the output of 96-kHz audio via Dante networking to AES3-compatible amplifiers in the d&b audiotechnik J System PA with D80 amplifiers on the main "Kinetic Field" stage. As artists including Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Armin Van Buuren, Avicii, Kaskade, and Afrojack performed in front of thousands of fans, RedNet D16 AES created a secure connection between the front-of-house position and the over-100 amplifiers used to power the system.

"With eight delay towers and a distance from front-of-house to the stage of 300', cabling for network control and digital signal distribution to over 100 amplifiers involved was a major concern," observes Clark Stewart, system engineer and technology director at 3G Productions. "Additionally, for EDC a special requirement is for the entire system to operate at 96kHz/24-bit AES3 from the DJ to the FOH console and ultimately the amplifiers. Being able to reliably and efficiently provide this was paramount. The D16 AES allowed us to deploy a solution that could work in conjunction with our existing network infrastructure and needs while providing reliable, cost-effective digital signal distribution to all devices in the system."

Stewart says that the scale of a festival like Electric Daisy and the demand for reliable, high-quality audio integrated with control for audio management has made the need for networked audio and control critical, and that RedNet provides a tested, trusted interface. "Networking has become an integral part of our operations for system control," he says. "With the advent of Dante and the RedNet product line, we have finally been able to combine network device control with that of signal transmission. With this system in place, we have seen a drastic reduction in cabling complexity and a huge increase in efficiency when dealing with large, complex systems requiring extensive cable lengths. Furthermore, the ability to use fiber-optic cable instead of copper for network connectivity provides for successful distribution of high-resolution synchronous digital audio over distances otherwise impossible to achieve using traditional copper. RedNet is the key interface for us in that system."

The RedNet D16 AES is a 1U 19" rack-mount interface featuring 16 channels of AES/EBU connectivity to and from a Dante audio network, with Ethernet redundancy for maximum network reliability. Perfect for bridging between digital consoles, power amplifiers, or any other AES3 equipped audio equipment and a Dante network, RedNet D16 AES has a sample rate convertor (SRC) on each input pair allowing instant operation with any AES3 source. Word clock and digital audio reference signal (DARS) connections provide synchronization with a wide range of hardware, while S/PDIF I/O allows the integration of equipment such as CD or solid-state recorders/players.