Specifications

Midas Digital Sound Quality
The Midas reputation for fantastic audio quality has evolved over 40 years of development
and research. By designing the best mic pre’s, equalisation and using the superior
components, Midas has carried this tradition into the digital realm. Adding the best
converters and custom processing algorithm to the mix Midas, takes audio quality to
another level. In addition Midas digital systems are the only live sound systems in the
world to have a comprehensive and automatic latency management system. Which,
in addition to managing all internal routing and processing latency, also includes
compensation for external analogue inserts. This means that all audio samples are
synchronised before summing, resulting in absolute phase coherency at all outputs.
Midas digital feels, as well as sounds superb. All the variable controls on the console are
genuine analogue high precision potentiometers, not mechanical encoders. These access
the FPGA-DSP engine through precision instrumentation A-D converters and Midas’
custom interpolation algorithms. This means that as well as all audio, all operator input is
fully interpolated to ensure a linear, analogue-style, silky smooth “feel” to your mix.
The Midas microphone pre-amp is the one by which all others are judged. Still built
from discrete components, and still based on the designs which were so successful in
the legendary Midas analogue consoles such as the XL3, XL4 and Heritage, the current
expressions in the XL8 range and PRO Series sound better than ever. Whether you want
pristine, transparent reproduction, or that renowned Midas warmth and colouration,
Midas’ dual (analogue and digital) gain stages enable you to shape the mic amps’ character
according to your own preference.
A major problem aecting many digital consoles is a lack of attention to delay
management. All digital processing takes time to run – typically just a few samples, but
never zero. ADCs and DACs have much bigger delays (typically a few milliseconds) so
if analogue insert points are used, the channel in question will be delayed signicantly
relative to the others
Mix engineers working on analogue consoles routinely combine signals with dierent
signal paths and processing and expect to do the same with digital. On many current
digital consoles, combining signals in this way leads to the summing of signals that are in
eect partly out of phase. This causes undesirable “comb ltering” eects, where specic
frequencies are cancelled out completely. All Midas digital consoles have comprehensive
automatic time alignment to correct any path related delays. Plus the additional latency
introduced by the A to D conversion on the analogue inserts is also automatically
compensated.
Unique to Midas digital are the I/O and DSP units which can be freely distributed into
multiple locations. In particular I/O units can be placed exactly where they are needed –
on the stage, around the auditorium, at FOH or remotely in a broadcast truck. Midas’ digital
audio network is easily congurable to route signals from where and by when they are
needed since the patching is done a scene-by-scene basis.
Every transition of a network adds delay. Midas networks have only 70 micro-seconds
of latency per hop so even a multi-hop routing has negligible aggregate delay (latency)
making it perfect for in-ear monitoring. All inputs and all outputs are time-aligned to
sample accuracy, no matter where they are in the network or how they are routed. This is
another major contributor to the performance of a Midas digital console and that magical
Midas sound.