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.
MIDAS digital allows the I/O and DSP units to be freely distributed around 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.