Too many inputs for amx equipment

Ryan Mandau

Hello all,

I am doing up a large fancy house and the owner wants ipod docks in the bedrooms, each theater room and the bar area. This puts me way over the number of inputs I was hoping for. I wanted to use a tango 8*8 controller but now I can't. I was also thinking of using two of them, and designating a couple of channels on each to be busses to the other system.

I used a Lectrosonics DM series 12*16 matrix on my last job but I needed to hire a programmer to help me as I'm pretty new to this stuff and feeling a little overwhelmed.

Does anyone have a fairly simple solution for 12-14 inputs and 8-10 outputs? It seems I am always struggling with having enough inputs when I am doing this stuff.

Thank you.

Ryan Mandau

vining

I would use a AutoPatch Precis 18x18 for in/outs, 2 6 x 2 channel amps (B & K, Niles, Sonance, Speaker Crap) and a Moxa IP/serial server to handle iPod or any other excessive serial needs. This is still going to be overwhelming for a newbie but some times you have to suffer to get to the other side. No pain, no gain kinda thing. You'll need to give up your life for a year or so but eventually you'll learn to get by w/o it. I've personally been lifeless for about 5 years, you get used to it but this economy is helping me get it back.

ericmedley

Ryan Mandau wrote: »

Hello all,

I am doing up a large fancy house and the owner wants ipod docks in the bedrooms, each theater room and the bar area. This puts me way over the number of inputs I was hoping for. I wanted to use a tango 8*8 controller but now I can't. I was also thinking of using two of them, and designating a couple of channels on each to be busses to the other system.

I used a Lectrosonics DM series 12*16 matrix on my last job but I needed to hire a programmer to help me as I'm pretty new to this stuff and feeling a little overwhelmed.

Does anyone have a fairly simple solution for 12-14 inputs and 8-10 outputs? It seems I am always struggling with having enough inputs when I am doing this stuff.

Thank you.

Ryan Mandau

I have a pretty hard and fast rule on what you're describing. If one of our designers stacks matrix switchers in a design, I break a finger.

I've found over the years that when you do this you will almost always end up with some combination where you cannot get from point A to B. This is because you have to sacrifice some input or output to get it done.

The difference in cost going from something in the 8X8 range to the 12X12 or 16X16 range is just not significant enough to bandy about stacking 2 8X8s to get there.

I highly recommend the Presis. it is an AMX product and works quite well. There are a myriad of amps to get the gig done.

Another thing I've found is that you're not really doing your client any favors by trying to kluge together smaller scope gear to make it do the job of bigger scope gear.

If you have to hire a programmer, so be it. A lot of us on the forum are programmers and I'm sure you'll find someone who can help.

vining

ericmedley wrote:

If one of our designers stacks matrix switchers in a design, I break a finger.

I hope that's one of your designer's fingers and not one of your own.

To drift a little, I don't mind stacking switchers as long as my number of inputs don't exceed any single switcher. I basciaclly cascade inputs via "Y"s since the Precis doesn't provide buffered outs of their ins for this pupose like some other products. I haven't been able to find any hard negative facts about this practice but I'm interested it want folks here think or know about this. It's not an ideal practice but electronically it seems to work w/o any negative affects. Any thoughts? Better solutions?

ericmedley

vining wrote: »

ericmedley wrote:

I hope that's one of your designer's fingers and not one of your own.

To drift a little, I don't mind stacking switchers as long as my number of inputs don't exceed any single switcher. I basciaclly cascade inputs via "Y"s since the Precis doesn't provide buffered outs of their ins for this pupose like some other products. I haven't been able to find any hard negative facts about this practice but I'm interested it want folks here think or know about this. It's not an ideal practice but electronically it seems to work w/o any negative affects. Any thoughts? Better solutions?

That's just it. I have yet to see a project where the number of zones doesn't increase or the number of inputs doesn't increase as time goes on. Good ole scope creep. It's things like using a house audio zone for a TV. You can ask the client a thousand times, "Are you planning on putting a game like Wii or Playstation on this TV?" "No,no, we have no use for that." Then 12 months later little Johnny gets a Playstation for his birthday. (Stuff like that)

I've done the same thing you describe. I don't mind doubling up inputs with Y adaptors or Distribution amps. But I don't like it when you feed one or some outputs of one matrix into another but still use the remaining outputs of the 2nd/3rd as output zones too.

And it's the designer's fingers.