Allen & Heath SQ5

[twotoedsloth]

Hello all,

I have a question about my Allen & Heath SQ5:

How many channels does it support at 96kHz? The online documentation says 64 channels with the Dante expansion card, and the brochure says it support 48 channels, but I can only get 32 channels to appear in the IO port tab.

I don't need 64 or 48 channels, I would be fine with 28 channels, but I would still like to know.

Please let me know if you have any insight,

Peter

[shufflebeat]

What I/O options do you have apart from the local XLR/jacks?

[Simon Wheeler]

Not in front of the console currently, but I remember having been caught out previously in that the IO matrix has multiple banks of 32 channels within the same tab. So you have a single pane representing the pin matrix that you can navigate across left right by scrolling on the touch screen of 32 channels, but then the next bank of 32 channels you access by clicking on the relevant tab again at the top of the screen. The little bank of squares under the title shows you which page you are on.

Don't know if that's in any way related to your question...

From memory, it's 48 inputs across all the SQ series consoles.

[Dave Rowles]

Above is correct. You have 48 channels to mix with, which can be taken from 64 available inputs s-link or dante. The USB connection (if that matters to you) allows 32 channels recording, and you have to use the routing page to select which channels go to the USB output.

[twotoedsloth]

Thanks very much for your responses.

I will have a look at it again today. We currently have a Dante 16/8 port stagebox, a Dante 4 port wireless mic rig, and of course, the local inputs. This should give us 40 inputs, but I'm only seeing 32.

Sorry for being dense,

Peter

[shufflebeat]

The way I understand it:

You have 48 internal processing channels that can be connected to whatever inputs and outputs you have available, local, s-link, dante, etc.

If you have a 48/16 stagebox then you still have only 48 processing channels so you’ll have to choose between your external inputs and local.

Of those 48 channels you’ll have to prioritise what you want to send to USB to, for instance, a laptop as USB can only see 32.

Can you describe what you’re looking at when you see the 32 ins?

[Hugh Robjohns]

So *which* 32 physical inputs are you seeing ?

It sounds like you just need to select the next I/O page...

[Sam Spoons]

The way I understand it:

You have 48 internal processing channels that can be connected to whatever inputs and outputs you have available, local, s-link, dante, etc.

If you have a 48/16 stagebox then you still have only 48 processing channels so you’ll have to choose between your external inputs and local.

Of those 48 channels you’ll have to prioritise what you want to send to USB to, for instance, a laptop as USB can only see 32.

Can you describe what you’re looking at when you see the 32 ins?

The A&H SQ5 spec sheet says

The mixer shall be a compact, rack-mountable digital mixer built around a 96kHz XCVI FPGA core with 48 input channels mixing to LR and 12 stereo mix outputs.

My X32 Compact can process 40 simultaneous input channels (8 of them have reduced features) to 24 outputs. Berry's AES50 digital snake can handle 96 inputs and the X32C has another 22 local analogue inputs so you have to assign whatever combination of 40 inputs from the 118 available (if you've maxed out your stage boxes and local inputs*) to those processing channels.

* I'm fairly sure you can also use the talkback mic input as well so that would be 119...

edited to correct Sam's number blindness and dodgy memory...

[Dave Rowles]

but then the next bank of 32 channels you access by clicking on the relevant tab again at the top of the screen.

Wanted to highlight this as this is the way. On the IO page, there's the SLink or other tabs and you should see some little boxes under the "Slink" name, that denotes another page of inputs. So if you tap those tabs again you'll bring up another lot of ins that you can patch from.

This video...at around 1.28.
https://youtu.be/GxMyrGDmLIE?si=x0PIgg-OaPhnuy4u

[shufflebeat]

but then the next bank of 32 channels you access by clicking on the relevant tab again at the top of the screen.

Wanted to highlight this as this is the way. On the IO page, there's the SLink or other tabs and you should see some little boxes under the "Slink" name, that denotes another page of inputs. So if you tap those tabs again you'll bring up another lot of ins that you can patch from.

This video...at around 1.28.
https://youtu.be/GxMyrGDmLIE?si=x0PIgg-OaPhnuy4u

This caught me out a couple of times, well worth highlighting.

[twotoedsloth]

Hello again, and many thanks for helping me out.

I was actually confused by the Dante Controller, I can now choose from 64 channels into 48 channels, and I can send out 36 channels.

Sorry for being a nitwit.

Peter