The Rio1608-D does one job and the job is not glamorous: it puts your inputs where the performers are, and carries them back to the desk on network cable instead of a multicore. Sixteen analogue mic inputs and eight analogue line outputs, in a 3U box.
What is on it
Sixteen analogue mic inputs, eight analogue line outputs, and primary and secondary Dante ports. The second port is the reason a Rio goes out on jobs that could technically manage with less — a redundant network is two cables and no extra decisions on the day, and a torn cable at the stage end stops being a show-stopper.
What it needs from the desk
A Rio is a Dante device, so the console at the other end has to speak Dante — natively or through a card. That is the first thing to confirm when you book one, because it is the difference between a plug-in and an afternoon. The preamps are controlled from the desk, so head amp gain, phantom power and pad live on the surface rather than at the stage box.
What goes out with it?
What to tell us
- The console it is going to, and whether it has Dante already.
- Sample rate, and whether you want the secondary port run as redundancy.
- Input count at the stage end — more than sixteen means more than one box.
- Cable lengths between stage and FOH, and whether you need the network run made up.
- Whether you want XLR tails, stands and distribution from us or they are coming with you.
We hold five Rio1608-Ds, so a multi-box system is a normal booking rather than a special one. Ask and we will quote the boxes, the network and the cable to go with them.
