In the future...there are no consoles

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/going_mobile_the_2_pound_72_channel_wireless_console/ It is somewhat difficult to imagine a future in the audio industry either working FOH or Monitors without a console and splitter box or one of the staples of the audio system setups of today but this is just what Bob Lentini has done. He has introduced a new system for mixing live sound that does all of its mixing from a single computer. Bob Lentini is the brainchild behind the S.A.C(software audio console) a 72 input, 72 output virtual front of house console that runs off of a Windows PC. It should be added that according to the article the sound quality of one of these systems matches, if not bests, that of a high end digital console and comes very close to reproducing the quality of analog sound. All of this is achieved at a fraction of the price of many of the digital consoles in use in the market today. One of the things that allows the SAC to operate so well is its use of assembly language. As I understand it, assembly language is very close to binary language, or machine language as opposed to C++ which requires a lot of decoding by the computer. Because SAC makes use of assembly language it is able to operate much quicker than many of the computer softwares on the market today that deal with audio. Because it can operate much quicker it is able to do more complex conversions of digital to analog sound thus resulting in a high sound quality. Another incredible thing about this system is that once you purchase the software it is something that could be assembled entirely by the user. The SAC website has a step by step guide that takes one through the process of building the computer and the input rack. With the introduction of tablets and wireless computer systems into front of house mixing it is allowed the front of house engineer to be completely mobile while building a mix for the audience. The SAC continues this trend with the only exception being that there is no console still sitting somewhere in the middle of an arena. The size of the SAC and inputs and outputs is quite small which frees up room for more seats which ultimately means more money for a venue and for an artist. While the system can be mixed remotely it is not dependent on the remote mixer in order to operate. If the wireless signal were to go down between the tablet and the SAC the SAC would continue to operate at whatever levels were previously set. It is quite possible that what we have in the SAC is a glimpse of the future without large audio consoles. At this time it’s almost impossible to see this happening, but over the next few years if this technology can prove to deliver a great sound at a lower cost and a better efficiency we may just see some of the larger console manufactures scrambling to keep up with this small company.