The DAD AX32 impressed me when I reviewed it last year. The things which made a lasting impression on me were the flexibility and the audio quality. We’ve advised the community in the past that while in the sub £1000 area it is hard to find significant differences in audio quality between the best in class interfaces, if you step outside that area of the market there are striking improvements to be made. The old maxim still applies that you get what you pay for…

Community Member Georges Majerus has found the AX32 and DX32 units from DAD offer the quality and flexibility he needs for live recording. He started out recording live jazz concerts at Radio 100.7 in Luxembourg and while he also records at Tritone studios he still enjoys location recording. Georges’ rig is based around an AX32. This high quality, modular IO has received particular attention from the Pro Tools community since Avid announced a re-badged version in the Avid MTRX. I reviewed the AX32 last year in a four part series and I recognised the flawless audio quality and huge capacity of the system. So what makes it so well suited to live recording? Georges Majerus shares his thoughts and experieces with us...

5 reasons why the AX32 is the right choice for location recording work:

1. Having A/D conversion close to the performers

"During location recordings, I often place the AX32 on – or very close by- the stage. Having the preamps and AD converters on stage and not somewhere 100 meters down the road is a huge advantage. First, minimising interference and a short distance from the microphones to the preamps is very beneficial to the sound. And second, your back will also thank you for it". 

2. Dante allows 100m runs of Ethernet cable enabling flexibility and remote control from a distance

“We connect via Dante and 100 meters of Ethernet cable is just so much easier to carry and roll out than 100 meters of multicore copper cable. The AX32 and DX32 simply become the centrepieces that let us set up great workflows quickly at any location”.

3. DB25 connectors allow quick setup and tear down of a preconfigured rig

“Since the AX32 has DB25 multipin connectors it is fairly easy to remove all of those connections fast. When we’re on the road, we use an active split system that comes with the same DB25 style connectors so setup time is really minimal”. 

4. 24 High quality mic preamps on board

“Further, it’s truly a blessing that the AX32 has preamps and conversion on board. It’s basically analog in and digital out without having to worry about anything. I have a total of 24 analogue preamps installed in the AX32 and to my ears they sound very open and transparent. Plus, they have a lot of gain to drive even the most demanding microphones.”

5. DADman software allows remote control and full recall of hardware settings

DADman software controls the AX32 over Ethernet allowing the remote control of all settings on the hardware including preamp control and internal routing. In combination with Dante Controller, which only controls Dante routing, full remote control of the rig is possible, unless you have to move a microphone of course!