Building upon the announcement from earlier this month that it has joined forces with industry pioneer DiGiCo, Fourier Audio is proud to finally reveal the transform.engine, previously known as codename “Project Core.”

Housed in a 2U touring-grade chassis with dual redundant power supplies, the new transform.engine is a Dante-connected server designed to run all VST3-native software plugins in a live environment, bringing premium studio software to live sound and broadcast applications. Fully compatible with any VST3 plugin that can run on Windows, the new device gives engineers and creatives access to the very best studio-grade processing on a robust platform that is specifically designed for the rigors and complexities of live productions.

Designed as a turnkey solution for plugin hosting, the transform.engine is easily controlled by a remote Windows or macOS client application, reducing the need for complex setups. Users can simply connect to the engine via a standard Ethernet cable, install their plugins, and get directly to processing.

For paramount reliability, Fourier Audio’s patent-pending audio software engine provides a rock-solid sandbox with plugins ring-fenced from each other. Should a plugin crash, the rest of the system will not only be unaffected, but the transform.engine will immediately restart that plugin, quickly restoring the original integrity of the mix.

Designed to be integrated directly into live audio workflows, transform.engine will soon put control of plugins directly under the fingers of engineers on their own worksurfaces, starting with DiGiCo consoles. However, similar to products from sibling brand KLANG:technologies, the new Fourier Audio device is fully capable of operating in conjunction with virtually any professional digital console on the market via Dante, using the Windows/macOS application to control the engine.

The transform.engine can also process audio standalone with no computer required. Controlled remotely by a Windows/macOS application, with plugin user interfaces “teleported” and controlled in ultra-low-latency over the network, the product has been tuned to deliver the lowest-latency solution on the market for hosting VST3 plugins, while preserving the reliability and performance of the server.

Scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 2024, the transform.engine will feature an optional software subscription bundle.

“In the meantime, we’re inviting studio software manufacturers to contact us about potentially offering their plugins as part of transform.engine’s ever-expanding open ecosystem of live tools,” says Fourier Audio CEO Henry Harrod. “We want to introduce them to a whole new market segment that they’ve not previously had access to. At the same time, we want to offer live sound engineers not just ‘good’ emulations of various studio plugins, but the absolute best-sounding authentic versions of every plugin they might possibly want from the professional recording world. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone.”

Fourier Audio CCO Gareth Owen points out that transform.engine’s reliability will be one of its greatest hallmarks. “There are a lot of other VST hosting approaches out there, but when you have a theater, arena, or stadium full of people listening to your show, there’s no margin for error,” he says. “With the backing and support of DiGiCo, which is celebrated for its decades of designing tourable, reliable, and long-lasting hardware, we are building the ultimate plugin solution.”

Fourier Audio’s team of engineers, led by CTO Peter Bridgman, has followed two years of intensive R&D with a recent collaboration with DiGiCo to deliver a brand new hardware platform for transform.engine. DiGiCo Technical Director John Stadius has been working very closely with the Fourier Audio team and his excitement is evident: “It has been an exciting challenge for our teams to design a brand new bespoke hardware platform. The Fourier Audio team reminds me of an early-stage DiGiCo, and that enthusiasm really motivated us all to get it done. I couldn’t be happier with the end result and what it will mean for live sound engineers.”

For more details on the new Fourier Audio transform.engine, visit www.fourieraudio.com.

DiGiCo has announced the launch of the next generation of large format live audio production mixing consoles. As you would expect from a brand-new console from DiGiCo, it has been designed from the ground up. Familiar, yet different, and with improved audio quality via enhanced algorithms, Quantum852 delivers a massive leap forward in processing power. It is neatly packaged with 1000 nit LCD screens for full daylight operation and a newly designed worksurface, giving users the confidence that, true to the DiGiCo ethos, Quantum852 has been designed not just for now, but for the future.

With that in mind, Quantum852 also includes a raft of eco credentials. Its lightweight alloy construction reduces weight, which in turn helps mitigate its environmental impact during transportation. It has a reduced operating power, thermal cooling fans along with convection cooling and temperature dependent cooling. Further reducing Quantum852’s environmental footprint is the inclusion of sustainable and recyclable materials.

Quantum852’s tech spec is equally as impressive. Featuring fully redundant processing, each engine is powered by five of the latest 7th generation FPGAs and next generation SHARC DSP processors. Quantum852’s input count increases to 384 mono channels, with 192 Aux / Sub-Group busses, plus the familiar LR / LCR / 5.1 Master busses. It comes with a 64×64 Processing Matrix, 36x Control Groups, 2x Solo busses and 64x FX Rack slots. There are 48x Graphic EQs, 384x Nodal Processors, 128x Mustard Processors and 32x Spice Racks.

The magic continues with the Ultimate ‘Stadius’ modular LOCAL I/O, with each of the three cards providing 4x Stadius Mic-Pres, 4x Stadius Line Outputs and 2x Bit Perfect AES I/O. On the back of each engine there are 8x single or 4x redundant BNC MADI ports, Word Clock, AES Sync and Video Sync inputs, Dual USB 2.0 Sockets, a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 socket, 4k DisplayPort Overview Out, 5-Port 1Gbps network switch, Dual DMI slots, Waves SoundGrid port and Optocore inputs as standard, with space for an optional second Optocore loop.

The three 21.3 inch, all-new daylight bright screens ensure there will never be a situation where viewing is difficult. There are also three 19.2 inch dedicated meter bridge screens, three dedicated 6.8 inch control screens for bank and layer switching, and 69 1.3 inch worksurface screens, all of which are touch sensitive for channel selects and solos, ensuring instant access and control.

“Quantum852 truly is a massive leap forward in every way,” says DiGiCo Managing Director, Austin Freshwater. “Whilst it is completely new in its design and construction, it is still instantly recognisable as a DiGiCo. Its familiar workflow will make any DiGiCo user instantly comfortable, but its tremendous increase in power and speed will delight them. After an incredible 15 years of impeccable service, the Quantum 7 finally has a console to look up to.”

AES 2022 sees DiGiCo reveal the latest in its range of theatre targeted Quantum consoles, the all-new Quantum338T.  With ‘in the box’ mixing reducing the need for outboard equipment and a lightweight control surface, the addition of the most recent theatre specific software features makes the Quantum338T perfect for regional and touring theatre productions.

Building on the outstanding audio performance of the Quantum338, the Quantum338T offers theatre sound designers and mixers a programming and operating workflow that enhances the cue system with DiGiCo’s renowned Auto Update and cue data management tools.

Auto Update allows designers to establish intricate inter-cue relationships, with changes made to channel settings automatically propagating to other related cues. Character variations, often a result of costume and prop changes, are handled with the Alias function, and cast changes are easily managed through the Players function.

Quantum338T’s channel processing and mixing functions are identical to its live focused Quantum338 counterpart, but the crosspoint matrix gains individual nodal delays and matrix aliases. This enhanced matrixing system plays a hugely important role within complex theatre output processing and this is all achieved without compromising any of the Quantum338T’s general processing capabilities.

Quantum338 is based on seventh generation FPGAs and includes 128 input channels with 64 busses and a 24 x 24 matrix, all with full channel processing. There is a new look and feel dark mode application and three 17inch 1000 nit, high brightness, multitouch screens, allowing both the meter bridge and soft quick select buttons to be displayed on each screen. There are also 70 individual TFT channel displays and the floating Quantum chassis features 38  x 100mm touch sensitive faders laid out in three blocks of 12 fader banks, plus two dedicated user-assignable faders, each complete with high resolution metering.

A new level of local audio connectivity and performance comes via the ‘Ultimate Stadius’ 32-bit ADC and DAC conversion, which are built in to Quantum338 as standard, alongside six single or three redundant MADI connections, dual DMI slots and a built-in UB MADI USB recording interface.

Mustard Processing, Spice Rack, Nodal Processing and True Solo, all launched last year for the Quantum 7, are also standard on the Quantum338.

Mustard processing is a set of channel processing strips that work alongside standard Quantum channel processing. Each Mustard processing strip provides a choice of two pre-amp modellers, a four-band EQ (including all-pass filters), four different boutique style compressor models and a gate/ducker. Quantum338 is equipped with 36 mono Mustard processing strips which can be used on any channel type.

The Spice Rack, meanwhile, supports plugin style native FPGA processing options, allowing you to build a rack of up to eight insertable processors. The first of these is the Chilli 6 — a six-band multi-band compressor which allows full control of all parameters, including DiGiCo’s unique, patented, release shape control, which means Chilli 6 is perfect for shaping vocals and instruments as well as focusing on problem frequencies.

DiGiCo’s theatre specific software extension, already familiar to users of the Quantum7T, SD10T, SD12T and SD9T, can be added to any Quantum338; a simple unlock code can be entered to enable the theatre features on any Quantum338 console.  

With this partnership, there will be a dedicated Soundscape User Interface fully integrated into the surface of all DiGiCo SD and Quantum consoles, allowing front-of-house engineers to control Soundscape object parameters on the DS100 on the consoles.

“By partnering with DiGiCo, we are ensuring that Soundscape is accessible to FoH engineers in their preferred mixing and automation environment,” said Georg Stummer, Product Manager, d&b audiotechnik. “This integration will allow Soundscape to become an intuitive part of their creative workflow and design repertoire. It is important to us that we take the object based capabilities of our immersive toolkit as close as possible to creatives and their existing production environment.”

The partnership made it possible to replace the generic OSC control for the DS100 on DiGiCo consoles with an intuitive Soundscape control interface, integrating new features like free assignment of DS100 sound objects and different mapping areas for each channel strip of the console. All parameters and assignments of Soundscape User Interface can be stored and recalled with the console Snapshot memory.

This integration can be expanded for bi-directional communication between the console and DS100, via the d&b software bridge (Remote Protocol Bridge) while also supporting setup with two DS100s. By controlling two DS100s in sync within a redundancy setup or up to 128 sound objects on two different DS100 from one console.

“At DiGiCo we recognise that immersive sound technology is gaining rapid industry acceptance and represents an exciting future for our industry. We want to ensure that FoH engineers, and sound designers can access this technology at their fingertips as a normal part of their workflow,” commented Austin Freshwater, MD at DiGiCo. 

Since its launch in 2018, d&b Soundscape has provided audiences worldwide with an immersive audio platform that shapes deep and intense connections between audiences and artists. Utilising object-based mixing, Soundscape enables localisation and imaging of sound objects within the chosen sound design field. Soundscape can also modify or create emulated acoustic signatures, both indoors and outdoors. A d&b Soundscape system comprises: the DS100 Signal Engine, and two software modules, En-Scene, for object-based positioning; and En-Space for room-emulation.

DiGiCo’s theatre extension software for its Quantum and SD ranges of consoles has made it the ubiquitous choice of theatre sound designers in the West End and on Broadway. Now, DiGiCo has released the ‘T’ software for the SD12, introducing this console that has found great favour in the live music market to the auditoriums of theatres around the globe.

Featuring powerful, refined hardware and Stealth Digital Processing, the SD12T’s functionality and work surface are reconfigured to provide the specialist theatre programming tools that deliver the versatility needed for theatre sound design, rehearsal and show operation.

The new SD12T has 96 inputs as standard, 48 busses and a 12 x 8 Matrix and features a flexible, expandable I/O structure that includes dual DMI card slots making it perfect for expandability with industry formats such as Analogue expansion, Dante and Waves SoundGrid.

The SD12’s extensive local I/O section offers eight mic line inputs, eight line outs, eight mono AES/EBU, dual MADI in/out and optional Optocore for expanded Rack connectivity.

“Our T consoles address so many of the specifics of theatre productions,” says DiGiCo Brand Ambassador, Dan Page. “In recent months, our theatre customers, particularly those working on regional tours, have been asking for another compact, cost-effective desk. The SD12 is  popular in other market sectors and fits the bill for them in terms of size. Adding the theatre specific software tools now gives the SD12 the same feature set as with our other ‘T’ consoles, making it the ideal addition to the T range.”