Introduction
Dante by Audinate is an audio system that operates by ethernet connection over a network and has grown in popularity among churches and other live audio venues. It allows for a multi-device, interconnected audio network with relatively few cables and lightning-fast connection speeds.
Playback can connect to a Dante network* and use it as the audio device for sending tracks with one simple ethernet cable, removing the need for an audio interface, DI boxes, and other hardware necessary to run tracks with Playback.
NOTE: Playback does NOT support connections using Dante Via. Issues may be encountered when attempting to send audio from Playback to Dante Via.
Here are two options to connect Playback to a Dante Network.
Option 1 (Mac Only): Dante Virtual Soundcard
Connect Playback to a Dante Network using an ethernet cable
Access up to 32 individual audio outputs for routing Playback buses
Available only on Mac computers
The Dante Virtual Soundcard is a computer app that turns your computer into a connectable Dante audio device. Once connected to an available Dante network, DVS allows you to send and receive audio outputs from your computer to Dante.
Once Playback is installed on your Mac, follow the steps below to install DVS on your computer, and select it as your Playback audio device:
1. Download Dante Virtual Soundcard and purchase one-time license
Visit https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-virtual-soundcard for more details and download steps.
2. Connect your Dante network and your computer to the same wired network
Dante Audio I/O requires hard-wired connection. Make sure that your computer is connected via Cat-6 ethernet cable to a shared ethernet switch, router, or other device with other computers, mixing consoles, etc. that are connected to the Dante network.
When connecting a Playback device to the Dante network, we recommend strictly following Audinate's setup recommendations for the most reliable experience.
Ethernet Adapters:
If you're not utilizing an internal (built-in) Ethernet port on your Mac for connecting to the Dante network, you will need an ethernet adapter. Not all adapters will work reliably, and we suggest following Audinate's recommendations here: https://www.audinate.com/learning/faqs/dvs-usb-ethernet-adaptor-choice-for-macos-systems
3. Configure DVS for Playback output needs
Choose the number of audio channel outputs you need for Playback (16x16 or 32x32 recommended)
Select the network interface currently in use by the Dante Network (a successful Network Interface choice will show an IP address)
Press Start to initialize the connection.
4. Connect Playback to Dante
With DVS initialized and connected to the Dante Network, open Playback and navigate to Settings -> General.
Click on the "Audio Device" cell in settings
Choose Dante Virtual Soundcard as the Audio Device
Note: this will also select Dante as the audio device for your computer audio. Turn on Do Not Disturb to ensure no computer sounds are heard in the track outputs.
Route Playback buses to the desired outputs in the Dante Network. Keep in mind the output configuration you selected in DVS will be the number of available outputs in Playback (for the screenshot below, 16x16 outputs were selected in DVS, resulting in 16 available outputs from Playback to Dante)
5. Patch Playback outputs to Dante Network destination
Once Playback has been successfully connected to a Dante Network, all outputs from the Playback Bus routings will be available to patch to any other Dante device via the Dante Controller software.
Option 2 (iOS and Mac): Dante AVIO Adapter
One-dongle solution for sending audio from Playback iOS/Mac to a Dante Network
Up to 2 audio outputs available (Click/Guide for output 1, Tracks for output 2)
Dante AVIO adapters make it simple to directly connect any USB audio device to a Dante Network and send 2 audio outputs:
Helpful Links