BSS Soundweb OMNI I/O Expanders: Unparalleled Open Architecture Audio I/O Flexibility

Al Crain

Drawing on decades of signal processing innovation, the BSS Soundweb OMNI platform is a highly scalable and flexible DSP solution that combines powerful hardware, intuitive software, and developer-friendly features to meet the wide-ranging demands of sophisticated installations. Just a few months since its debut at Integrated Systems Europe 2024, the platform has become one of the most talked about and demonstrated solutions in the industry.

Top industry publications are also taking notice. The platform was awarded three InfoComm 2024 Best of Show awards by AVTechnology, Sound & Video Contractor, and Installation.

Our ongoing BSS thought leadership series explores the platform capabilities and offers deep insights on maximizing the potential of this new standard for open-architecture DSP. We had a chance to catch up again with Al Crain, Product Manager for Digital Signal Processing at HARMAN Professional Solutions and an expert on BSS products and the long-running BSS legacy. This time around, we asked Al to share his insights on the new BSS Soundweb OMNI 16e and 32e I/O Expanders.

Al, thanks again for talking with us. What was the driving force behind including I/O Expanders in the Soundweb OMNI lineup?
Thanks for this opportunity. Because OMNI processors solely support AoIP (Dante & AES67) audio I/O, we needed a way for users to on and off-ramp analog and AES3 audio onto Dante within the OMNI ecosystem. Some of the traditional pain points that the new I/O expanders address include:

  1. Being locked into a set input/output channel count. As sound systems grow and evolve over time, the balance and type of inputs versus outputs will likely change. The audio I/O flex channels address this issue. In addition, because every audio connector supports analog and AES3, as your sources and destinations naturally migrate towards more of them being digital, the I/O channels can simply be set to AES3 via our powerful software, AVX Suite.
  2. Monitoring, troubleshooting, diagnostics, and IP configuration: All of the above can be accomplished via AVX Suite, however with OMNI there are huge advantages and conveniences to being able to do these via the front panel display with no laptop necessary.
  3. Since many Dante-enabled I/O devices only support 48kHz sampling, we needed to ensure that users had an I/O interface that supported both 48kHz and 96kHz to match the sample frequency of the processor.
  4. Having an I/O interface that was native to AVX Suite was a crucial design goal for the overall solution. Additionally, this allows us to implement Private Routing for Dante between Expanders and Processors.
  5. Lastly, we wanted to ensure users had access to an I/O interface that matched the premium sonic performance of our OMNI processors.

Why was it critical to offer GPIO ports with configurability as either input or output ports or analog or digital?
Good question. In the past, with our BSS London Series, there were only 12 dedicated general purpose inputs (GPI) and six dedicated general purpose outputs (GPO). With OMNI, we wanted to drastically upgrade the flexibility of our GPIO and that is exactly what we did. For example, on the 32e there are 24 fully flexible GPIOs.

Take a BSS Soundweb OMNI Tour from Integrate 2024

How important was it to ensure “one project, infinite devices” scalability and how does this enable more powerful system building capabilities?
BSS has always been known as the brand that is “undaunted by scale” however, as the scale of large venues has grown, we recognized that we needed to implement this same philosophy into our software which is used to design these massive scale projects.

Both the 32e and the 16e include the highest quality solid-state microphone preamp ever created by HARMAN – correct?
BSS has developed a reputation for offering superior sonic performance in the DSP space and since HARMAN is able to leverage decades of experience in building some amazing mic-preamps, we took it to the next level in mic-preamp excellence. Some improvements over our London series preamps include: moving from 48dB max gain to 60dB and going from 6dB steps to 1dB steps. Of course the star of the show is really the analog circuit design, which creates less noise and even higher dynamic rage then anything we’ve ever created.

Get an inside look at the new onboard scripting engine developed by AMX supporting the BSS Soundweb OMNI family.

Dante networking is deeply integrated in the Soundweb OMNI platform. Can you discuss the benefits of using Dante versus other protocols?
Plain and simple, it comes down to one thing: interoperability. Multiple different device types and brands integrate seamlessly via Dante. Because of this interoperability, the adoption rate of Dante has far exceeded that of any other AoIP solution so there was really no other choice for us but to go with Dante.

The internal Ethernet switch is an interesting feature. How does this simplify cabling and expand networking capabilities?
Not only does this network switch give you the ability to operate in switched or redundant mode for Dante, but you can also use the HControl ports in either of those two modes. In addition, for a “single cable solution”, you can merge the control and Dante network traffic onto a single RJ45 cable.

There has been significant praise on the inclusion of a full-color, interactive front panel LCD display. Can you share why?
The front panel LCD is truly versatile and a really nice included feature. One of its most powerful uses is the ability to view live meter data for every input and output. Even when the I/O is configured as AES3, you are able to see 48 total meters, using the 32e as an example.

Can you share some of the possibilities these I/O Expanders offer in standalone scenarios?
Great question. Yes there are many use cases for our I/O Expanders as standalone components to support other needs and requirements such as:

  1. Creating a long distance digital snake. Soundweb OMNI Expanders can be paired to transport audio over great distances by converting signals to and from Dante and leveraging IP networks.
  2. Using them with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) offers another convenient option. By using the high-quality mic-preamp to capture audio from up to 16 microphones (on the 32e), you could then send that audio into a DAW computer running Dante Virtual Soundcard.
  3. They could also be used as a format translator. You could use a single or a pair of I/O expanders to translate between two different formats such as translating analog inputs to AES3 outputs.

Watch this retrospective to explore over 45 years of BSS signal processing innovations and excellence.

Can you share some of the feedback integrators have been sharing on what they like most about the I/O Expanders?
We’ve received a variety of great feedback. Some comments we hear most often are how much they like that the I/O expanders show up in AVX Suite as a native device. Other comments are their appreciation that the inputs now accept up to +27dBu levels (vs. +20dBu with our London series). The inclusion of our 60dB mic-preamp has also been a welcome addition and they really love the benefits of the integrated, interactive full-color LCD display, with live metering for every I/O channel.

Thanks again for your time Al and for sharing your expertise on the new I/O Expanders.
It’s my pleasure. The team and I have enjoyed getting out to share the potential of this platform that we feel is going to truly move the needle on designing for a wide variety of projects and installs. If we can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to let us know – we are here to support you.

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Al Crain

Al Crain is Product Manager for Digital Signal Processing for HARMAN Professional Solutions.

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