Live sound playback specialists DirectOut have announced the USB.MADI, the world’s smallest multi-channel soundcard developed in cooperation with RME Audio.
Renowned for their premium audio routing and conversion hardware solutions, DirectOut is the choice of many a professional audio engineer around the world: from the biggest global music tours such as Coldplay’s Music of The Spheres Tour and Linkin Park’s From Zero, to high-profile broadcast events like the Eurovision Song Contest, and theatrical productions including The Devil Wears Prada.
The DirectOut USB.MADI is a fully-fledged computer interface shrunk into an SFP module (Small Formfactor Pluggable), essentially making it the world’s smallest multichannel soundcard. It can be directly installed in any compatible DirectOut MADI SFP slot, with a USB-C connection for connecting to Windows and Mac computers.
The USB.MADI has been designed together with RME, a German pro audio manufacturer setting the standards for reliability from an audio interface, and a name equally trusted by audio professionals for its unwavering focus on audio quality and stability in live production environments.
Based on RME’s proven USB core, the USB.MADI delivers 64 channels of I/O at standard sample rates, with RME’s high performance drivers for macOS and Windows ensuring guaranteed low-latency interfacing between DirectOut devices and any DAW software.
Driverless operation is also possible thanks to the Class Compliant (CC) mode, making the interface instantly compatible with portable devices such as the Apple iPad, supporting flexible audio production for music venues, stadiums and festival tours.
When installed in a supported DirectOut device, such as the PRODIGY, Andiamo, or Maven Series, the USB.MADI unlocks features from both RME and DirectOut.
DirectOut’s proprietary EARS™ technology (Enhanced Automatic Redundancy Switching) ensures continuous audio playback, automatically switching to a backup rig in the event of signal loss – a true life-saver for any mission-critical show application.
The USB.MADI makes it easy to add USB audio interfacing (Mac/PC) to other DirectOut products such as the PRODIGY, ANDIAMO and MAVEN Series.
In addition, RME’s TotalMixFX control software gives the user comprehensive control over all audio inputs and outputs via the connected computer, including zero-latency sub-mixes.
The USB.MADI SFP module is the second collaboration between DirectOut and RME having starting with the USB.IO module several years ago, with both companies offering a wealth of expertise in developing another exciting addition to DirectOut’s live audio solutions.
Luca Giaroli, Strategy Manager at DirectOut says: “This new module is a testament of the mindset we have at DirectOut. Creating solutions that do not only enhance a particular product but improve workflows and interoperability throughout all our platforms making sure that all our customers can benefit. I’m looking forward to seeing what the USB.MADI will enable in all the vertical markets, and I am happy that we can again rely on the expertise of RME to provide high performance operation, resilience and undoubted audio quality.”
Matthias Carstens, Head of Development at RME adds: “At RME we can look back at more than 30 years of experience in computer audio interfacing. Our passion is to provide reliable and unquestionable audio performance to our users. Combining our battle-tested USB stack with the modular platforms of DirectOut is a perfect match.”
Find out more about the DirectOut USB.MADI