Yamaha Stage Box SB168-ES Digital Snake System
by Karl Bader, 01.11.2010
The 3U-size Yamaha SB168-ES (Stage Box) is a digital snake that provides
16 channels of analog inputs (with individual head amps) and eight
analog returns, all delivered on a single Cat-5 cable (up to 100 meters of
length) via EtherSound's open standard of digital audio delivery.
Audio is sent at uncompressed 24-bit and
44.1 kHz/48 kHz resolution. The Stage
Box also works as a conventional
EtherSound analog input-output box.
Sheer Possibilities
Out of the box, my first impression of
the SB168-ES was surprise at the sheer
number of possible hookups. The shop
where I was working used all Yamaha digital
consoles; to ease setup, we could take
these as singles in separate racks. Taking
out the LS9-16? Take one. The LS9-32?
Take two. The M7CL or PM5D? Take three
of them. To make them work with different
setups is as easy as readdressing
through dipswitches on the front of the
units.
Then I realized the possibility of using
the unit as a digital sub-snake. With it, I
would no longer need the entire snakehead
in one spot, either on stage or in
amp-land. Doing a corporate show? Drop
one Stage Box in video-land for all your
inputs and outputs, and drop another
near the stage for podium and wireless.
Have a band stage? Place one behind the
drummer and one on each side of the
stage, or whatever your needs are. Then
all the cabling needed is a Cat-5 with
either a standard or Ethercon connection.
Loop all the units together and send a Cat-5 to the console.
For console interfacing, there are a
couple of card options for the Stage Box.
Yamaha also sent along a MY16-ES64
Ethersound Interface card. This card can
only handle one of the Stage Box units,
thus limiting my abilities in testing. It was
quite easy to use, though. Pop it in the
back of the console, and then just plug
the Stage Box into it via Cat-5. [According
to the manufacturer, "It should be noted
that this card can be expanded to handle
up to four SB168-ES units by adding the
MY16EX-CA card. Head amp control will be
limited to three stage boxes at a time." — Ed.]
When setting this up for the first time,
I found two main problems. The input and
output connections for the Ethernet cable
have to be in the right configuration; if
not, the console will recognize the box,
but it will not pass signal. The second
problem deals with the head-amps for the
stage box. Head amps can be controlled
through the ES Monitor software, or from
the console; this is how you adjust gain,
phantom power, and high-pass filter. The
head amps can be controlled via channel
views of the M7CL and LS9 (both used in
my evaluations): The M7CL uses the
RS232 port, and the LS9 using the internal
(slot) RS232 port.
Maybe this is not a big deal for some,
but the way I look at it, I have to either
bookmark one of my user-defined keys or
flick through a couple of pages to adjust.
Granted, head amps are not often adjusted
after soundcheck, but it does slow
down the process, especially if in a hurry.
With the Yamaha PM5D console, the head
amp remote can be patched to the MY16-
ES64 card by a DB9 connector on the
back of the console to the back of the
card. This presents another problem: saving
console settings. A touring act — if
not carrying a console, snake, etc. — has
to have two settings for the console (one
with the head amps and one with the use
of the Stage Box in the slot) to accommodate
for this. ["This could be as simple as
storing a scene for each configuration,"
explains a manufacturer representative.
"I believe this is the case with any console
when a different set of inputs is
used." — Ed.]
Another card option that I did use was
the AuviTran-Ethersound Mini-YGDAI
card, AVY16-ES100. This card is not
made by Yamaha and is considerably
cheaper than its Yamaha counterpart. It
requires some configuration via
EtherSound, which sometimes can be a
headache on setup. ["The Auvitran is a
16-channel-only card," explains a
Yamaha representative. In direct comparison,
"the Yamaha card can be
expanded to up to 64-I/O by adding the
inexpensive MY16-EX cards." — Ed.]
Summary
Overall, the Yamaha SB-168-ES is a great
add to a rental house that primarily owns Yamaha consoles. Its simplicity, ease of use, and flexibility offer
some great options for rental and touring solutions. The MY16-
ES64 Ethersound card provided ease of use, and quality digital
signal to and from the console. The flexibility of the system — not
to mention the savings of space and weight in the truck, thus
decreased physical labor — would likely save enough money to
pay for the unit sooner than you might think.
Karl Bader is an audio technician that works for Bethlehem, PA-based Blue Chip Sound. karl@bluechipsound.com