Background

Back in July 2005, the Audio Engineering Society published the AES50 open standard, describing a method of using standard 100 Mbit/s Cat 5 computer cable to transmit multiple channels of digital audio.The SuperMAC technology behind AES50 had been developed by Sony Pro-Audio Lab, Oxford, and initially Sony promoted the adoption of the standard by offering to licence SuperMAC and its companion Gigabit Ethernet HyperMAC technology to other manufacturers.

By far the largest commercial application to date has been the decision by Midas to use this technology for the audio and control network of its XL8 Live Performance System digital console. Shortly after the successful standardisation of the format by the AES and the launch of the XL8, the decision was taken at a corporate level within Sony to put the networking part of the Sony Oxford lab up for sale, and both SuperMAC and HyperMAC were acquired by Klark Teknik, who are now making the technologies available on a royalty-free basis. As well as the XL8, SuperMAC and HyperMAC interfaces have been employed on the Midas Pro6 Live Audio System digital console and the Klark Teknik DN9696 High Resolution Audio Recorder.

SuperMAC and HyperMAC technology has been thoroughly road-proven on many high profile tours including Metallica, AC/DC, Oasis, REM, The Verve, Depeche Mode, OMD and Arctic Monkeys, and the now legendary one-off reformation of Led Zeppelin at London’s O2 Arena. Also benefiting from SuperMAC and HyperMAC audio networks are many outdoor festivals such as Glastonbury, T in the Park, Francofolies and the New York Metropolitan Opera in Central Park. Prestigious installations include Westover Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, the multi-role cultural arts centres in Suzhou and Shenzhen in China, the Malai Theatre in Moscow and the Shibuya-AX concert venue in Tokyo. Other major events include Placido Domingo at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, several Broadway Musicals and the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo.

SuperMAC (AES50-Compliant)

• 100 Mbit/s Ethernet over Cat 5/Cat 5e copper cable (100 metres)
• 24 Bidirectional channels @ 96 kHz (48 Bidirectional channels @ 48 kHz)
• Latency per link = 62.50 μs @ 96 kHz (also 48 kHz)
• 5 Mbit/s control data channel
• Separate twisted pairs used for audio data and clock

HyperMAC

• 1 Gbit/s Ethernet over Cat 5e/Cat 6 copper cable (100 metres) or 50/125 μm multimode optical fibre (500 metres)
• 192 Bidirectional channels @ 96 kHz
• Latency per link = 41.66 μs @ 96 kHz
• 200 Mbit/s data channel
• Clock embedded in data stream