BUDGET digital snake

Anyone out there have any advice for a cheaper alternative Yamaha Tio unit. I help manage a mid size auditorium with a Yamaha TF5 board with one stage box currently. The problem is that after undergoing renovations over the summer, we lost some mic inputs around the stage. We now rely heavily on a Dante unit for connecting devices on stage. Looking for a cheap way to get more inputs onto the stage and some how integrate them with the current Dante stage box setup.

Thanks,
Joe
 
You'll have a hard time finding anything more cost-effective that than a Tio1608-D. At $62.50/input MAP, there just aren't many options that can get you the same number of inputs. Even Shure's 4-input interface box is $195/ch. There are some 2in or 2out boxes in the $400 range by Studio Technologies and RDL. Stewart Audio has a 2in/2out at about $500.

Unless you only need a couple channels, the Tio1608-D is about as cheap as they come. If you want to pay a little lower than MAP, call your favorite dealer for a quote and you should be able to get at least a few bucks below MAP.
 
Whirlwind series digital snake ... es4t Dante version.

My only thing to point out is that the ES4T isn't equivalent to the Tio1608-D. The ES4T is just an audio transport snake -- it doesn't have any preamp capabilities. Regardless, each part of the ES4T is $2,500 (for a total of $5k for the Transmitter/Receiver combo). Not exactly the most budget friendly when compared to the Tio1608 at a pretty low $1k.

Anyhow, about the cheapest way to get inputs to stage is get more copper run to use the Local I/O on the TF5 and your only other option is to get more Tio1608's. I can't find anything conclusive if a Rio3224 would work with the TF5...You can surely pipe audio into the console because it's Dante, but I don't know if the Head Amp control uses a different control mechanism between the Rio and the Tio boxes.
 
you could but just the T-Dante version ... if for some reason he's against the tio ...

another options for simple line level inputs would be a simple 4 pair balanced audio over cat5e snake ... if there is already cat5 run ...
 
you could but just the T-Dante version ... if for some reason he's against the tio ...

another options for simple line level inputs would be a simple 4 pair balanced audio over cat5e snake ... if there is already cat5 run ...

The T-Dante version would only function as a very expensive line-level input box as it has no preamps. It's literally 2.5x the cost of the Tio, I believe the original issue with the Tio was that it was too expensive.

A Balun is a pretty elegant solution if Local I/O exists, and would be good for mic level or line level audio. The ETS Insta-Snake is pretty great for the price.
 

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