Axia RAQ Broadcast Console

RAQ Rack-Mount Console Features

• 6 faders, each with instant access to any source. Assign any type of source to any channel with a simple twist of the Options knob.
• Proven surface-and-core architecture separates control from mixing processes. No audio passes directly through RAQ; all mixing and processing is performed in the QOR.16 Integrated Console Engine – so studio “accidents” don’t turn into off-air events.
• Software upgrade for QOR.16 integrated console makes the RAQ AoIP console AES67-compliant.
• Two stereo mix buses and a Preview (cue) bus.
• Alpha-numeric OLED displays below each fader always show the current audio source with audio confidence meter, and, when the Options knob is pressed, offer fast adjustment of fader gain trim, EQ, pan and balance and other features without panel clutter or intimidating controls.
• Channel-input confidence meters assure talent of audio presence before taking sources to air.
• Built-in three-band per-source EQ.
• Each fader’s context-sensitive Soft key can be used to activate talkback, start delivery system events, or perform other special functions.
• Every channel strip has a stereo Preview (“cue”) function, with a unique interlock system for fast cuing of multiple sources.
• Reconfigurable CR monitor section with direct-selection of Program buses and reassignable buttons that allow instant monitoring of external sources.
• Four custom Show Profile “snapshots” can be saved to instantly recall frequently-used console setups – useful to quickly prepare for interview segments, music-intensive programming, call-in talk shows, etc.
• Automatic mix-minuses for phones, remote talent, etc.
• Bright OLED meter display provides responsive, readable VU or PPM metering styles. Switchable display allows metering either Program bus.
• All functions can be accessed remotely for configuration, management and diagnostic purposes using any standard Web browser.
• Network gateway enables loading networked sources while simultaneously exporting outputs back to the network.
• Easy-to-deploy QOR.16 integrated console engine includes console CPU and power supply, DSP mixing engine, custom Ethernet switch with 6 Livewire® ports and 2 Gigabit ports for studio networking, 8 analog inputs and 4 analog outputs, 1 AES input and 1 AES output, 2 Mic inputs with switchable Phantom power, and 4 GPIO ports for machine control. I/O can be expanded using Axia xNodes.
• QOR.16’s integrated zero-configuration network switch is custom-designed for broadcasting — no switch setup required. Supports Simple Networking, allowing up to 4 QOR engines to be daisy-chained without the need for a separate core switch.
• Each QOR.16 can support two connected RAQ or DESQ consoles, or one of each.
• Fan-free, convection-cooled power supply for noiseless in-studio operation.
• Automixer available on all channels.

RAQ Rack-Mount Console In Depth

A big console for small spaces.

Not every studio requires a full-size mixing console. Not every studio is full-size, itself! But you still want the advantages of IP-Audio networking: the ability to send program audio to other studios, the ability to consume audio from satellite downlinks, remote codecs and phone hybrids, or to trigger routing scene changes from a user-mapped control panel. And you don’t want a toylike plastic pro-audio mixer — you want a real broadcast console that fits into a rack or turret, or on a small desktop space. A console with a small footprint, but big capabilities.

RAQ is a compact, special-purpose IP console from Axia. It may be compact in stature, but it’s big on features and performance. RAQ has “big board” capabilities you won’t find in other consoles of this size — automatic per-fader mix-minus, built-in EQ for voice and codec sources, and the ability to instantly load new local or networked sources to any fader with just the turn of a knob. Which means RAQ easily out-classes mixers with similar form factors — and even ones that take up much more room.

RAQ is a six-channel mixer over-engineered the Axia way, with super-duty rotary faders, aluminum front-panel, high-resolution OLED displays for channel assignment and metering, heavy-duty switches with LED lighting, and four Show Profile snapshot locations you can use to store and instantly recall favorite console configurations. One touch, and presto! Talent’s favorite sources are loaded, monitor source configured, and bus assignments made.

RAQ has two stereo mixing buses, plus a Preview (cue) bus, which makes it the perfect rack-mount utility mixer, whether in the studio, in an OB van, or in a road case. It fits in just 4 RU of space, so you can place it anywhere you need a full-featured, rack-mounted mixer: News booths, editors’ workstations, voice-over booths, dubbing stations, even small remote studios or club installations.

RAQ also features something else you won’t find on other compact consoles: a full-featured Monitor section. Along with headphone and Preview volume controls, you’ll also find a selector that lets you hear either Program 1, Program 2, or one of two External sources —helpful for monitoring off-air feeds, a processed headphone chain, or another studio. And you can finally say goodbye to Dymo labels and masking tape: each channel has an OLED display to show exactly what source is loaded.

Audio I/O, GPIO, console CPU, super-duty power supply, and even a network switch are all built into the QOR.16. Just plug in your mics, CD players, codecs, profanity delays, whatever. There are 16 audio I/O ports: two Mic inputs with switchable Phantom power, eight analog inputs and four analog outputs, and one AES/EBU input and output. QOR.16 also has four GPIO logic ports for machine control of studio peripherals, six 100BASE-T ports for Livewire devices, and two Gigabit ports with SFP for connection to the outside world. For more I/O, just add Axia xNode interfaces. And you can daisy chain as many as four QOR engines without the need for an external Ethernet switch, making installation even more economical.

And here’s the kicker: one QOR.16 can power two RAQ mixers — or a RAQ and a DESQ (RAQ’s six-fader, desktop-mount cousin)! Despite all these features, RAQ is so cost-effective, broadcasters are coming up with creative, new uses for them. We figured folks would use them for news booths, dubbing stations and guest performance mixers, but audio pros are also telling us they’d be ideal for broadcast remote kits, mobile trucks, for shipboard broadcasting, or as personal mixers. What else could you use them for? The possibilities are endless…