Each StudioLive RM-series mixer comes equipped with an AVB network card that can be replaced with an optional Dante card. Use AVB to cascade two RM-series mixers to create a larger system or connect the RM mixer to a StudioLive AI-series front-of-house console; use the RM32AI as a stage box and monitor mixer; and send audio to and from a StudioLive CS18AI control surface.

Or go with Dante to send and receive networked audio for multitrack recording and connect to hundreds of Dante-enabled products—including Macs and Windows PCs running Audinate’s Dante Virtual Soundcard software and PreSonus StudioLive AI-series loudspeakers and WorxAudio loudspeakers that are equipped with a PreSonus SL-Dante-SPK option card. Whether you choose AVB or Dante, you can control your RM mixer from a Mac or Windows PC and from a StudioLive CS18AI control surface.

We made networking an RM-series mixer as easy as possible. Your wired networked devices connect with lightweight CAT5e or CAT6 Ethernet cable, eliminating bulky, expensive analog snakes. You never have to create an IP address or enter a subnet mask, or even know what those are.

That said, we understand that corporate, educational, and government environments require secured, firewalled networks, which requires some expertise. We gave you that capability, too: The networking backbone of PreSonus AI technology is registered with IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority). Simply open port 47809 to let AI control network traffic through. And while you don’t have to create IP addresses, you can manually assign static IP addresses if you wish.

We start with a great microphone preamplifier. The job of a microphone preamplifier in a digital mixer is to boost a microphone-level signal to line level before conversion to the digital domain. A good preamp boosts the level to almost 400 times that of the original signal, making the preamp one of the most important stages in an interface. A cheap, off-the-shelf, op-amp-type mic preamp delivers thin, noisy, harsh results. But with XMAX preamps, the sonic quality is limited only by the microphone you plug into it.

XMAX preamplifiers are built with three key elements:

• Class A. Class A circuits have no crossover distortion and deliver purer, clearer, and more musical results than the Class AB designs that are found in many preamps.
• High Voltage. The XMAX preamplifier runs on power rails of 30V. Most off-the-shelf, op-amp-based designs run on power rails of 10V to 18V. Higher-voltage power rails deliver more headroom, deeper lows, smoother highs, and a richer overall sound.
• Discrete components—not op-amps. We only use genuine transistors, resistors, and capacitors. Op-amps add noise, coloration, and harshness to a signal. Our discrete design delivers ultra-low noise and transparency.

The net result of the XMAX preamp design is high headroom, low noise, wide dynamic range, extended frequency response, and—most important—musicality and transparency.

​Once the signal is precisely converted to the digital domain by high-quality Burr-Brown converters, synchronization to your computer is stable and robust, thanks to JetPLL synchronization technology. JetPLL incorporates noise shaping to virtually remove all audio-band jitter, ensuring near-perfect clock performance and optimal converter performance when networking two or more digital-audio devices. JetPLL quickly locks to any digital format through a wide range of frequencies and is extremely robust and tolerant of wide variations in clock frequencies. As a result, you’ll experience better stereo separation and clearer, more transparent audio.

The XMAX preamps in StudioLive RM-series mixers offer another advantage: They are recallable. In 1995, PreSonus patented digital control over analog circuits with our first studio product. Building on this legacy, we created a separate digital volume-control circuit ahead of our analog XMAX preamp design, providing the convenience of digital recall without sacrificing fidelity. So StudioLive RM preamps can be remote-controlled with UC Surface software or a StudioLive CS18AI control surface, and when you load a StudioLive RM mixer scene, the preamp trim values are recalled along with the other settings.

If you’ve mixed many shows, you know that securing the mixing station can be crucial when you step away for any reason. Securing your wireless remote control system is an even bigger issue because a hacker could be anywhere in the venue. That’s why StudioLive RM-series mixers with UC-Surface software have security features that effectively protect the entire system—in addition to whatever protection your wireless router affords. UC-Surface lets you set permissions that determine which features can be controlled from each iPad or laptop on the network.

With UC Surface, you can decide whether a given Mac, PC, or iPad can have full access or limited access to all or just to one aux mix. When using QMix-UC for iPhone/iPod touch and Android, you can enable each device to control an entire aux mix or just the Wheel of Me. The rhythm guitarist is quite capable of creating a good monitor mix, so allow him to do it. But that lead guitarist is sure to mess up his monitor mix and then complain that he can’t hear—so build a monitor mix for him and just let him use the Wheel of Me to get “more me.” You also can assign specific iPhones/iPod touches to control a specific aux bus, which means that jokester bass player can control his own mix but can’t mess with the singer’s mix.

Here’s the best part: You can completely block any iOS device from accessing the network entirely, even if someone has the router password. That hacker who wanted to take over the system and managed to break through your router’s firewall? Foiled!