D&R AirLite-USB 

With the Airlite MK2 mixer you can now own a modern type of radio mixer for a very attractive price.  

It’s a new carefully handmade piece of precision equipment and well built around proven low noise circuitry.

It is an intelligent mixer with an internal USB control section that comfortably enhances daily use and even has a silence detector built in.

It is a reliable workhorse for the self-op production D.J.  

It has a built in Telephone VOIP functionality, 4 in/out channels of stereo USB and 3 very low noise Mic inputs. 

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The Airlite stands for a complete radio system, ideal for ON-AIR, Production and especially streaming to the web. It is built into a heavy duty RF shielded chassis, designed with elegantly rounded corners.

And...“dropped” into your furniture it gives that exciting radio look.

There is hardly no excuse that is keeping you from making radio you always wanted. 

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Built with a strong powder coated front panel for lasting looks, reliable and the result of more than 50 years of experience at D&R.
And.. we now have new silky smooth faders build in.

front panel

The Airlite MK2 mixer has 3 balanced, phantom powered mic inputs with inserts for voice processors, 8 stereo line inputs, 4 USB channels  and 1 Telephone VoIP channel.
A Cleanfeed output is available for connection to an external Hybrid.

Only one physical USB connection is the interface for transferring  4 stereo audio channels from and to your PC, plus control data from the control section and for the meter application.

The VoIP Channel 8 has its own USB connector to be able to have your calls coming from another PC. Connection to a second USB connector on your main PC is of course also possible.

Dedicated Talk back to the VoIP channel makes conversation with callers very easy.

The Cue bus is also a communication buss, so the announcer can easily have a discussion with the caller while ON-AIR.

Just hit the two related CUE buttons and you’re talking.

And... when a call comes in your attention is instantly drawn by a clear signal to be seen on the Meter screen.

There is a very musical 3 band Equalizer on channel 1-3.

The stereo Aux send can be selected  pre or post fader.  And all high quality low noise mic inputs have a high quality built in low cut filter.
 

The master section is designed for Radio. It houses all the master controls such as the stereo Aux send and return, Control Room Monitor (CRM), Announcer and a  high level, low impedance, phones output.  Auto Cue provides both the Announcer and CRM outputs to follow the CUE selections. CUE reset cancels all activated Cue selections.

Of course the Control Room Monitors are muted automatically to cut control room level when the D.J. Mic is active.  A Studio output (announcer) that normally follows the main output can be routed by activating Auto Cue  in a way any Cue signal that is selected can be heard. Three Talk-back switches individually activate the built-in talkback microphone which has its own gain control for communication to VoIP, Announcer and Aux outputs.

Talkback can also take place to all outputs at the same time.

The NON STOP button at the top of the design routes USB channel 4 to the program output when activated.

back panel

Fully compliant with USB 2.0 playback and record mode. 4x Stereo in and 4x stereo out.
Dedicated USB connector for VoIP processing.

Eight stereo line inputs, 4x USB channels.

Remote let's you can connect our Studio Remote for remote control of Mute(cough) and Cue communication.

The channels

mic line

 The Airlite MK2 has an internal USB voice tracking bus that can be directly routed to a play-out system with Voice tracking capabilities.

A very low noise mic input, followed by a musical equalizer, drives a smooth running fader that controls a stereo VCA.

As a result noisy faders will never happen in this design. Also the fader start is electronically detected. 

The Airlite MK2 can also be used for production while ON-AIR when it is put into the NON-STOP mode.

This Non-Stop switch routes the first USB channel directly to the main outputs. It does this also automatically when the internal silence detector detects silence.

The CUE switch is also a communication system to easily talk to callers outside the broadcast. The ON switch and also the fader have “fader start” possibilities when needed. 

usb

Every Airlite MK2 USB Channel can accept a stereo source from a play-out system.

Gain sets the input level. Cue is Pre listening and the ON switch and fader can activate tracks. The stereo line inputs  can accept  CD

players. The CUE is also a communication bus that allows callers on the VoIP channel to listen to the music and DJ without being on-air.

There are four USB stereo in- and outputs. The inputs are internally routed to channel 4 to 7 where the USB input of channel four is also routed to the Non-Stop switch. 

The USB outputs, seen as inputs on your PC, are connected to the Program output, Aux send, Voice track and Air-in.

The Air-In input can be connected to your external processing unit and in this way you can stream your processed signal directly to the Internet without the use of an extra sound card.

VoIP

Simply plug the dedicated VoIP USB  cable from the mixer to your PC and set up a connection, for instance with SKYPE.

A separate Gain control and VoIP send control let’s you adjust the send and return levels. 

An incoming line (visible on screen) can be pick up by the blinking Conn button, pre-listened by the CUE switch and brought into your radioshow by the ON switch and/or Fader.

If you want to use  an analog Hybrid, we have added an extra cleanfeed output and you can return the signal in the VOIP channel's line input. 

The internal built in Electret Talkback microphone can be routed to the caller outside the broadcast by activating the TB  to VoIP switch in the master section.

Or you can use your DJ mike by activating the CUE switches in both the DJ channel and the Telco channel.

control

On the right side of the Airlite MK2 mixer you see 16 illuminated (green/red) switches. 

These switches can be used to control functions in your Radio Automation software such as starting jingles. Recording a voice track while ON-AIR is one of the possibilities.  Just hold a CUE switch for 3 seconds and the mixer goes into VOICE TRACKING MODE. How easy! 

Any switch can perform a function of your play-out software that you decide would be convenient to control.

Master controls in the master section are Announcer, Phones and CRM.

When activating the Auto Cue for CRM and the Announcer, any selected CUE can be heard. 

As soon as the DJ mic opens the CRM mutes of course to avoid feedback.

TALK BACK to all important outputs is directly accessible on the right hand side. 

The NON STOP switch instantly routes the first USB stereo signal (channel 4) to the main outputs which makes the mixer available for (pre)production again.

smart programming

The Airlite MK2 modules can be easily tailored to your own needs as you can see on the software program pages shown below or in the manual.

All 8 modules have their own page  where you can program Cue reset enabled by line, Mic, Fader, On etc.

You can even decide if you want 10dB fader gain or not. 

Both ON-AIR busses 1 and 2 can be enabled by Line or Mic. 

You can even  program your own switch colors, activate the CRM mutes per module and program the Studio Remote and if you want your Phantom on or off individually,

this is programmable per channel. 

GPIO functions have the following states;  

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- Continuously   - Pulse by ON   - Pulse by OFF   - Pulse by ON/OFF

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And... all settings can be stored (write) and loaded (read), see the software pages below that indicates all its possibilities. The manual gives of course more detailed info on this subject

power supply

The Airlite MK2 is powered by an

external heavy duty switched mode power supply that accepts AC

voltages between 90 and 230 volts.

The control surface can be easily mounted inside furniture as a drop through unit.

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All in and output connections are conveniently made on standard Jack / Cinch and XLR connectors.

Power supply input is a heavy duty 5 pin locking XLR connector.

digital output option (AES)

It is also possible to create an AES 3 digital program output on your

Airlite MK2 unit. 

With this you can exchange digital audio signals between audio devices.

You can add this option, a set-up printed board, by mention this before your purchase at one of our dealers, or to purchase this printed board on a later moment inside the webshop. 

This board is easy to assemble at the backplain board on the inside of the unit.

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personalize

The modules can be easily programmed to your personal needs by way of activating specific mixing desk functions in the software.

All 8 modules have their own page, where you can program Cue reset enabled by Mic, Line, USB, Fader, On, Fader + On.

The MIC-ON bus (for your ON-AIR light) can be enabled by Mic, Line or USB.

metering software

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The Airlite MK2 sends out control signals over USB, based on the HID protocol. This also means that  the main output signals can be displayed on a TFT screen in a beautiful meter application.

Program and CRM stereo signals are shown on a high resolution PPM.

specs

INPUTS

Mic inputs : bal, 2 kOhm, XLR  ,48 volt Phantom.

Noise : - 128 dBr (A-weighted).

Sensitivity : - 70dB min, OdB Max.

Insert : Jack unbal. send 600 Ohm -10dBv.

Aux ret : unbalanced 10kOhm -10dBv.

Line inputs : unbal., 10kOhm, Cinch.

Gain : range of 40dB.

USB : 4x Stereo in and 4x stereo out.

Air input : - 10 dBv at 10kOhm stereo

Aux Ret : - 10 dBv at 10kOhm stereo

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OUTPUTS

Left/Right : + 6dBu bal /XLR. -10dBv/Cinch

CRM/Aux : + 6dBu unbal. on Cinch.

Headphones : 32-400 Ohm, Jack. (TPA 6120)

Announcer : 32-400 Ohm, Jack. (TPA 6120)

USB out : Program/Aux/Voice track/Non Stop

EQUALIZER

High : + / -12 dB at 12kHz shelving.

Mid : + / -12dB at 1 kHz bell curve.

Low : + / -12dB at 60 Hz bell curve.

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Digital AES/EBU main stereo outputs.

The console is prepared to accept an extra pcboard with all the electronics to create a full digital output on the already installed 3 pin XLR. 

The AES/EBU option of the Airlite can be configured as a 24 bit 48Khz or 24 bit 96Khz codec with the option of -9dbfs or -20dbfs reference. The codec used is from AsahiKASEI, manufacturer of codecs used in many Pro audio applications.

DIMENSIONS

Left-Right  : 482 mm

Front-Back   : 365 mm (8HE).

Height   : 103 mm.

Front panel thickness : 2 mm

Radius Corners  : 20 mm

Weight   : 10 kg.

Drop through hole : 449 x 344 mm
 

EAN Code: 7436917138162

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On the right side you see the status of various console functions. Indicators such as  ON-AIR 1 or 2,  Non Stop mode, Silence detection, Mic-On and CRM mute. And also incoming calls will be shown.

Channel status and input selection is displayed at the bottom of the TFT screen (not included in the delivery).

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At the same time this software application shows you a  professional looking Radio clock that is synchronized with your local PC.