Installation guide
EXP2x Device
The EXP2x is a DanteExpansion Unit for the HAL1x expansion bus. Each EXP2x adds 32 Dante Receive and 32
Dante Transmit audio channels to your HAL System at up to 96 kHz sample rates. The EXP2x provides automatic
sample rate conversion for easy integration to the 48 kHz world of HALaudio with a Dante network at 44.1, 48,
88.2, or 96 kHz. Like all Dante devices, the Dante Receiver and Transmitter pair must be set to the same sample
rate and latency within Dante Controller in order to subscribe or connect to each others’ audio. As soon as the
EXP2x is connected, its Dante channels become available for use from within the Halogen software.
EXP2x Basics & Rane’s Dante set up philosophy
Unlike all other Rane EXP devices, names and all the settings inside the EXP2x are read-only in Halogen
software. The only thing you can do in Halogen with the EXP2x is click the Locate button to flash a light
on the front or rear to identify the device. Configure the EXP2x Dante device name, audio channel names,
audio routing, latency, sample rate, secondary Ethernet port mode, and every EXP2x setting using Dante Con-
troller software, available free from Audinate. https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-controller.
Once you’ve set the EXP2x settings on a live Dante system using Dante Controller and talked live to the
HAL1x using Halogen, all EXP2x settings and names are read from the Dante network and saved inside your
HAL and the Halogen configuration file. These settings remain saved and intact in the EXP2x’s Dante cards
(a Brooklyn II card from Audinate). You cannot edit these settings in Halogen. There is only one place to
make changes: Dante Controller – it is well-equipped for the job. Read the Dante Controller User Guide from
Audinate’s website. It is worth your time.
To connect, route or subscribe audio channels between any two Dante devices, all devices must be con-
figured with the same sample rate and latency settings using Dante Controller software. Because Rane has
chosen to disable editing of all Dante network settings inside Halogen software, this creates a clear dis-
tinction between where to go to configure or change a system. And there is no concept of pushing settings
from Rane to Dante or vice versa. All Dante audio network settings are managed, set up and configured using
Dante Controller.
Dante Subscriptions & Flows
When you route a receive and transmit audio channel using Dante Controller’s grid, Dante creates a single,
unicast Flow. This audio route is called a subscription. A single Dante Flow can contain multiple audio chan-
nels, typically 4 audio channels. The number of channels in a Flow can change as you add more sub-
scriptions, change latencies, or after you restart your network. It’s all about Dante optimizing network
bandwidth when it can as you subscribe audio channels between devices. Dante Controller lets you view and
manage Flows which may rarely be required.
When clicking the routing grid in Dante Controller, Dante only creates unicast flows. If you need audio to be
received by two or more devices, you must manually configure multicast Flows within Dante Controller. See
the Dante Controller User Guide for details such as using IGMP in managed switches to manage networks
requiring many multicast Flows. Also note that the different Audinate Dante implementations support dif-
ferent number of maximum Flows. The Audinate Brooklyn II card inside the EXP2x supports 32 Flows in and
32 Flows out, maximum. Unlike unicast Flows, by definition and default, multicast Flows use network band-
width on the entire network, even when no receivers are set to listen.
EXP2x Firmware
The Brooklyn II card inside the EXP2x has its own firmware that is a Rane-customized file specifically for
the EXP2x. Audinate does not have this, or any firmware file; the Dante manufacturer controls the firmware
file. Yet, like all HAL System firmware, the EXP2x Dante card’s firmware is included within the Halogen
software. Thus, only by updating Halogen software is it possible to update the firmware in the EXP2x Dante
CHAPTER 2: Introduction to the HAL System
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