Allen & Heath DT168 Dante Expander

Increase your connectivity and enhance your capability with the DT168 Dante Expander from Allen & Heath. With its rubber bumpers and carrying handle, it’s an ideal piece of gear for portable uses such as touring bands or mobile houses of worship—and any other application where you need mobile solutions to increase your connection options.

Boasting a convenient stagebox build, the DT168 gives you 16 microphone preamps, complete with 96kHz converters for premium sound quality over Dante, as well as 8 XLR line outputs. Primary and Secondary Dante ports allow you to daisy-chain or add redundancy using locking EtherCon connectors. Use this expander in combination with an SQ Dante or dLive 96kHz Dante card to add up to 16 units to an AHM-64, SQ, Avantis, or dLive system. (All external equipment and cards sold separately.)

This expander comes with DT Preamp Control, a Windows/macOS app that lets you control multiple DT expanders remotely and lets you use them with Dante-equipped third-party digital mixers and sound management systems. The DT168 is also AES67 compatible and Dante Domain Manager (DDM) ready.

Use the optional 19-inch rack-mount kit (sold separately) to make this portable expander a permanent solution to installed sound systems.

More about Dante

Developed by Audinate, Dante is a revolutionary, Ethernet-compliant audio networking technology that was designed specifically to meet the increasing demand for high-performance audio, particularly in live sound applications. Dante also allows for flexible routing and offers an affordable solution to computer recording. Dante uses a CAT5 cable and standard networking components to distribute multiple audio streams, plus integrates control data with sub-millisecond latency.

Allen & Heath DT168 Features

• Dante audio expander, 96kHz / 48kHz
• Portable stagebox design
• 16 mic preamps on XLR with Phantom Power status LEDs
• 8 XLR Line Outs
• Primary and Secondary Dante ports with locking EtherCon
• Redundant or Switched mode
• Direct preamp control from dLive, Avantis and SQ
• Optional 19-inch rack mount kit available
• Rubber bumpers and carry handle
• AES67 compatible
• Dante Domain Manager ready

• DT168 Dante Expander1

• Mic/Line XLR Inputs: Balanced, +48V Phantom Power
  • Mic/Line Preamp: Fully recallable
  • Input Sensitivity -60 to +15dBu
  • Analogue Gain: +5 to +60dB, 1dB steps
  • Pad: -20dB Active PAD
  • Maximum Input Level: +30dBu (PAD in)
  • Input Impedance: >4kΩ (Pad out), >10kΩ (Pad in)
• Mic/Line Channel noise: 22-22kHz, Direct Out @ unbalanced out
  • Mic EIN: -127dB with 150Ω source
  • Unity gain: (Pad in) -90dBu
  • Low gain (5dB, Pad out): -96dBu
  • Mid gain (30dB, Pad out): -90dBu
• Mic/Line Channel THD+N: 22-22kHz, Direct Out @ unbalanced out
  • Unity gain (Pad in): 0.003% -88dBu @ 1kHz, 0dBu output
  • Low gain (5dB, Pad out): 0.002% -93dBu @ 1kHz, 0dBu output
  • Mid gain (30dB, Pad out): 0.003% -88dBu @ 1kHz, 0dBu output
• Analogue XLR Outputs: Balanced, Relay protected
  • Output Impedance: <75Ω
  • Nominal Output +4dBu = 0dB meter reading
  • Maximum Output Level: +22dBu
  • Residual Output Noise: -92dBu (muted, 20-20kHz)
• DANTE
  • Sample rate: 48kHz or 96kHz
  • Bit Depth: 24 Bit
  • Gain, Pad, 48v Control: Allen & Heath dLive, Avantis, AHM-64 or SQ system
• Operating Temperature
  • 0 deg C to 40 deg C
  • (32 deg F to 104 deg F)
• Mains Power100-240V, 50/60 Hz, 40W max
• Dimensions and Weight (W x D x H)16.1 x 7.5 x 7.3 inches, 10.1 lbs (410 x 190 x 185 mm, 4.6kg)