Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 1 - Key Component Evolves Toward the Totally VirtualMix-systems manufacturers still see a place for both virtual and hardware solutionsBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednesday, January 14, 2026 - 7:00 am
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Audio mix consoles have long been the heftiest component of audio studios of any sort, from sports to music. However, thanks to such developments as cloud connectivity, along with audio's much lower bandwidth requirements versus video, some of those audio anchors are able to go almost completely virtual.
As is typical in evolutionary shifts in technology, the next generation relies on the previous one for such facets as form factors and functionality.
For example, Lawo mxGUI software displays a console-like graphic user interface, representing its actual mc console, on a touchscreen. It originally served as a backup solution for situations in which the mc console was no longer available, explains Christian Scheck, head of marketing content, Lawo, but it has also allowed countless audio engineers to preconfigure the Lawo console on their laptop for their next assignment, for instance, while traveling to the venue or production hub. Our decision to separate DSP processing from the mixing surface - they live in separate boxes - has been instrumental in the development of mixing solutions that allow operators to decide to what degree their setup should be virtual.
Graphic user interface provided by Lawo mxGUI software provides puts the company's actual mc console on a touchscreen.
In fact, he adds, the virtual system evolved in tandem with the features added by subsequent system-software releases for the mc platform, essentially pacing further development of the hardware. But it's not a second choice to hardware by any means, he stresses. As more REMI operations put nodes of sports-audio production in smaller locations - a mixer's basement, garage, or spare bedroom perhaps - it solves problems that hardware cannot.
It has become the cornerstone of any virtual audio-production solution available from Lawo, Scheck says. A 32- or 64-channel system can be surprisingly compact: for instance, consisting of mxGUI, the HOME mc DSP app running on an affordable generic server like a Minisforum workstation, a six-fader crystal table-top mixer, connection accessories, and a touchscreen. Where necessary, the number of DSP channels can be flexibly scaled as required. When an even more compact solution is required, audio engineers can omit the mixer and just work with the mxGUI app.
Virtuality is also synonymous with flexibility, he continues. Virtual consoles, he notes, more easily integrate with other software-based automation platforms, such as Lawo's KICK 2.0 ball-tracking system for soccer broadcasts, and for managing external signal processing, which is mainly software-based, in the form of plugins.
Walking the Evolutionary LineManufacturers offering virtualized mix options are carefully walking the sort of line typical of any inflection point in technology evolution, acknowledging the need to move away from hardware while retaining the familiarity of its form factors during design.
For traditional studios, says Jim Kuzman, director, content, Telos Alliance, which markets the Axia Altus and Altus SE virtual mixing systems, hardware consoles provide the comfort and familiarity of physical buttons, knobs, and faders, while virtualized consoles open up opportunities when a hardware console isn't practical or convenient. Thanks to AoIP protocols like Livewire+ and AES67, hardware and software mixers can coexist on the same network, so users are free to choose whichever solution makes the most sense for any given environment or situation.
Thus, integration of virtualized and conventional workflows is taking place on an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary basis - not surprising given the relatively conservative pace at which broadcast-sports production adopts new workflow technologies and techniques.
While virtual resources are seldom exclusively used in live-sports-broadcast scenarios, many broadcasters and content providers are routinely augmenting their hybrid setups to gain extra capacity and flexibility, explains Henry Goodman, director, product management, Calrec, which markets its True Control 2.0 platform for distributed DSP and control. The priority for broadcasters going forward will be selecting the right acquisition and deployment models to align with the commercial realities of each production. They can dynamically scale up and down to meet specific project demands, leaning into temporary, virtualized processing resources instead of investing heavily in capex infrastructures. This gives broadcasters more room to maneuver, especially for one-off productions that need just a temporary boost of additional processing power.
Costs Are a FactorVirtualized platforms also acknowledge the current economic exigencies of the broadcast and streaming sectors. Where marketing efforts might have once appealed to buyers' technical concerns, they now do so with budgets and operational efficiencies in mind as well.
Virtual consoles offer a lot of flexibility in terms of where and how they can be used, Telos's Kuzman points out. Instead of talent and production staff coming to the studio, the studio comes to them, whether they're all in one place or scattered around the world. The surface itself is available on nearly any connected computer or tablet with an HTML5 browser, and the engine can be hosted locally on COTS hardware or on a cloud-hosted platform. This kind of flexibility and fast deployment make virtual mixers ideal for live sports.
Paul Shorter, senior product manager, Evertz-owned Studer Audio, sees economic benefits in what has been a digitall
