InfoComm 2008—Las Vegas, NV
—Fort Wayne, IN-based Attero Tech has released its new VoiceBox 4 I/O CobraNet Audio Interface, the easy and cost-effective way to connect many audio inputs and outputs to a digitally networked sound system.
VoiceBox is a true, stand-alone CobraNet component, meaning that it needs only power and one CAT5 Ethernet cable to connect to every speaker, audio processor, mixing console, computer, and other digitally networked product in the larger sound system. It’s also a powerful four-in, four-out microphone and line-level preamplifier that fills the roles of several conventional devices.
Every VoiceBox input has selectable options for +12V phantom power, +0dB line-audio gain, +30dB electret mic gain, or +50dB dynamic mic gain. All connections also run through a digital signal processor (DSP), which can be modified to manufacturer applications to use custom audio processing. Each Box also contains an RS-232 port for transmitting control data across the CobraNet network through a serial bridge connection.
“VoiceBox offers sound-system designers an unprecedented amount of capability at an unbeatable price,”? said Mike Sims, Director of Marketing & Sales for Attero Tech. “It’s a powerful little Box on it’s own, but the CobraNet connectivity makes it absolutely indispensable by eliminating the tangled mess of analog cables that normally are involved in system installation.”?
CobraNet Eliminates the Complicated Mess of Analog System Design
Traditional sound systems carry analog signals over cumbersome and expensive three-conductor-shielded cables, with dedicated lines for every audio channel. Lines must be spliced, routed, and terminated to connect with a range of external equipment, and then rerouted any number of times for the audio to reach the appropriate destination.
In addition to the time and expense of pulling cable, analog-audio-system designers also fight signal degradation caused by excessive cable length, RF interference, ground loops, and line noise. Plus, there’s the added expense associated with testing for broken connections or incorrect wiring.
A CobraNet system uses specialized hardware and software to digitize and send high-quality audio across a standard Ethernet network. Just one CAT5 cable carries up to 64 channels of uncompressed 48,000 kHz, 24-bit audio to the network, eliminating much of the patchwork of analog cabling.
With VoiceBox, there’s no more need for an analog system’s crosspoint switches and matrix mixers to connect multiple sources to differing destinations. In a CobraNet system, all signal routing is done automatically over the network, which is intelligently controlled by the equipment software.
“Every systems integrator who has worked on an undocumented or mislabeled sound system understands the time-consuming nightmare of trying to straighten out and reconfigure what cable goes where,”? said Sims. “In contrast, CobraNet lets you reroute components without ever touching a single cable. Simply connect to the network with a computer, adjust device settings, and you’re done.”?
Full Build-Outs With Fewer Hassles
Whether used alone to patch into a system with other CobraNet-native equipment, or combining several Boxes together to connect analog microphones, speakers, and other equipment, VoiceBox lets installers finish build-outs more quickly, with lower overhead expenses, and experience fewer problems then ever before.
The versatility of VoiceBox makes it an ideal fit for applications where many permanent input and output devices are needed in a central location, such as auditoriums, meeting venues, convention centers, seminars, churches, and even building-wide installations. VoiceBox comes in a convenient half-rack-mount format, with high-quality three-pin depluggable audio connectors, a standard RJ45 Ethernet port, and 16VAC/750MA power input.
VoiceBox is also well suited for use in Attero Tech’s full Outside-the-Box CobraNet product series, which includes InBox (XLR/TRS/RCA inputs), OutBox (XLR/RCA outputs), and MatchBox USB (computer audio input/output). The full product series, along with a range of OEM-applied equipment, makes CobraNet-driven audio systems more accessible, cost-effective, and easier to install.
Attero Tech products are built from more than 20 years of experience in creating audio-visual systems for manufacturers and commercial audiences. For more information, visit
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AtteroTech specializes in system, hardware, software, and embedded firmware design, for a wide range of markets and application areas: audio networking, digital video recording and playback, whole-house control, and signal routing. AtteroTech provides service in systems engineering, project planning and management, software and hardware development, and transition to manufacturing, on both contract and complete turnkey solution basis. For more information, visit
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