Stage boxes and I/O expanders that put your inputs where the band is, covering Allen & Heath’s DX, DT and AudioRack ranges alongside BSS install I/O. Portable expanders such as the DX168 and DT168 handle stage duty, the AR2412, AR84 and AB168 AudioRacks serve Qu, GLD and SQ systems, and Dante units like the DT02 and DT20 bridge consoles onto wider audio networks.

Protocol compatibility is the whole game. Each expander speaks a specific transport, dSnake on the AR and AB racks, DX on the DX range, Dante on the DT units, and each console port accepts a defined set of them, so confirm the exact console-to-expander pairing before ordering rather than assuming anything with an etherCON socket will work. Cabling deserves equal care: these links run over shielded Cat5e or better, and flimsy office patch leads remain the classic cause of intermittent dropouts on digital snakes.

Count channels with headroom, because an expander that exactly matches tonight’s input list leaves nothing for the support act, and monitor outputs run short just as easily as inputs. Option cards that add entirely new protocols to a console live in the neighbouring Option Cards category.