Sound Devices Astral ARX32 Digital Wireless Receiver

The Sound Devices Astral ARX32 puts 16 channels of digital wireless reception in a single 1U rack space, each with HexVersity diversity across two to six antennas.

Software licenses expand it to 24 or 32 channels with no added hardware. SpectraBand tuning covers 169 to 1525 MHz for worldwide use, with three tuning bands that give about 72 MHz of operating bandwidth for transmitters. RF Mirror Mode runs it fully redundant. The ARX32 was formerly called the A20-SuperNexus.

Outputs and Networking

Audio leaves on native Dante, MADI, AES, and analog outputs, and the digital outputs carry up to 64 channels. Six network ports (two RJ45 and four SFP) can be set for Dante, Dante redundancy, and control, and two SFP slots take optical fiber Ethernet. It also bridges audio between MADI, Dante, AES, Optocore, and analog.

Control and Monitoring

A 12.4 in color OLED touch array shows and controls every channel, with a built-in real-time spectrum analyzer and scanner. AutoAssign sets several clean frequencies in seconds, and a web app runs the receiver from a browser on a computer, phone, or tablet. NexLink gives long-range remote control of the transmitters, and with GainForward the gain is set at the receiver or mixer instead of the transmitter.

Antennas and Expansion

Three BNC antenna input pairs take passive, bias-powered, or smart antennas in HexVersity or combiner mode, and a built-in 6-to-2 RF combiner suits multizone events. The rear BNCs cascade to other receivers, and the antenna signal loops through with zero loss if power fails. A PoE+ output powers devices such as the Astral Outpost, and the optional Astral Opto adds Optocore I/O and redundant power supplies.