DirectOut Technologies has announced ACE - Dante and ACE - Milan, a compact smart audio platform that combines playback, PA drive rack, routing, redundancy, and monitoring tools in a travel-ready half-rack format. The unit is built for applications such as playback rigs, system tuning, drive rack setups, portable I/O, and custom signal processing systems.
ACE is based around selectable ACE Modes, which provide task-specific control through globcon interfaces. Playback Mode is built for primary and backup computer setups, vocal processing inserts, output routing, and EARS, short for Enhanced Automatic Redundancy Switching. PA Mode supports drive rack setups with EQ, dynamics, delays, native Smaart integration, pre-configured signal flows, and redundant input management. PRODIGY Mode gives access to the same globcon-style control environment used across the PRODIGY and MAVEN Series, with advanced routing, mixing, summing, snapshots, and redundancy features.
On the hardware side, ACE includes four headphone outputs, four mic or line inputs, four line outputs, four AES3 inputs and outputs, four MADI SFP cages, Word Clock I/O, GPIO, and dual audio network ports. The audio network version can be ordered for Dante or AVB/Milan, with 64 I/O channels at 48 kHz. It also includes a management Ethernet port, USB control, and dual lockable USB-C power inputs for redundant power.
The front panel includes four 1/4 inch headphone outputs, one 3.5 mm headphone output with alternate assignment for Phone 1, menu and back buttons, a high-resolution touchscreen, a rotary control encoder with push function, and power status LEDs. The rear panel layout shows the redundant USB-C power inputs, USB ports, management network port, audio network ports, MADI SFP cages, Word Clock BNC connectors, GPIO, mic/line I/O, and AES3 I/O.
Key technical specifications include sample rates from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz, MADI support for 48k and 96k frame formats, 56, 57, and 64-channel modes, and S/MUX. The analog input sensitivity range is listed from -55 dBu to +24 dBu, with switchable -9 dB pad and switchable +48 V phantom power. ACE also lists A/D SNR at -118 dBFS RMS from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, D/A SNR at -119 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and maximum power consumption of 60 W.
The unit measures 310 mm wide, 1 RU high, and 210 mm deep, with a listed weight of about 2.5 kg. It uses an external 60 W grounded power supply and two lockable USB-C power inputs. ACE also features a 3.5-inch touch display with 340 x 800 px resolution, two push buttons, and one encoder knob with push functionality.
ACE includes access to Ask.DirectOut, DirectOut’s AI-based assistance service, intended to support setup and system design. According to the launch information, users select a preferred ACE Mode during activation and can expand functionality later through additional perpetual licenses.
For engineers who need a compact system for playback, system tuning, routing, redundancy, or portable I/O, ACE brings several DirectOut tools into a smaller format while keeping support for common pro audio formats including MADI, Dante or Milan, AES3, analog I/O, Word Clock, and GPIO.