Alcons has introduced Sentinel, a range of amplified loudspeaker controllers that match the requirements of its loudspeakers.
The genesis of Sentinel came from Alcons engineers undertaking calibrated 1:1 listening tests between the company’s current ALC series amplified loudspeaker controllers and the products from various amplifier brands.
The Sentinel features 4-in/4-out input matrix routing, with internal 96kHz sampling rate.
Due to the custom-designed sample-rate conversion, Sentinel accepts any signal between 44.1 up to 192kHz digital AES3 format.
The future-upgradable DSP engine enables minimal latency during processing of even the most complex (IIR, FIR) algorithms.
DSP features include parametric equaliser (incl. shelf, notch, high/low-pass) and delay per channel, factory presets for all Alcons systems and configurations a.o.
The 'linear' preset enables the Sentinel to be used with third-party speakers, while maintaining full DSP functionality.
The 4 independent, patent-pending Class D amplifier stages and 2 redundant switch-mode power supplies all feature a microcontroller, allowing all parameters to be monitored and guided via the internal communication network. This means maximum operating efficiency (even with one power supply shut down) and extensive status/application logging can be maintained at all times.
The Sentinel is operated by a Linux-based main controller, through a colour 480x272 pixel TFT touch screen and RGD-LED rotary encoder.