US Senate Chambers Digital Audio System

A new, all digital audio sound system for reinforcement and broadcast in the Senate Chambers in Washington, DC. The system consists of over 100 individual "desk units" which contain mic preamps, A/D converters, D/A converters, Power amplifiers, and control circuitry. Audio, power, and control signals are multiplexed on a 2 pair cable which is home run over 400 feet to the Senate Recording Studio control room, where the audio is  patched and routed to a custom, fully digital mixing  / routing matrix, allowing 160 x 160 capacity with full mix-minus on all 160 outputs, in addition to several other new features not possible with analog units. The digital audio equipment was developed by our subcontractor, Peak Audio of Boulder, Colorado. This system was subsequently licensed to Peavey Electronics of Meridian, Missisippi, and went on to take over the installed sound market as the Peavey MediaMatrix system.

The first phase of the installation, the base wiring and drop panels, was completed in December 1992. Final completion was in January of 1995. The system is the first of it's kind and represents a giant leap in technology, with DCE at the center of the hardware development and systems integration.