Argo Q | The new standard for broadcast audio

Argo Q is Calrec’s largest cutting-edge flagship audio console, designed for premium broadcast operations that demand maximum power and precision.

Why you need an Argo Q

It excels with the highest channel counts, full IP interoperability, and a fully modular, ergonomic design that adapts to any workflow.

With user-defined panels and seamless ST2110 integration, Argo Q delivers unmatched control and clarity, making it the go-to choice for elite broadcasters who need the best of the best.

As easy as 1,2,3

We’ve squeezed everything into Argo Q for the ultimate hands-on mixing experience. With dual faders and double the physical controls of the smaller Argo S, there is no better control surface for flagship entertainment and sport productions.

Building an Argo Q mixing system is super simple. Argo Q meets all your needs, now and in the future. The flexible control surface hardware can be combined with any combination of DSP packs and I/O to deliver exactly what you need today, and enable you to flex in the future.

Argo Q’s approach to audio mixing enables you to adapt to your changing production needs, with a flexible control that breaks the traditional geographic ties between processing and control.

Natively IP, Argo Q is designed to sit on a full ST2110 network, but can also share I/O on an established Hydra2 network; Calrec’s range of Gateway devices enables Argo Q to adapt to any environment, enabling users to upgrade to an IP infrastructure whenever they need to.

With Calrec’s teams of certified IP specialists always on hand, we can even talk you through the options for support in the cloud.

Whatever you need in three simple steps.

Step 1. Argo Q | Design your surface

Build your entire surface with just six flexible and interchangeable panels. Argo Q’s panels are interchangeable within the same frame, as well as between Argo Q and Argo S.

With two mid-level rows, Argo Q has twice the panel control of Argo S; that’s eight fully featured and assignable rotary controls per fader.

1. Fader panel

Love faders? Argo can handle up to 240 of them, each with 12 dual layers and total flexibility of layout. Total control over every single path you can throw at it.

2. Monitor panel

Argo’s dedicated panel provides fast, efficient and extensive monitoring of any source, from anywhere on the network. Full coverage of everything, everywhere, and at all times.

3. Short throw fader panel

Double up on fader real estate for the biggest sports and entertainment productions with Argo's short-throw fader modules. Switch up your control whenever you need to get more hands on.

4. Soft control panel

Get a richer user experience with hardware panels that allow users to define functions and apply templates to deliver intuitive control whatever the production demands.

5. Touchscreen panel

Swipe, touch, tap, tweak and drag your way to full control over I/O, EQ, Dynamics, Pan, Delay and more. Argo’s optically bonded GUI provides fast visual access to all your settings.

6. TFT meter panel

Full and flexible metering across the entire surface, Argo's TFT meters are not only fully configurable for size and function, but its HD TFT is also beautiful to look at.

Step 2. Argo Q | Define your DSP

Argo Q has the most powerful audio processing core on the planet. With a choice of DSP packs up to 2384 paths, Argo Q is built around an expanded version of Calrec’s ImPulse technology.

Users can choose between ImPulse, the compact ImPulse1 core, and the ImPulse V cloud-based core, a virtualised Calrec audio mixing engine that can run on-prem or in a cloud native environment. ImPulse can power up to four independent mix environments, including headless mixers accessed via public internet.

ImPulse

ImPulse is a powerful audio processing and routing engine with AES67 and SMPTE 2110 connectivity and support for NMOS discovery and connection management. With up to 2384 channel processing paths the Argo Q ImPulse core is a powerful audio processing and routing engine. It has a range of user-upgradable DSP packs to meet every need and can run up to four independent DSP mix engines on a single core.

ImPulse1

The ImPulse1 IP engine is a smaller, yet powerful cost-effective version of the ImPulse core. Squeezed into just 1U, the ImPulse1 features dual AC PSUs and two cores for full redundancy or connectivity to multiple Argo Murfaces. With DSP licensing up to 384 input channels with no compromise to its ST2110 capabilities is is perfect for compact installation sites, such as outside broadcast and flypacks.

ImPulse V

ImPulse V is a cloud-based DSP processing core that provides a virtualised Calrec audio mixing engine in a cloud-native AWS environment. Leveraging patented x86 CPU optimal core processing (OCP) technology, ImPulseV delivers real-time responsive, efficient and deterministic audio processing of up to 128 input channels and supports full immersive formats to provide a full toolkit for immersive productions and Dolby Atmos workflows.

Step 3. Argo Q | Choose your I/O

Modular I/O

Create your own connectivity with Calrec's 3U modular I/O boxes, which provide 20 x I/O card slots that can be populated with a range of I/O cards.

Fixed Format I/O

Calrec's range of fixed format boxes are all compatible with Argo Q providing a wide variety of options across XLR, BNC and D Type connections.

Type R I/O

Argo Q can interface directly with all Type R I/O boxes; easy connectivity to Type R's AES and Analogue boxes as well as the convenient Combo I/O Interface box.

Internal I/O

Argo Q includes flexible expansion slots built into the surface to allow additional I/O to be connected directly to the control surface.

Argo Q | All the Apps

Calrec Connect

Total control across your entire IP network, Calrec Connect is a free stream manager which oversees the entire broadcast workflow. Delivering simple matrix control and comprehensive management, Calrec Connect gives you direct access to every audio stream and device on a network with the click of a button.

Calrec Assist

Built into Argo, along with remote surface options and True Control, Calrec Assist is a browser-based interface that creates virtual console environments for remote control, distributed working and ultra-flexible workflows. Calrec Assist provides full, interactive and real time control of an entire console from a single screen.

Calrec Configure

One application to rule them all: everything you need to configure the Argo Q system, including DSP, sample rate, system interfaces, I/O, GPIO, External AoIP I/O and Control Surface configuration.

Argo Q | Fully Featured

Resilient and redundant
Each section is fully self-contained with a section processor providing dual control links to redundant ImPulse cores or optionally redundant ImPulse1 cores.

Customised control
Argo excels at user customisation. Operators can build their own “wild” panel, program four button per fader, and even utilise 44 buttons on the monitor panel to focus operations to their workflow.

More of everything
More of what you need, where you need it; EQ and dynamics are available on all auxes and tracks, plus a stereo automixer, Ducker and variable slopes on filters.

NGA ready
Argo provides tools for immersive mixing and simultaneous multi-format outputs. Comprehensive downmixing and spill capability across channels, bussing and monitoring delivers absolute control of your immersive mix.

Multi-purpose screens
Argo meter and GUI touch screen sections have two video inputs; one allowing a video input to be displayed in ¼ of the screen, such as an RTW, or fullscreen, such as a preview monitor. The second allows the GUI touch screen to be used with a 3rd party device such as a clip player.

3rd party interoperability
Argo has familiar 3rd party control with Ember+, CSCP, SW-P-08, etc., and goes further with the use of a Calrec API. Anything controllable by the operator can be automated via the API with select control systems.

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