Allen & Heath DX168 Portable I/O Expander

The Allen & Heath DX168 is a portable remote I/O expander that adds 16 mic preamp inputs and 8 XLR outputs to any compatible dLive, SQ, or Avantis system. What makes the specification meaningful in practice is the delivery mechanism: all 24 channels of audio travel across a single Cat 5e cable, up to 100 meters, carrying both the audio data and remote control signaling for all 16 preamps. This eliminates the traditional multicore analog snake between stage and FOH — and with it, the weight, the setup time, and the ground loop risk. The preamps live in the box itself, so your signal is converted to digital at the source and stays digital all the way to the console's DSP engine. In a system where headroom and noise floor matter, keeping the analog path as short as possible is a meaningful engineering advantage.

The DX168 is designed for touring professionals and rental companies running Allen & Heath digital consoles on mid-size live events. Its carry handle and floor-ready chassis reflect a product engineered to be thrown in a van, set on a stage, and connected in minutes — not rack-mounted in a permanent install. In practice, it excels as a drum or band riser input hub, as a secondary stage-left input box on festival rigs, or as the primary stage connection for the SQ series in small-to-mid-size venue applications. The 8 outputs serve monitor engineers well, providing local XLR feeds for wedge drives or IEM transmitters without running additional cable back to FOH. For any engineer already committed to the Allen & Heath ecosystem, the DX168 represents the most efficient way to expand a rig's physical reach without compromising the system's audio integrity.