Amate Audio LMS206 2-In 6-Out Loudspeaker Processor

Amate Audio LMS206 2-In 6-Out Loudspeaker Processor – 64-Bit System Management in 1U

A loudspeaker system only performs as designed when each driver receives the right frequency band, at the right level, at the right time, with protection against the signals that can damage it. The Amate Audio LMS206 is the processor that sits between the mixer and the amplifiers to do that work. It takes two inputs and provides six outputs, all on balanced XLR connectors, in a 1U rackmount unit built on a 64-bit floating point DSP architecture with 24-bit conversion at 48 kHz.

Originally developed to bring the system configuration capability of Amate Audio’s Nitid active loudspeakers to passive systems, the LMS206 is fully configurable for any loudspeakers it is paired with. Twenty factory presets cover common combinations of Amate Audio Nitid and Key passive models for fast setup, while eighty user memories store your own configurations under password protection for touring and installed systems that must come back exactly as they were left.

Key features

• 2 inputs and 6 outputs on balanced XLR, freely routable
• 64-bit floating point DSP with 24-bit, 48 kHz conversion
• 10 parametric EQ bands on every input and every output
• Delay up to 2 seconds per channel for time alignment
• Butterworth, Bessel and Linkwitz-Riley crossovers up to 24 dB per octave
• RMS compressor and fast peak limiter on outputs, 80 user presets

Processing on every channel

Each input and each output carries ten parametric equaliser bands that can be configured as bell, notch, high or low shelf, all-pass, band-pass, high-pass or low-pass filters, with frequency adjustable at 1 Hz resolution for precise correction work. Crossovers offer Butterworth, Bessel and Linkwitz-Riley characteristics up to fourth order, and each output has two crossover sections, which supports band-pass operation for mid and subwoofer outputs from a single channel. An input dynamic range of 110 dB and a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz within half a decibel keep the processor itself out of the audible picture.

Delay, dynamics and protection

Delay lines of up to two seconds per input and output handle everything from aligning a subwoofer stack with the main arrays to correcting lip-sync and distributed delay fills across a large venue; two seconds corresponds to roughly 680 metres of acoustic distance. Dynamics processing combines an RMS compressor with an ultra-fast peak limiter, so average levels can be controlled musically while genuine peaks that would endanger drivers or clip amplifiers are caught instantly. Polarity is switchable per channel, an essential check when systems are assembled from mixed cabinets.

Control from the panel or a computer

The front panel provides full configuration through its keypad and two-line backlit LCD, with LED level, clip and limiter indication on every input and output, so the unit can be set up and checked without a laptop. For larger work, a USB connection links the LMS206 to Amate Audio’s DSPLink software for Windows and macOS, giving a graphical view of routing, EQ curves and dynamics. A security lock protects finished configurations against casual changes, which matters in venues where many hands pass through the rack.

Where it works

The six outputs suit the classic configurations of small and medium systems: stereo two-way or three-way operation with subwoofers, a bi-amped main pair plus fills, or several zones fed from a stereo source with individual EQ, delay and limiting per zone. At 44 mm high and 2.3 kg, it adds that capability in a single rack space in a touring rack or an installation rack alike.

For passive loudspeaker systems that currently rely on amplifier DIP switches and hope, the LMS206 replaces guesswork with measured, storable, recallable system tuning, which is the difference between speakers that are merely loud and a system that is properly managed.