Lawo’s mc² 56 mixing console is - like its siblings - renowned for its superior sound quality. It therefore comes as no surprise that mc² consoles are used by the world’s most discerning recording studio, opera houses, concert halls, theaters and events. Available in frames from 16 to 144 faders, mc²56 supports a massive 1024 DSP channels, 256 summing buses and 128 Aux buses at 44.1 - 96kHz operation.

The mc²56 MkIII is optimized for today’s IP-video production environment, designed from the ground up for networking in complex production infrastructures, with full native support for SMPTE 2110, AES67 / RAVENNA, DANTE and MADI audio streams. Its renowned, best-in-class networking performance rises to even greater heights thanks to unique new capabilities such as IP-Share gain compensation and DSCA Dynamic Surface to Core Allocation. The flexibility of an IP infrastructure leaves ample room for additional applications, like low-latency conductor’s cameras, closed-circuit video distribution in the entire venue and lightning-fast hookups of outside broadcast trucks.

The latest iteration of the mc²56 – a console that virtually dominates the audio production industry – rises to even greater heights, incorporating groundbreaking capabilities drawn from Lawo’s flagship mc²96 while retaining the compact size, flexibility and versatile design that have made it the worldwide choice for applications as diverse as broadcast trucks and studios to live performance and recording.

Its native-IP A__UHD Core is Lawo’s new console core for mc² consoles and takes a decisive lead in processing power per cubic centimeter by delivering an astounding 1,024 channels of mc²-quality audio processing in just 1RU, while dramatically cutting power consumption — performance that previously required 5x the power and 10x the rack space.

Because reliability is paramount, the console’s local I/O provides dual-redundant IP network interfaces to deliver two simultaneous, identical, connections to the Nova73 router, following the SMPTE 2022-7 “Hitless Merge” standard for stream and port redundancy. Comprehensive local I/O includes 16 Lawo-grade Mic/Line inputs, 16 Line outputs, eight AES3 inputs and outputs, eight GPIO, and a local MADI port (SFP).

In addition to Button-Glow and colored touch-sensitive encoders, new color-TFTs provide clearer color-coding of channel strips for enhanced visibility and faster access in low light conditions, while Lawo’s revolutionary LiveView provides thumbnail previews of video streams directly in the fader strip.

mc²56 is well-suited for broadcast applications, with such highlights as multi-user operation, advanced mix assist systems (AutoMix, upmix, downmix and optional Lawo KICK), comprehensive Audio-Follow-Video functionality, integrated 3D/Immersive mixing tools and parallel compression.

For recording applications, mc²56 provides dynamic time-code automation, Lawo-grade mic preamps and processing, DAW remote control and a customizable signal chain with four independent dynamic modules. Features tailored to the performing arts include Selective Recall, Oversnaps (relative trim-sets), a comprehensive theater automation cue list including multiple triggers (MIDI, GPIO, LTC), Waves SoundGrid and Neumann DMI-8 digital microphone integration, and mirror-console operation.

Built-in loudness metering completes the package, giving full loudness control in broadcast, live, theater and HoW applications. mc²56 loudness metering adheres to ITU 1770 (EBU/R128 or ATSC/A85) specifications, and can monitor peaks and loudness separately, or in combination.