Calrec used IBC 2026 to launch the Apex M6, a 1RU modular I/O platform built for audio interfacing, routing, bridging and network edge connectivity. Strip away the engineering vocabulary and it is a simple idea: a compact box that lets the main audio formats of a modern broadcast plant talk to each other from a single point.
A bridge between every audio world
The Apex M6 handles, in one chassis, the streams that until recently needed several converters and gateways. It supports SMPTE ST 2110-30, AES67, Dante, MADI, SDI, Waves SoundGrid, AES3 and analogue. In other words, it acts as a universal translator between audio over IP, legacy digital links and the analogue inputs still very much in the field. Anyone who has fought to make Dante, AES67 and ST 2110 coexist in one gallery will see the point immediately.
Modular and standalone
The M6 takes a range of I/O cards — analogue, AES, MADI, Dante — that you add or reconfigure without touching the console core. That is the classic modular logic, taken all the way: the unit runs independently of a Calrec console. It can therefore live as a converter and network gateway inside a mixed-vendor infrastructure, alongside other makers’ gear, rather than staying locked to the manufacturer’s ecosystem.
- Form factor: 1RU, compact, aimed at the network edge rather than the machine room.
- Roles: interfacing, routing, cross-format bridging and edge connectivity.
- Flexibility: swappable I/O cards, added inputs and outputs without replacing the core.
- Independence: usable on its own, with no associated console.
A building block in Calrec’s IP ecosystem
The Apex M6 arrives alongside the new Type RT console and extends the all-IP strategy Calrec rolls out across its ranges. The stated promise is more cost-effective edge connectivity: an affordable entry point for broadcasters and smaller facilities moving to IP without wanting to replace their whole chain at once. Set against the shift to networked audio, a flexible multi-format I/O box is a logical link — and often the quietest one in a gallery, until the day it is missing.
Frequently asked questions
Which formats does the Apex M6 actually bridge?
It supports ST 2110-30, AES67, Dante, MADI, SDI, Waves SoundGrid, AES3 and analogue in a single chassis. It therefore acts as a gateway between audio over IP, classic digital links and the analogue signals of an existing plant.
Do I need a Calrec console to use it?
No. That is one of its selling points: the Apex M6 runs independently of a Calrec console and can slot into a multi-vendor infrastructure as a plain converter, router and network gateway.
How is it different from a regular stagebox?
A stagebox mainly pushes I/O out to a remote point. The M6 aims wider: it is a modular network-edge platform that interfaces, routes and bridges several formats at once, with reconfigurable I/O cards and console-free operation.
Who is it aimed at first?
Broadcasters and more compact production facilities migrating to IP who want flexible, cost-effective edge connectivity without replacing their whole audio chain in one go.
My take
The I/O box is the link nobody notices as long as it does its job. By packing ST 2110, Dante, MADI, SDI and analogue into a standalone 1RU, the Apex M6 answers the real headache of IP migrations: coexisting with what is already there without binning it. That it runs without a Calrec console is the right signal — this is a bridge, not a captive door-opener. The crux will be the real price of the cards and the I/O density per chassis. Priced well, this kind of quiet building block does more for a smooth IP switch than plenty of flashier announcements.
