This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "SoundGrid" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

SoundGrid is a networking and processing platform audio application made by Waves Audio and developed in cooperation with DiGiCo.^[1]

It consists of a Linux-based server that runs the SoundGrid environment, compatible plug-ins, a Mac or Windows control computer, and an audio interface for input/output (I/O). It provides a low-latency environment for audio processing on certain hardware audio mixing consoles, e.g., DiGiCo, Allen & Heath, and Yamaha.

SoundGrid is a proprietary Ethernet Layer 2 protocol and EtherType. It routes audio between networked I/O devices and processes it on plugin servers connected to the same network. The I/O device converts SoundGrid packets to standard audio protocols. It splits output to record on a standard digital audio workstation (DAW).

Using native processing, SoundGrid runs on standard CPUs under a modified Linux operating system (OS). Waves Audio says this provides "predictability, stability, and low latency," previously exclusive to dedicated DSP-based systems.^[2]

Separate computers provide SoundGrid processing:

• One or more SoundGrid servers are dedicated to audio processing in a customized Linux OS optimized for audio processing.
• A Windows or Mac computer runs SoundGrid Host, the host application, and the user interface.

Audio interfaces with SoundGrid by integrating a SoundGrid-programmed FPGA (Xilinx Spartan 3) into a mixing console's I/O ports. The FPGA receives I2S or other audio signal formats and converts them to the SoundGrid format. The FPGA also transfers control external messages between control nodes.

SoundGrid audio processing, system configuration, and monitoring are controlled by the SuperRack (previously MultiRack) SoundGrid control application, which runs on Windows and Mac computers, including embedded systems. SuperRack SoundGrid displays rows of virtual plugin chains, named Racks, each of which chains up to eight Waves plugins. A Rack processes audio from a user-selected input and sends the processed output to a user-selected output. SuperRack SoundGrid offers remote parameter control and navigation over MIDI or an inter-application API by integrating with the console's host application.

Users can configure SoundGrid systems and expand them by adding I/O or processing devices.

• Audio over Ethernet