This is an online repository of FAQs, in-depth "how to" Knowledge Base guides and Technical Bulletins regarding Cadac CM-Series products

Cadac was founded in 1968. The name is derived from the first letter of each of the founders’ Christian names: Clive Green, Adrian Kerridge, David Bott and Charles Billet. The company’s first console was installed at the legendary Morgan Studios in London.

Cadac is an acronym formed from the first names of the company’s four founders: Clive Green, Adrian Kerridge, David Bott And Charles Billet. The company was established in the United Kingdom in 1968.

Cadac Consoles is based in Luton, England, and operates as part of SCC Audio Ltd.

Every product in the Cadac CM Series is designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom. This gives Cadac direct control over build quality, performance standards, and long-term reliability, and reflects the same engineering values that have defined the brand for over 50 years.

Cadac’s heritage spans more than five decades across recording studios, theatre and live sound. From the late 1960s, Cadac consoles were installed in prestigious recording studios worldwide, shaping the sound of countless iconic albums. In 1984, Cadac entered the world of theatre, supplying a bespoke console for the West End production of Little Shop of Horrors at the request of sound designer Martin Levan. This began decades of Cadac consoles at the heart of major productions including Wicked, Billy Elliot, The Lion King, Jersey Boys and The Phantom of the Opera. Today, Cadac continues that legacy with the CM Series, designed for the demands of modern live audio production.

Cadac’s current product range is fully digital. The CM Series, comprising the CM-J50 digital mixing console, CM-SR stage racks, network bridges, the CM-RT12 MegaCOMMS Router and the CM software apps, represents the company’s focus today. Cadac’s analogue heritage, including the legendary J-Type theatre console, remains part of the brand’s identity and forms the audio character of the CM Series. The Cadac mic preamps newly designed for the CM system carry that lineage directly into the digital domain.

The Cadac CM Series is designed for professional live sound applications across concert touring, theatre, fixed installation, house of worship and broadcast.

Cadac works with a network of authorised distribution partners across key global markets. For a full list of current distributors and regional contacts, please visit our Partners page.

The CM-J50 has a through-system latency of under 0.4 milliseconds. Cadac treats latency as a first-order engineering concern, differences of less than 0.1ms affect audio quality, and the CM-J50’s automatic latency management system synchronises all internal routing and processing before summing to ensure absolute phase coherency at every output.

The CM-J50 operates natively at 96 kHz, with 24-bit conversion and 32/40-bit floating-point internal processing. The console runs at 96 kHz throughout the signal chain rather than upsampling from 48 kHz, and all connected CM-SR stage racks and network bridges operate at the same native rate.

The CM-J50 uses 24-bit A-D and D-A conversion, with 32/40-bit floating-point internal processing. The combination delivers a wide dynamic range, a low noise floor and the headroom required for transparent summing across high channel counts.

The CM-J50 has 96 input channels and 56 output buses, which are configurable as auxiliaries, groups, stereo auxes or matrix outputs. In Monitor Mode, 54 busses are available; in FoH Mode, 48 buses are configurable. Local I/O on the rear panel consists of 16 analogue mic inputs, 8 analogue outputs, and 8 AES3 inputs and outputs. Additional I/O is available via CM-SR remote stage racks connected over MegaCOMMS.

The CM-J50 provides full processing on every one of its 96 input channels; there is no shared DSP pool and no channel count reduction at higher sample rates. Each input channel includes a six-band parametric EQ with selectable dynamic EQ function, a gate, a dual-mode compressor with side chain filter, and full routing to all 56 output buses. Every output bus has its own 1/3-octave graphic EQ and compressor/limiter. In addition, the console provides 16 stereo effects slots, each with reverb, modulation and delay elements, plus an integrated 64×64 Waves SoundGrid interface for plug-ins and recording.

Yes. The CM-J50 includes 16 stereo effects slots as standard. Each slot provides reverb, modulation and delay elements, all accessible directly from the touchscreen and assignable to any input or bus. For engineers who want to extend the console’s effects capability further, the integrated 64×64 Waves SoundGrid interface allows up to 64 channels of Waves plug-ins to run simultaneously alongside the native effects.

The CM-J50 natively uses MegaCOMMS — Cadac’s proprietary high-density audio network. It also supports Dante/AES67 via the CM-DT64 network bridge, MADI via the CM-MD64 network bridge, and Waves SoundGrid via the console’s integrated 64×64 Waves interface.

Yes. Dante integration is available via the Cadac CM-DT64 Dante network bridge, which connects to the CM-J50’s MegaCOMMS coaxial ports and supports up to 64 bidirectional channels at 96kHz. The CM-DT64 also supports AES67 and is configured via Dante Controller software.

Yes. MADI integration is available via the Cadac CM-MD64 MADI network bridge, which connects to the CM-J50’s MegaCOMMS coaxial ports. The CM-MD64 is AES10 compliant and supports up to 64 bidirectional channels at 96kHz. MADI connections are available via BNC coax or optical.

MegaCOMMS is Cadac’s proprietary high-speed audio network protocol. It carries 128 channels of 24-bit, 96kHz audio plus control data and clock, bi-directionally, between the CM-J50 console and connected CM-SR stage racks or network bridges. MegaCOMMS connections are made via RG6 BNC coaxial cable or duplex LC optical fibre, with optical connections supporting distances of up to 2,000 metres from the console.

Yes. The CM-J50 includes an integrated 64×64 Waves SoundGrid interface as standard, providing connectivity to Waves SuperRack. Up to 64 channels of Waves plug-ins can run simultaneously alongside the console’s own native effects. The Waves interface can also be used for multitrack recording and playback via the Waves QRec App on PC or Mac, enabling a full virtual soundcheck workflow. Waves licences are required and available separately from Waves.

Yes. Multitrack recording and playback is handled via the integrated 64×64 Waves SoundGrid interface using the Waves QRec App on PC or Mac. Up to 64 channels can be recorded at 96 kHz, and the same interface supports virtual soundcheck, playing recorded tracks back through the console as if they were live inputs, allowing engineers to refine mixes without the band on stage. A Waves licence is required for QRec and is available separately from Waves.

Yes. The CM-J50 supports Console Mirroring, which allows a second CM-J50 to operate as a hot standby, providing full system redundancy for mission-critical productions. The console also features dual internal auto-switching PSUs as standard.

Console Mirroring is a redundancy feature that allows a second Cadac CM-J50 to be connected as a live backup. In the event of a failure, the mirror console can take over the mix, making it suitable for mission critical applications.

Sidecar Mode allows the CM-J50’s control surface to be extended across up to three consoles simultaneously. This gives engineers significantly more hands-on physical fader control without any change to the underlying mix architecture, useful for large-scale productions requiring access to a high number of channels at once.

The CM-J50 is designed to be instinctive, like an analogue console, rather than having to be studied. The interface centres on a 23.5-inch optically bonded touchscreen with an intuitive GUI, without complex menu layers to navigate, where faders and encoders map directly to whatever channel or bus is on screen, so the workflow stays immediate and direct. Engineers familiar with other professional digital consoles consistently report a short adjustment period. For first-time users, Cadac and its distributors offer training and product demonstrations on request.

CM-SR stage racks connect to the CM-J50 via MegaCOMMS. Using RG6 BNC coaxial cable, the maximum connection distance is 150 metres. Using duplex LC optical fibre, stage racks can be placed up to 2,000 metres from the console, making the CM-SR series suitable for large-scale venues, festival stages and complex multi-stage environments.

All three are 4U or 7U remote stage racks that connect to the CM-J50 via MegaCOMMS, using the same high-performance I/O cards as the console itself. The differences are in I/O configuration: CM-SR24 (4U) — 16 analogue mic inputs, 24 analogue outputs, 8 AES3 in/out CM-SR40 (4U) — 32 analogue mic inputs, 8 analogue outputs, 8 AES3 in/out CM-SR64 (7U) — 56 analogue mic inputs, 32 analogue outputs, 8 AES3 in/out All three include a 2.4-inch colour local display, headphone monitoring, OSC implementation, MegaCOMMS on coax and fibre, and dual internal redundant PSUs.

The CM system includes two software iOS applications for remote and offline control: The CM-Remote iPad app provides wireless control of key CM-J50 functions from an iPad, suited to both fine-tuning and monitor mixing. The CM-Monitor app for iPhone and iPad gives individual performers real-time wireless control of their personal monitor mix, with support for an unlimited number of iOS devices.

Yes. The CM-J50 has 16 fully programmable local mic inputs built in, alongside 8 analogue outputs, 8 AES3 inputs and 8 AES3 outputs, allowing it to operate as a standalone console without a remote stage rack. For larger productions requiring additional I/O, CM-SR stage racks can be connected via the two MegaCOMMS ports on the rear of the console.

Two MegaCOMMS devices, CM-SR stage racks or audio network bridges, can be connected directly to the rear of the CM-J50. For larger systems requiring additional stage racks, the CM-RT12 MegaCOMMS Router will expand this to a network of up to twelve MegaCOMMS devices.

Yes. The CM-J50 includes a dedicated Monitor Mode, Cadac's unique operating mode designed specifically for the monitor engineer. It provides access to 54 user-assignable busses in sends-on-fader mode, with Mix Focus to reduce screen clutter, Channel Flip for routing a single input to multiple destinations simultaneously, and Bus VCAs for full VCA mixing within each bus. The console's sub-0.4ms latency is particularly well suited to in-ear monitoring, where timing is critical to performer comfort and confidence on stage. For personal monitor mixes, the CM-Monitor App allows performers to control their own mix from an iPhone or iPad, with real-time wireless control and support for an unlimited number of devices.