Elk Live promises next-gen remote collaboration: “play music together like you’re in the same room”
Jam with up to four other players within a 620-mile radius
We may - fingers crossed - be approaching the end of the worst phase of the current pandemic, but the demand for remote collaboration solutions is unlikely to go away. That’s certainly what Elk Audio will be hoping, anyway, as it’s Elk Live remote collaboration music service - formerly known as Aloha - is now available for pre-order.
Its aim is ambitious: to enable up to five people within a 620-mile/1000km radius to play music together, in time, as if they were in the same room. That means no discernable latency and high audio quality.
To achieve this, Elk has come up with two products: the Elk Bridge, a high-performance network hub, and the Elk Live app, which offers video chat and monitoring controls. Your gear can be plugged directly into the Bridge, and it can also function as a 2-in/4-out USB audio interface.
The system enables you to send two channels of audio and receive the same from each player, and appears to work on PC and Mac.
Find out more on the Elk Audio website. The Elk Bridge can be pre-ordered now for $399/£289/€329, with the discount code PLAYWITHELKLIVE currently saving you 20%. Shipping is expected to be in the fourth quarter of this year.
A subscription to the Elk Live app, meanwhile, will cost $16/£12/€14 a month.
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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