---
title: "Allen & Heath SQ: audio into DMXDesktop"
description: "Send a stereo music feed from a Allen & Heath SQ mixer to DMXDesktop for Live Wire and beat detection, with a music-only setup."
canonical: https://www.dmxdesktop.com/knowledgebase/allen-heath-sq-audio
lang: en
source: /knowledgebase/allen-heath-sq-audio
---

# Allen & Heath SQ Series: audio into DMXDesktop

SQ gives you a 32-in, 32-out USB-B interface with a completely open patch: any output or tie line can be sent to any USB channel. Setting up a music-only feed for DMXDesktop takes about two minutes.

This article is part of [Connecting a Sound Mixer to DMXDesktop](/knowledgebase/connecting-a-sound-mixer), which covers the shared rules and the problems common to every console.

## [Models covered](#models-covered)

- SQ-5
- SQ-6
- SQ-7
- SQ-Rack

## [What you need](#what-you-need)

- A USB cable to the rear **USB-B** port.
- On Windows, the Allen & Heath SQ USB ASIO/WDM driver.
- On macOS, nothing extra.

## [Connect the console](#connect-the-console)

1. Connect the rear USB-B port to the computer.
2. On Windows, install the SQ USB driver.
3. In DMXDesktop, open **Settings → Audio** and select the SQ.

**Older firmware only.** From firmware V1.6, audio goes to SQ-Drive (a USB stick or drive in the SQ-Drive socket) and to USB-B at the same time. On older firmware, such as V1.5, the two could not run together, and a setting under **Setup → Audio → USB** chose between them. If that setting is on SQ-Drive, DMXDesktop hears nothing, however you patch it.

## [Fastest setup: the main mix](#fastest-setup-the-main-mix)

Out of the box, USB outputs 1 and 2 already carry the Main LR mix. If nobody has changed the patch, there is nothing to do on the console.

1. Open the **I/O** screen and select the **USB** output tab.
2. Confirm USB outputs `1` and `2` are fed from `Main LR`. If they are not, patch them back.
3. In DMXDesktop, select channels **1** and **2**.

## [Recommended setup: a music-only bus](#recommended-setup-a-music-only-bus)

1. Set up a stereo Mix bus and name it `DMXDesktop` so it does not get repurposed.
2. Unmute the Mix master and set it to 0 dB.
3. Send each music channel to it at 0 dB, and choose pre-fader or post-fader sends. Keep the sends fully down on speech microphones and talkback.
4. Open **I/O → USB**.
5. Patch the Mix's left and right to USB outputs `1` and `2`, in place of Main LR.
6. In DMXDesktop, select channels **1** and **2**.

Tie Lines are the other option, and they bypass channel processing and fader control entirely. That is occasionally what you want, but for lighting a stereo Mix is easier to reason about and easier for the next engineer to find.

Music channels

players, DJ, live band

Speech mics and talkback

not sent to DMXDesktop

↓→

Stereo Mix

named "DMXDesktop"

↓→

USB out 1 / 2

I/O screen, USB tab

USB↓→

DMXDesktop

channels 1 and 2

## [Choosing the tap point](#choosing-the-tap-point)

If you feed USB from direct outputs rather than a Mix, the tap point matters. SQ direct outputs can be taken from several points, including post-preamp, post-HPF, post-gate, post-insert return, post-EQ, post-compressor and post-delay, and follow-fader and follow-mute are set globally. Turn follow-fader on if you want the lighting to follow the channel faders. A Mix bus patched to USB already follows its own sends and master.

## [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)

**Check the direction.** Every console has two USB patches and they are easy to confuse. You want the one carrying audio *from the mixer to the computer*. The other one decides what the computer plays back *into* the mixer, and changing it does nothing for DMXDesktop.

### Nothing arrives at the computer

Check the USB output tab of the I/O screen is patching what you expect. On firmware older than V1.6, also check **Setup → Audio → USB** is on USB-B, not SQ-Drive.

### The level ignores the fader

The direct outputs feeding USB have follow-fader off. Turn it on, or use a Mix bus.

## [Still not working](#still-not-working)

Work through the shared checks in [Connecting a Sound Mixer to DMXDesktop](/knowledgebase/connecting-a-sound-mixer), which covers the faults that are not specific to one console. If you need to contact support, have these five things ready, because they resolve most cases immediately:

1. The exact mixer model.
2. Your Windows or macOS version.
3. How the mixer is connected, and which USB port you used.
4. Which device you picked in **Settings → Audio**.
5. Which left and right channel numbers you selected.

For a console with a multichannel USB interface, a screenshot of the mixer's USB output patch is worth more than any log file.