In recent years, the distinction between studio and live sound has steadily faded. More industry pros now move comfortably between the two disciplines, bringing techniques and experience from one world into the other. Few have bridged that gap as extensively as Phil Wagner.
Wagner began his career in New York studios, working alongside legendary engineer Roger Nichols before moving into professional audio manufacturing. Over the years, he held leadership roles with industry mainstays such as Solid State Logic, Focusrite, Rupert Neve and Soundcraft, helping introduce new technologies to the market.
At the same time, however, he maintained deep roots in live production. His career began as a production assistant with promoters such as Bill Graham, Frank Russo and New York jazz promoter New Audiences, supporting performances at venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Today, those parallel experiences have come together in his newest venture, Violet Audio US.
As the North American distributor for Australia’s Violet Audio, the company officially launched this spring and made its trade show debut at InfoComm, introducing the dMix128 digital mixing platform and the broader dMix product family.
“The dMix128 was developed to address one of the industry’s biggest challenges,” Wagner says. “Customers need more channels, greater processing power and increased flexibility without dramatically increasing cost. Built around advanced FPGA technology, the dMix128 delivers full DSP across 128 channels and 88 buses in a compact, scalable and affordable platform.”
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While Violet Audio may be a new name to many, the company is built by experienced industry veterans. Under the direction of Operations Director Danny Olesh, Melbourne-based Violet Audio handles product design, engineering and manufacturing, while Violet Audio US, headquartered in Los Angeles, manages sales, fulfillment and technical support throughout North America.
That combination of experience and agility gives the company an advantage, says Wagner: “Violet Audio isn’t constrained by decades of legacy product decision. We’ve been able to design around today’s workflows instead of yesterday’s architecture. Our focus has always been to create an open platform that delivers an exceptional user experience while remaining flexible enough to grow with our customers.”
Initially targeting the installation and live production markets, Violet Audio also sees opportunities in broadcast, houses of worship, performing arts venues and hybrid production environments that require scalable, networked audio systems.
Wagner explains, “One request has consistently come from live sound engineers: more channels. The dMix128 answers that call with 128 fully processed channels at 96 kHz while making high-end capabilities accessible to a much broader market. The result gives regional production companies the tools to compete on larger shows and enables systems integrators to design powerful, future-ready installations without the traditional premium price.”
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Looking ahead, the company sees the dMix platform growing into a complete ecosystem of scalable audio solutions. “Our vision is to build a family of products that gives customers the flexibility to create the right mixing system for virtually any application,” he says. “By embracing open standards including AES67, SMPTE ST 2110 and NMOS, along with integration with OSC, Q-SYS and Crestron, we’re helping customers build audio infrastructures that can evolve as their needs change.”
Key to that strategy, says Wagner, will be a respectful focus on customer relationships: “We’re committed to listening carefully to our customers and continuously improving how we support them. Technology matters, but responsiveness, trust and partnership matter just as much.”
Drawing on his background in both fields, Wagner notes that the installed sound market values long-term reliability and strong relationships among manufacturers, consultants and integrators, while live production demands flexibility, speed and proven performance under pressure. “Our goal is to serve both worlds,” he says. “We want Violet Audio US to be known as a responsive partner that understands real-world workflows, anticipates challenges and helps customers deliver exceptional results—whether they’re designing a permanent installation or mixing a live performance.”