Lawo R3LAY
Lawo R3LAY is a paid Windows software family for radio and broadcast audio workflows.
What Lawo R3LAY is
Lawo R3LAY is a paid Windows software family for radio and broadcast audio workflows. It includes the Virtual Sound Card (VSC), Virtual Patchbay (VPB), VRX4 and VRX8 Virtual Radio Mixers, and AoIP Stream Monitor. VSC connects RAVENNA audio streams with software clients on a PC, supporting up to eight incoming and eight outgoing connections to RAVENNA streams or virtual audio drivers. It handles one-to-one connections, offers prelisten monitoring for incoming streams, and provides a 1 kHz test tone generator for outgoing streams, but has no mixing or DSP. VPB manages streams on a Windows computer, routing audio between hardware interfaces and software clients through ASIO, WDM, WASAPI or MME drivers, with native RAVENNA support. VSC, VPB and AoIP Stream Monitor integrate with HOME for stream routing; VPB also supports dynamic sender and receiver creation and crosspoint switching. The family supports Windows 10, 11, Server 2019 and Server 2022, including virtual machines that may need real-time audio adjustments.
Good
- Supports RAVENNA audio over IP
- Offers virtual routing and patching
- Includes VRX4 and VRX8 mixers
- Integrates selected tools with HOME
- Runs on Windows Server systems
Watch out
- Paid software with no free plan
- VSC has no mixing or DSP
- VSC allows eight incoming and outgoing connections
- Virtual machines may need audio adjustments
Who it suits
It suits radio and broadcast teams managing RAVENNA and other network audio streams on Windows. It is also relevant to users needing virtual routing, mixing or stream monitoring components.
Verdict
Lawo R3LAY combines virtual audio connections, routing, radio mixing and RAVENNA monitoring in one Windows family. Its component limits and licensing requirements should be checked against the intended broadcast setup.
The facts
Each one read from Lawo R3LAY's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Audio drivers
- VPB works with non-proprietary ASIO, WDM, WASAPI and MME audio interface drivers.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- R3LAY VPB is delivered as a software download, requires a customer login to download, and requires a valid software license for activation.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The R3LAY knowledge page links user guides for VSC, VPB, VRX4, VRX8, AoIP Stream Monitor and advanced options.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Downloads
- The R3LAY documentation page links PDF user guides for VSC, VPB, VRX4, VRX8, AoIP Stream Monitor, and advanced options.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Ember+ integration
- R3LAY VPB supports an Ember+ Sink Source Matrix, which Lawo notes may break integrations that use its old Ember+ Matrix.checked 9 Oct 2026
- HOME integration
- R3LAY VSC, VPB, and AoIP Stream Monitor support integration with HOME, including stream routing; VPB also supports dynamic sender and receiver creation and crosspoint switching.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Product family
- R3LAY includes Virtual Sound Card (VSC), Virtual Patchbay (VPB), VRX4, VRX8, and AoIP Stream Monitor.checked 9 Oct 2026
- RAVENNA
- VPB includes native RAVENNA support for sending and receiving audio streams over an IP network.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Release
- The R3LAY release notes identify version 4.2.0.166, released December 12, 2025, for the R3LAY family products.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Stream monitoring
- AoIP Stream Monitor is a tool for monitoring RAVENNA streaming connections.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Support
- Lawo directs users with questions or update support needs to contact Lawo Support.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Supported systems
- R3LAY products are compatible with Windows 10 and 11 and Windows Server 2019 and 2022.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Virtual mixers
- The R3LAY product family describes VRX4 and VRX8 as Virtual Radio Mixers.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Virtual Patchbay
- R3LAY VPB manages audio streams on a Windows computer and can route audio between hardware interfaces and software clients.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Virtual Sound Card
- R3LAY VSC connects RAVENNA audio streams to and from software clients running on a PC.checked 9 Oct 2026
- VSC connection limits
- VSC supports up to eight incoming and eight outgoing connections to RAVENNA streams or virtual audio drivers.checked 9 Oct 2026
- VSC connections
- R3LAY VSC supports up to eight incoming and eight outgoing connections to RAVENNA streams or virtual audio drivers.checked 9 Oct 2026
- VSC monitoring
- VSC provides prelisten monitoring for incoming RAVENNA streams and a 1 kHz test tone generator for outgoing streams.checked 9 Oct 2026
- VSC processing limit
- VSC handles one-to-one connections and does not include mixing or DSP capability.checked 9 Oct 2026
- VSC purpose
- R3LAY VSC connects RAVENNA audio streams to and from software clients running on a PC.checked 9 Oct 2026
The company
- Headquarters
- Rastatt, Germanychecked 28 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- The maker lists compatibility with Windows 10 and 11, plus Windows Server 2019 and 2022; virtual machine use is possible with system tweaks for real-time audio.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Virtual machines
- R3LAY can run on a virtual machine, but the system may need adjustments to handle real-time audio.checked 9 Oct 2026
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