Modular multi channel DIY AD/DA Box

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Wow, am I late to this party!  I was searching for AD converters and stumbled upon this wonderful project.  I've pretty much taken the last several years off from DIY as life has gotten in the way.  I sure wish I would have found this when the ADC boards were still available!

Anyway, I have one question.  Without a clocking module, how do you plan on clocking the ADAT interfaces with the Presonus Lightpipe unit?  Are you going to use ADAT sync, or word clock?  I'm just asking because ADAT sync is notoriously jittery, and this would defeat the purpose of a really good converter.  I know that word clock is not perfect either, but it would be better than ADAT sync, no?

As for how long I've been away.....  I'm just now finishing up my mnats dual 1176 Rev D (ver 1) that I populated years ago.  (back when we were still on the old forum)
 
rkn80 said:
ptron said:
is there still available 8 channel DA boards and an adat board?

ptron, I only have one 4 channel DAC pcb left. For the ADAT there was no group buy yet. I'll offer that as soon as the ADAT out is ready and working.

ptron said:
what should i need if i want this configuration ? do i need another board to work as clock??

The basic configuration for you is: ADATin + DAC. You need only a power supply with +/-15V and +5V extra. You can configure the ADATin to be the master of clocking, then the internal clocks are recovered from the ADAT stream. The basic configuration can also be built with AESin + DAC. Then the AESin recovers the internal clocks from one of the AES-streams.

R.
Hey thanks a lot! Is this project is easy to diy? I would like 8 ch DAC if poss but could go for 4 to begin with just into too many projects now to tackle a new one i think ill end up stumbling .. But this thread is nice imgoing to keep a close eye!

U planning on another run of DAC Boards?

Thanks a lot ! Great project, again.
 
ptron said:
U planning on another run of DAC Boards?

Not sure yet. If there is enough interest I can do. A group buy makes only sense for at least 25 boards or so.

R.
 
usekgb said:
Anyway, I have one question.  Without a clocking module, how do you plan on clocking the ADAT interfaces with the Presonus Lightpipe unit?  Are you going to use ADAT sync, or word clock?  I'm just asking because ADAT sync is notoriously jittery, and this would defeat the purpose of a really good converter.  I know that word clock is not perfect either, but it would be better than ADAT sync, no?

No question. An extra word clock would be the better solution. But as long as there is no working board for it you need to find other solutions. Or you have to wait months if not a year before you can build your first prototype. It is a free-time project... Waiting so long is not what I want. ;) Therefore, first I'll build a unit clocked by an incoming ADAT stream and later add a word clock module.

R
 
Andy Peters said:
XMOS is a processor family, and the channel count supported is more a function of USB bandwidth, and not the processor itself.

Anyway, since the ADAT boards support 32 ins and 32 outs it might be a good idea to design an USB interface with the same channel i/o configuration and the same pinout of the connectors.

I need to do some math, but I don't think High-Speed USB will support 64 simultaneous channels, even at 48 kHz.

Well I'm not familiar with USB. But with Firewire you can do 64 channels. But I think newer USB connections have the same or a higher bandwidth then Firewire, haven't they?
 
rkn80 said:
Andy Peters said:
XMOS is a processor family, and the channel count supported is more a function of USB bandwidth, and not the processor itself.

Anyway, since the ADAT boards support 32 ins and 32 outs it might be a good idea to design an USB interface with the same channel i/o configuration and the same pinout of the connectors.

I need to do some math, but I don't think High-Speed USB will support 64 simultaneous channels, even at 48 kHz.

Well I'm not familiar with USB. But with Firewire you can do 64 channels. But I think newer USB connections have the same or a higher bandwidth then Firewire, haven't they?

Yes, USB 3.0 Super Speed is 5 Gb/s, significantly faster than FW 800 or USB 2.0. But you won't see any Super Speed audio devices until the device controller chips are readily available.

-a
 
sr1200 said:
Then theres the "Thunderbolt" option.... (let the fireworks begin!)

Thunderbolt is essentially an extension to PCIe. So once Thunderbolt-to-PCIe bridge devices are available,  then any chips that use the PCIe bus can simply attach to it. It's actually a good thing.

-a
 
michal_k said:
How about splitting DAC and ADC into two devices. 32 channels are doable in audio class 2.0

That makes sense. Seems to me that one would usually need a lot more inputs than outputs for recording.

-a
 
rkn80 said:
ptron said:
U planning on another run of DAC Boards?

Not sure yet. If there is enough interest I can do. A group buy makes only sense for at least 25 boards or so.

R.

well im up for 8 +wordclock + adat in :) i got tons of things on my plate so i can wait for more people if possible to come around

thanks!!
 
Xmos has just announced a new processor family: xs-1s. It has a built in usb and needs just one power supply. It looks like a perfect candidate for a diy usb audio interface (except it's in bga package).
 
There's been a lot of intelligent conversations by some intelligent people on this thread, but has anyone built the convertor yet?
In any format? AES or ADAT via the Optorec/gen board?
 
Hi,

since some members asked about the status of the project I want to let you know that I'm going to order the prototype board for ADAT out this week. Currently I'm doing the last details on the silk screen. That means you can expect to see the first running prototype of ADAT out and ADAT in end of this month, I hope...  ;)

Raphael
 
rkn80 said:
Hi,

since some members asked about the status of the project I want to let you know that I'm going to order the prototype board for ADAT out this week. Currently I'm doing the last details on the silk screen. That means you can expect to see the first running prototype of ADAT out and ADAT in end of this month, I hope...  ;)

Raphael

Far out!
 
tmuikku said:
rkn80 said:
Hi,

since some members asked about the status of the project I want to let you know that I'm going to order the prototype board for ADAT out this week. Currently I'm doing the last details on the silk screen. That means you can expect to see the first running prototype of ADAT out and ADAT in end of this month, I hope...  ;)

Raphael

Far out!

+1
 
For those who would be interested in a MADI solution:
I found a DIY 8x ADAT <-> MADI project here:

http://madi.webklik.nl/page/madi

all files available for download.

Anybody interested in a PCB group buy?
 
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