Looking for a circuit diagram or PCB designer for an USB synchronization interface

[Turlipe]

Hi,

I'm looking for a circuit diagram or PCB designer to build a plug and play USB audio interface. It would function like a Scarlett 8i6 for example but with dimensions similar to the Bela Mini if it's PCB.
It will just be an interface to synchronize 6 jack inputs and retrieve their signals on a Linux or Windows computer (both ideally, only Linux if it's not possible).

If you're interested in the job pm me with a quote please.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rogs]

If you're looking at a design to turn this into a commercial product, then looking for a professional designer is probably the best way to go.

If however you're looking at using just one unit - to use with the mic preamp project you've already described elsewhere perhaps? - then using a commercial 'off the shelf' product is likely to be a LOT cheaper.....

Using something like this: https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0805-AAN is probably the most cost effective way of approaching this requirement....

 

[Turlipe]

It would be for a commercial production (if the prototype I’m developing with a Scarlett is ok).

Since I’m not competent in this domain, my society is interested in obtaining plans for this kind of hardware. I would’ve preferred to learn those skills but it seems out of my reach / priorities for the time remaining.

 

[rogs]

It would be for a commercial production (if the prototype I’m developing with a Scarlett is ok).

Since I’m not competent in this domain, my society is interested in obtaining plans for this kind of hardware. I would’ve preferred to learn those skills but it seems out of my reach / priorities for the time remaining.

Analogue audio electronics is one area of expertise. Digital electronics is another.
I suspect that finding a competent designer who is expert enough in both fields to create the kind of product you are describing is not going to be easy - or cheap!
When you can buy that type of device 'off the shelf' (rather like the Behringer device I linked to earlier) at a reasonable price, I would suggest that trying to 're-invent the wheel' and be able to compete commercially is unlikely to be viable, in a business sense?....

Hopefully I'm wrong and you will have suitably expert designers clamouring at your door, with reasonably priced quotes -- but I have my doubts..

 

[Newmarket]

Isn't this essentially a duplicate of the thread where I posted an answer last week ?
As a commercial product what is the market sector eg is it for a particular niche market or more commodity. As suggested you would likely need at least a couple of people to cover the mixed signal / digital / firmware etc aspects of a product /PCBs. And figure in compliance related tests and costs. In the UK I know several design consultancies etc that would likely be able to do this but it's big money and timescale of months at least.
If product is not competing with existing interface products then you might approach an existing manufacturer with a view to them providing an OEM board etc to incorporate into your product.
As ever volume (as in quantity not loudness ) is critical. Economies of scale and all that...

 

[ccaudle]

An existing commercial product:
MiniDSP MCHStreamer Lite

That is digital interface only, you would need to supply the analog front end, the A/D and/or D/A section, and appropriate clocking circuitry to interface to the I2S connection. It uses an XMOS processor, so probably is similar to the XMOS reference design (but updated for the newer processor, the original audio reference design used an out of production processor family).

 

[MidnightArrakis]

Hi,

I'm looking for a circuit diagram or PCB designer to build a plug and play USB audio interface. It would function like a Scarlett 8i6 for example but with dimensions similar to the Bela Mini if it's PCB.
It will just be an interface to synchronize 6 jack inputs and retrieve their signals on a Linux or Windows computer (both ideally, only Linux if it's not possible).

If you're interested in the job pm me with a quote please.

Thanks in advance.

GREETINGS!! -- While I am -- NOT -- a "Circuit Designer", I am a both a "Senior PCB Designer" and a "Senior Mechanical Designer" and I basically take completed, tested and verified schematics and -- convert / translate -- them into a working product. If you do a search on this forum using my screen-name, you will come across several of my postings that also include images of both electronic equipment and PCB's that I have personally designed.

However.....and, unfortunately.....every time I post a response in some thread on this forum and I offer my assistance with helping some member like you to take an idea of theirs and create a "physical reality" of their idea.....I end up getting blasted with HATE messages (specifically from a member who is based in Berlin) blaming me of -- SELLING MY SERVICES -- or bragging about my capabilities or whatever and then one of the forum "Moderators" jumps in and threatens to ban me from this forum for one reason or another!!! PHOOEY!!!.....

SO!!!.....while I could very possibly assist you with the design of a new product (but, I don't design the "circuitry"!!!), I am -- NOT -- going to directly offer you my specific type of design engineering services in order to avoid receiving any negative comments from those on this forum who have mentioned that they dislike my mere presence of being here on this GroupDIY forum!!! How "cool" is that??? I don't doubt that some of them will even report this posting of mine, just because that's what they enjoy doing in general!!!

In other words, while I could very well help you out in one way or another, the HATERS on this forum have gotten me to the point where I am unable to offer you, or anyone, any of my type of design engineering services!!! SORRY!!!.....

/

 

[Wavelength]

I have done probably 60 USB interfaces. This is not a basic task at all. For six inputs you need either 3 stereo ADC converter chips or use 6 of 8 inputs of an 8 channel ADC. Either of which convert to I2S and the USB controller would handle the conversion to USB. This would have to be a High Speed USB interface with that many channels. I have done a bunch of XMOS work. Not really that happy with their current software. Been working with CommTrue lately with their controller. I have done layout with Altium on all 60 or more USB interfaces.
This is not an inexpensive thing at all. Your probably talking about a couple hundred hours of layout programming and testing. This is not something you could just throw together. Well not at a commercial level anyway.

 

[Turlipe]

Thanks everyone for your answers.
I didn’t understand how complex my needs were.
For the commercial aspect, it’s for internal use. The designed product doesn’t need to compete with anyone else, it just needs to respect some constraints like size, input number (if it’s 8 instead of 6 it’s ok), ease of use and have low latency. The cost of production would also be important, but it might be hard to know before designing it. It will be the aspect that has to be the most “competitive” I guess, the only thing that will decide if the process is worth it.
@rogs I saw your recommendation but its dimensions are too wide.
@ccaudle if I understand what I need to use to make it work and if the total price isn’t too high I will try that.
@MidnightArrakis interesting but unfortunately I don’t have a working circuit diagram.
I will try with available products. I am still curious about the production cost of those, maybe in the long run it is worth investing in a custom product (knowing the quote and all that…).

 

[Wavelength]

Turlipe,
You maybe able to get further along by looking at what XMOS offers:
https://www.xmos.com/usb-multichannel-audio/
Also head over to DigiKey.com and search XMOS and look at their evaluation boards for Audio. I know they had an 8 channel ADC board at one time but they have really moved into more of the Siri/Alexa stuff lately.
See the big problem for any signal coming into an AD converter chip is the level. Autolevers are the best answer but are really complicated to make well. See with x# of bits if the level is too low you really loose resolution, too high and digital clipping really sounds like crap.
But then you have USB on the other side. People don't understand but Isosynchronous frames are not error correcting. That is the method used to send frames to HOST over USB. The more channels you have the larger the packet size per micro frame and the more errors you have. I have a Tektronix USB Analyzers and Compliance test set here since I develop for 18 companies. It can get messy... but with common sense it doesn't have to. With 6-8 channels over High Speed USB I would say don't go over 96Khz sample rate or it's going to sonically degrade above that.
Take a look around, info here is free... ask some questions.
Thanks,
Gordon