S
stivey
New member
Could someone please explain how ADAT works? If I have an Digio 003 how would ADAT help or hurt me?
gcapel
boom box recordings
On a device like that it is like a bonus. It will act as extra I/O in addition to your on board channels. It is real common for 8 channel mic pres to have the adat out option to feed to an interface. So to answer your question it would only help.
D
dementedchord
Psychotic State alumni ch
well adat's were early digital tape machines... used basicly a vid transport... they started the use of an optical connector for transfer of 8 channels of sound at a time... that's what you're asking about... the optical ins/outs... now it's used primarily to exand systems...
R
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
OK, let's start with the basic definition (from Wikipedia):
"Alesis Digital Audio Tape, or ADAT, first introduced in 1991, was used for simultaneously recording eight tracks of digital audio at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape - a tape format similar to that used by consumer VCRs. Greater numbers of audio tracks could be recorded by synchronizing several ADAT machines together. While this had been available in earlier machines, ADAT machines were the first to do so with sample-accurate timing - which in effect allowed a studio owner to purchase a 24-track tape machine eight tracks at a time. This capability and its comparatively low cost were largely responsible for the rise of project studios in the 1990s."
"ADAT" is also used as an abbreviation for the ADAT Lightpipe protocol, which transfers 8 tracks in a single fiber optic cable. The ADAT cable standard is no longer strictly tied to ADAT tape machines, and is now utilized by analog-to-digital converters, input cards for digital audio workstations, effects machines, etc. One of the original benefits of utilizing ADAT versus S/PDIF or AES/EBU was that a single cable could carry up to eight channels of audio."
OK- what can ADAT do for you with a Digi002 or Digi003? Both machines have 4 channels (1-4) of mic channels with preamps, 4 channels (5-8) of line-in inputs with no preamps, one optical input, which can be configured to accept either optical S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) or ADAT, and one coaxial S/PDIF input (that's an RCA jack). S/PDIF only transfers 2 channels at a time. AES/EBU is basically the same thing as S/PDIF, but uses XLR connectors instead of RCA connectors.
So- a Digi002/003 has only 4 channels, really, 1-4. If you have outboard preamps, or anything else with a line level output, you can use channels 5-8. If you have an 8 channel preamp with ADAT output, you just got channels 9-16!
That still leaves the coaxial S/PDIF, which gives you 2 more channels, if you have a 2 channel preamp w/ S/PDIF output, or a convertor. Coaxial S/PDIF transmits 2 channels by one RCA cable. As with most things, the more you pay, the better it gets. Life is like that. Here's how to use those extra ADAT inputs *dirt cheap*:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=20720&Category=Audio_Interfaces
Here are some mid-priced options:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=22678&Category=Audio_Processors
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=60923&Category=Audio_Interfaces
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41406&Category=Audio_Processors
Of course, there are higher end options:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=42870&Category=Audio_Processors
And then there is "to die for" (this one is a divorce-0-matic):
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Spider/
So how can you use the S/PDIF on the cheap?
You can plug any 2 channel preamp into this:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41360&Category=Audio_Processors
or this:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=27818&Category=Audio_Processors
Hit the bypass button, and it will bypass the effects, and just act as an analog to digital converter. What the hell? you get a 2 channel A-D convertor *and* a halfway decent FX box with a bunch of usable reverbs, a de-esser, a rudimentary compressor, and more. As long as you set any and all slave units to clock off of the Digi002/003, you are good to go.-18 channels. Hope this helps.-Richie
"Alesis Digital Audio Tape, or ADAT, first introduced in 1991, was used for simultaneously recording eight tracks of digital audio at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape - a tape format similar to that used by consumer VCRs. Greater numbers of audio tracks could be recorded by synchronizing several ADAT machines together. While this had been available in earlier machines, ADAT machines were the first to do so with sample-accurate timing - which in effect allowed a studio owner to purchase a 24-track tape machine eight tracks at a time. This capability and its comparatively low cost were largely responsible for the rise of project studios in the 1990s."
"ADAT" is also used as an abbreviation for the ADAT Lightpipe protocol, which transfers 8 tracks in a single fiber optic cable. The ADAT cable standard is no longer strictly tied to ADAT tape machines, and is now utilized by analog-to-digital converters, input cards for digital audio workstations, effects machines, etc. One of the original benefits of utilizing ADAT versus S/PDIF or AES/EBU was that a single cable could carry up to eight channels of audio."
OK- what can ADAT do for you with a Digi002 or Digi003? Both machines have 4 channels (1-4) of mic channels with preamps, 4 channels (5-8) of line-in inputs with no preamps, one optical input, which can be configured to accept either optical S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) or ADAT, and one coaxial S/PDIF input (that's an RCA jack). S/PDIF only transfers 2 channels at a time. AES/EBU is basically the same thing as S/PDIF, but uses XLR connectors instead of RCA connectors.
So- a Digi002/003 has only 4 channels, really, 1-4. If you have outboard preamps, or anything else with a line level output, you can use channels 5-8. If you have an 8 channel preamp with ADAT output, you just got channels 9-16!
That still leaves the coaxial S/PDIF, which gives you 2 more channels, if you have a 2 channel preamp w/ S/PDIF output, or a convertor. Coaxial S/PDIF transmits 2 channels by one RCA cable. As with most things, the more you pay, the better it gets. Life is like that. Here's how to use those extra ADAT inputs *dirt cheap*:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=20720&Category=Audio_Interfaces
Here are some mid-priced options:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=22678&Category=Audio_Processors
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=60923&Category=Audio_Interfaces
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41406&Category=Audio_Processors
Of course, there are higher end options:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=42870&Category=Audio_Processors
And then there is "to die for" (this one is a divorce-0-matic):
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Spider/
So how can you use the S/PDIF on the cheap?
You can plug any 2 channel preamp into this:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41360&Category=Audio_Processors
or this:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=27818&Category=Audio_Processors
Hit the bypass button, and it will bypass the effects, and just act as an analog to digital converter. What the hell? you get a 2 channel A-D convertor *and* a halfway decent FX box with a bunch of usable reverbs, a de-esser, a rudimentary compressor, and more. As long as you set any and all slave units to clock off of the Digi002/003, you are good to go.-18 channels. Hope this helps.-Richie