Sjoko (or anyone else with some knowledge of this!) - Digital Patcbays.......

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Blue Bear Sound

Blue Bear Sound

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Any downside to using digital patchbays to simplify my increasingly complex routing of digital I/O across my digital gear --- ADATs, Masterlink, DAT, MAudio SAM, CO3 converter (between DAT/Masterlink for compatibility)

I was specifically looking at the M-Audio DigiPatch 12x6......

I was concerned that somehow the digital connections would have increased jitter or clock problems - since connecting 2 digital signals is not as simple a process as patching in the analog world.

Would appreciate a quick answer 'cos I have a line on one of the units at an excellent price!

Thanks!

Bruce
 
IF you are going to clock from an external source, a digital patchbay is cool.

That's one of the things that P's me off about the Masterlink, it has no external clock input, which sucks. The other one is the cheap plastic XLR's, which everyone who has one should replace with decent steel / gold pin neutrix immediately, as AES objects to cheapass plugs.

Slightly off the topic, if you want to see the coolest such thing in existance - go and have a look at my absolute favority piece of gear here: http://www.stagetec.com/stagetec_en/nexus.htm
Have a look at the spec, its frightening!!
 
Ok, thanks Sjoko....

BUT... hmmmm... now I'm confused...

So when I transfer a digital signal from my ADAT to the Masterlink now (without the PB), am I causing issues??? (the ADATs are being clocked by the BRC, but that doesn't extend thru to the Masterlink - that wouldn't change at all with the PB in there either!)

Bruce
 
Don't worry about it. Everything causes something, and I'm anal
Really. If anything using the digital patchbay will improve your audio quality. Just make sure you keep your cabling as short as possible.
The reason I said what I did is that I'm living in "clock land" at the moment....learning....discussing.....developing better ways of doing things.
Didi you by any chance get a chance to look at the Nexus?
 
Ok... thanks sjoko...

I tried the Nexus link a few times earlier and got a server error, so I just tried it again and YIKES!!!!!!!!! High coolness factor, but I'm sure the price is even higher than the cool-ability! ;)

The DigiPatch doesn't even rate a single bit by comparison!!!! :(

*sigh* If I only had the budget......

Thanks again Sjoko... (oh, and thanks for making me feel bad for buying my meagre DigiPatch which I just picked up!!! I guess you do now qualify as a prick then!!! :D :D :D )

Cheers dude....

Bruce
 
Sorry Sjoko... I was only teasing you, you're not a prick at all!

:D :D
 
Hey there younun' Bruce! I will be the one handing out grades and diploma's in Prickology! You still have a masters class to finish before you rate! ;)

Sorry sjoko2. I just don't think you have the right stuff to be a prick. After reviewing your above post, I just don't think you are ever going to learn it! No need to feel ashamed, better men than you or I have tried to master it and failed!

As a consolation though, I will give your an Honorary Jerk status (sorry, you have to finish at least 10 credit hours in Jerkism to be considered for an appreticeship in it). Yeah, I know, that and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee, but it is better than nothing, and it will impress your friends for sure. :)

Bruce, be careful about considering the Fostex DS 8. Even though you will read many ads that say it handles ADAT Optical, it DOESN'T, as I found out the other night RIGHT before a session. Lost 1/2 a billing hour repatching the cables to bypass it....:(

Our next try will be the Digipatch 12X6. If you don't get it first, I will fill you in on how it works. Probably know in two weeks (have to wait for the studio owner to get back into town to get the money to pay the difference between it and the Fostex unit).

Ed
 
ROFLMAO!!!

You guys is SOOO funnee! :D


Ed,

I do have the DigiPatch now, all wired in... just started setting up stored patches and.... I DON'T GET IT.... I mean, I'm not a stupid person, but I choose my source, choose my target, hit STORE to save the patch at the given program number. Looks good so far....

I save then next patch, no problem.. but if I cycle back to my first saved patch, all the target and sources are messed up????

HUH??????????????

I'm hoping the INs/OUTs are at least normalized between each other (I mean, say on optic 1, the I/O will flow between it's own IN or OUT without a programmed patch...)

OTOH... maybe I AM a complete idiot!

:confused:

:(


Bruce
 
Do what I do as an absolute, total, final, last resort, after everything has failed, even a telephone call to the president of the company in the middle of the night to the other side of the globe, just before - no - after you already have decided to get an axe and hack the gear into extremely small fragments while smiling viciously:

Read the manual


:rolleyes: :cool:
 
Yeah, I know... RTFM.... first thing I did actually.... I set up as it says...

The connections work, except I can't get it to pass signal thru within a single device's connection.... (ie, if my 3 chained ADATs in connected to I/O #1, signal doesn't flow down between input 1 and output 1, even if they are the selected source and target) In other words, the I/O is not normalized, nor can I actually force flow within my chained ADATs so that ADAT 1 can get a digital connection from ADAT 3.

The worse problem is, spurious digital hash when routing the ADAT chain over to my 4th ADAT (which aren't connected directly, but rather thru the PB)... not sure where that's coming from... it occurs 100% of the time routing thru the unit, but not if I chain the ADATs together without the DigiPatch......... this was what I was afraid of by using digital PBs in the first place....

It IS straight-forward, as far as connections go, so this should be working without problems. I KNOW I have not connected it improperly, there's only 1 way to connect it up that makes sense!!!

*grrrr*

I have a session this aft, so I'll to play more with it later on, but if I don't get it worked out, to hell with calling the president, the unit's just going back to the store!

Bruce
 
I've never used one of those things .. I might be wrong but as far as a digital patchbay goes, that one is very cheap... too cheap perhaps?
 
DP 12X6

Try this: use yous Source as your Target and your Target as your Source. Also did you set-up your floopy disk program in your puter
that came with the unit?

G-Man
 
Re: DP 12X6

sjoko2 said:
I've never used one of those things .. I might be wrong but as far as a digital patchbay goes, that one is very cheap... too cheap perhaps?
Click to expand...
Quite possibly... right now, I'm inclined to believe that!

Hey Ed, maybe you should think twice about getting the DigiPatch yourself! So far, I'm NOT impressed with it....

Maybe I will let tech support have a crack at helping me with it on monday.... I'll post what I find....


manchild said:
Try this: use yous Source as your Target and your Target as your Source. Also did you set-up your floopy disk program in your puter
that came with the unit?

G-Man
Click to expand...
Yeah did that... seems the optic I/O #1 connections have an issue - I switched the connections to optic I/O pair 6 and it worked...

I didn't set anything regarding s/w since none of this is connected via computer. This would have no bearing anyways, the PB is designed for h/w use - the computer would only be for midi control of patch changes.

But thanks for the suggestion!

Bruce
 
OH FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I *am* a complete idiot................................... :eek: :eek: :eek:

The saving patches problem.... when you store a patch, you can have multiple src/trgs per patch, so as you save a patch and move to the next one, you have to scroll thru the src/trgs to actually see the settings.... not a very friendly UI, but hey, it was cheap!

It is very possible that the glitches and hash were a result of me inadvertently setting up multiple targets from the same source (ie, nonsensical digital I/O) that the ADATs choked on, as I was trying to save settings.

I tried it last evening again and didn't see the glitching, once I cleared up the patch's src/trgs.

None of this is indicated in the manual at all - they shoulda charged $50 more per unit and wrote a clearer manual.........

*sigh*

...or... maybe I am a moron and there's no hope!

naw...... that's not it! ;)

:D


Bruce
 
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