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Best Measuring USB to AES Interface

Quake

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Hello ASR,

I wish good health to all those reading.

I am looking to purchase a high grade and well measuring USB to AES-EBU Interface. I would like it to meet the genuine AES3 Specifications (2-7v output) and ideally also have an internal power supply, but that is up for negotiation.

I was very excited looking at the Melodious Audio MX-U8 as it seemed immaculate and met my needs perfect however it is no longer available for sale, sadly.

I have been eyeballing the Xing AF200 , which also seems to be a very well measuring unit however with its 5v USB power supply Ild be willing to bet its AES output is quite anemic (maybe <1v.)

This leaves me a little thrown - as the other popular choices EG the singxer su1 and the gustard u12 dont measure all that great compared to others…

any suggestions? Thank you so much.
 
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pierre

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Hello,

why do you care much about the measurements? The dac later in the chain will fix most issues. If the distance between the interface and the dac is short, the output should not matter. I guess you are looking for a 2 channels usb to aes converter? Pro interface have plenty of choices. What is your budget and which features do you need?

cheap option can be a raspberry with a aes hat.
 
OP
Q

Quake

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Hello Pierre, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately , I was not clear enough in my description.

I am indeed looking for a 2 channel USB to AES converter, and this will be for use to feed directly into a high end DSP system. This will allow me to use my laptop to play audio off of.

This means the DAC will not be in play to the very last step after the DSP has been applied. It will likely be used professionally a lot - and maybe sometimes involving a 30m+ cable run - but I would say much more commonly only a few metres at most.

I still have an extremely strong preference for AES over SPDIF RCA coax/toslink, as the XLR connectors are remarkably superior when it comes to durability , ability to lock and to take a knock. The balanced line and higher voltage is also of value to me.

Budget is ideally under $2000, and I need simply nothing more than USB in AES out. Everything else is just noise and void space. If you could give me some suggestions , that would be greatly appreciated. Now while I am definitely opposed to most audiophile whooo-haaa, this is a rather high performance loudspeaker system and the differences between electronics in comparison testing can in certain situations have an impact on peformance - it only makes sense to get the best for this. :)


So far I really like the Matrix Audio SPDIF 2- great measurements, the billet aluminium enclosure will certainly last an insane thrashing - and the whole thing powers and transfers data through the 1 USB! My only query would be that I would bet the AES is SPDIF voltage… maybe .5 -1v. Perhaps perfect for the home ,maybe not so perfect for the long runs…

Thanks !
 

pierre

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Mr P

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Yellowtec PUC2 lite; I use in several broadcast studios, works fine without issues. Haven’t placed a scope on the output; haven’t needed to.
Personally, I wouldn’t waste any energy worrying about it being bus powered. The power demands for a single AES out circuit are trivial; and it would be no issue to run at a higher voltage than the USB circuit if the designer chose to do so. That said most AES inputs are remarkably tolerant of the input voltage within normal limits.

Failing all of that, use SPDIF and an impedance transformer, that will also work A OK.
 
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raif71

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I found this passive usb to aes converter:

1626178777228.png


My question is, is the cable connecting to AES in of the DAC uses standard xlr 3 pin cable?
 

DeepSpace57

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Jun 6, 2019
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Hello ASR,

I wish good health to all those reading.

I am looking to purchase a high grade and well measuring USB to AES-EBU Interface. I would like it to meet the genuine AES3 Specifications (2-7v output) and ideally also have an internal power supply, but that is up for negotiation.

I was very excited looking at the Melodious Audio MX-U8 as it seemed immaculate and met my needs perfect however it is no longer available for sale, sadly.

I have been eyeballing the Xing AF200 , which also seems to be a very well measuring unit however with its 5v USB power supply Ild be willing to bet its AES output is quite anemic (maybe <1v.)

This leaves me a little thrown - as the other popular choices EG the singxer su1 and the gustard u12 dont measure all that great compared to others…

any suggestions? Thank you so much.

Where did you find that AF200 provides 1V through its AES output?
 

audio2design

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Thread is old but the op started from an erroneous position. It's easy to hit 2V peak to peak on the output from 5v (or less) and that is with 110 ohm load. You are using a differential driver circuit into the transformer.
 

dosifey

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Matrix X SPDIF is great, I believe, they have 2 or 3 generations now. Looks great, is USB powered and have decent specs.
Motu 8D looks sexy but is a bit expensive and RME is a bit of an overkill for most.
I use Matrix for my HEDD Type 07 MK2 which have an AES EBU input.
 
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fatoldgit

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Quloos QU02


Not outrageously expensive, great build quality with good internal architecture/features.

USB is powered internally and not off connected device (I use mine with a "data only" USB cable.... no 5VDC passed)

Doesnt use USB 'C' type connectors but USB A which I prefer (just more robust and better/tighter fitting)

Use an external 12v LPS if you must (I do as I had a spare and I dont like wall warts plugged into my system..just personal preference)

I am not going to attribute a "sound" to it... given its competently designed and built with good measurements its does it job of being a DDC transparently which is all we can want/need.

Peter
 
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