Best Way to Connect Genelec 8330A to PC?

[deep_blue_fisher]

Hi all,

Looking to buy Genelec 8330A speakers for my office. They'll connect to a standard PC. Purpose is to listen to music while working.

Do I need a DAC or USB sound card in between? Budget's not tight, but I don't want unnecessary overkill.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom. I looked at a bunch of forums to try and find the answer, but got a little confused.

 

[staticV3]

Do I need a DAC or USB sound card in between?

You don't. There's a DAC built into the 8330A.

Best Way to Connect Genelec 8330A to PC?

Not sure if it's the best way, but one way would be one of these USB to AES Adapters:

You can find them on eBay in 16, 24, and 32bit variety.

The connection would then be PC->USB->Adapter->XLR->first 8330A->XLR->second 8330A.

I am however not sure if these adapters support UAC2 Hardware volume control, which would be very handy to have, borderline obligatory IMO.
Without UAC2 support, the Windows OS volume control will be stuck at 100% when you use ASIO or Wasapi Push.
On macOS, the native volume control will be permanently grayed out and stuck at 100%.

 

[nerdstrike]

Some of the genelec chatter implies that you can set up a virtual sound card that transmits via the genelec pseudo-Ethernet, if you connect with the usb-to-rj45 adaptor that comes with the microphone kit for eq.

I would look for someone who has succeeded at this, but that strikes me as an interesting angle. More so if you plan on using the correction software.

 

[deep_blue_fisher]

Thanks a lot Gentlemen!

staticV3: Can you recommend a hardware product if I need volume control?
nerdstrike: that would be cool. I will research.

 

[AnalogSteph]

If you want a physical volume knob, the usual route would be either
a) an audio interface or a DAC with volume control
or
b) a monitor controller,
using the analog inputs on the Genelecs.

You often need some TRS to XLR cables for option (a). There should be numerous options for around 1/8 of what a pair of 8330As costs, in various styles. (A guy on another forum picked up a used M-Audio AIR 192|6 for a pittance to go with his B-stock ADAMs. Nothing to write home about in terms of measured performance but the console style with a big volume knob on top came in handy.)

Some (b) can also be fed from unbalanced sources like onboard audio.

 

[muck]

I use of those usb to aes adapters from the post above, works like a charm.
I can control the volume natively through macOS.

 

[linuxfan]

As staticV3 mentioned, a USB-to-AES3 adapter is the best way to connect computer to Genelecs. This takes full advantage of the Genelec's natively digital input.
There are some exotic USB-to-AES3 adapters available, such as the Gustard U18, but that basic adapter on eBay is probably fine.

Can you recommend a hardware product if I need volume control?

Optimal volume control would be via the Genelec GLM network adapter -
https://www.genelec.com/glm-kit
with a wired volume controller -
https://www.genelec.com/9310b-wired-volume-controller
or wireless volume controller -
https://www.genelec.com/9101b-wireless-volume-controller

The GLM kit provides other adjustment possibilities, such as room correction.