USB (or Ethernet) to AES/EBU converter?

[The Computer Audiophile]

The Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB is the best USB to AES converter I've heard.

[The Computer Audiophile]

I'd be careful about relying on the CA C.A.S.H. list too heavily for recommendations. That list is woefully out of date and many well regarded products (in all categories) have come out since any maintenance was done on it.

So maybe look around in some of the forums. And you obviously did a good thing by asking the question here.

With all do respect, newer doesn't equal better.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hydra Z passes 384 pcm and DSD x2 as well. I think BADA is 192khz only?

 

Chris maybe you should try Hydra Z against your great BADA.

 

Of course I haven't heard BADA and it looks awesome.

 

Hi HDgeorge - What advantages do you see with the ability to pass 384 PCM and DSD 2x? I'm honestly curious.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Has anyone seen a Raspberry Pi board that enables sending audio to an AES/EBU in? If not, any recommendations on how to achieve this most efficiently? Thanks!

You could use a USB to AES converter to go between the Pi and your audio device. There are many of these devices available. You could also use the HiFi Berry Digi+ to output S/PDIF from the Pi, then use an S/PDIF to AES converter to your audio device. I suppose you cold also contact HiFi Berry to see if they can make you an AES output board.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Thanks for the suggestion! Would I lose much with USB or S/PDIF --> AES? I2S via a dedicated board to AES would be preferable, no?

I think if all things are equal the I2S to AES would be the best route, but all things are not equal. There isn't a current I2S board for the Pi unfortunately. plus, if there was such a board, it may not be built to the same standards as a true high end USB to AES converter.

[The Computer Audiophile]

That sounds indeed quite plausible. In which case I might be in the market for a high end USB --> AES. Has anything hit the market more recently than the latest items mentioned in this thread that warrants investigation?

There are all kinds of them on the market, both new and old. The Berkeley Aufio Design unit is the best I've heard but there are plenty more.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Sorry to keep pestering you with this, but is there a HDMI --> AES interface available? Would that be a better connection than USB?

I've never seen one but that doesn't mean they aren't available. I believe USB (asynchronous) would be much better though.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Great, thank you, that's what I need to knopw! I've done my homework and it seems the Berkeley Audio and Weiss stuff are well regarded USB --> AES solutions.

 

But they are also an assault on my wallet. I guess I can live with something like the Mutec MC-1.2 really, a comparative steal at $449. Set-up would be Raspberry Pi --> Mutec MC-1.2 --> PMC twotwo 6 monitors. The monitors are active, with AES3 input and in-built DAC. Sounds good?

 

I can keep the RPi & Mutec box close to the master speaker. Should I keep the USB or the AES cables the shortest? The PMC twotwo 6 master speaker will feed a slave with an RJ45 cable - how sensitive is that RJ45 link to distance?

I hear you about assaulting your wallet :~)

 

That Mutec devices seems pretty good based on a cursory look.

 

Your setup should work good, with the following caveat: Make sure you optimize the USB output from within the Linux distribution you will use. If you use a distro like Volumio it's already optimized. Otherwise you can problems using both Ethernet and USB because they are on the same physical chip in the Pi.

 

If you go by the specs, the AES cable can be much much longer than the USB cable. I use 1.5 (no shorter, no longer) meter AES cables because people in the high end industry who have forgotten more than I'll ever know about this stuff recommend this length for technical reasons.

 

The RJ45 terminated cable "shouldn't" be sensitive to distance less than a few hundred feet, but I'm making many assumptions. I don't know how PMC is outputting audio/data over that link. If they use Ethernet you'll be fine at any length for a stereo pair of speakers. I wouldn't be too worried about it.