System audio monitoring

[uptheoctave]

Originally Posted by robertszydlo

Wonderful,
It seems even more attractive if I can get rid of the HD Native :)
Will test all the options when the thunderbolt thingy arrives.
Excited!
Thank you!
Robert

No worries.

Just to correct myself, I've tested it with the MTRX II, not the Studio, but I expect them to behave the same.

[uptheoctave]

I had a few minutes today to mess about with the Audinate Avio adapters.

I don't have the USB C one that was mentioned by its2loud earlier in the thread but I do have the Stereo input XLR version .
I came across something interesting that I had not noticed before, which is that you can adjust signal levels in Dante Controller for this adapter.

The options are +24 dBu, +4 dBu, 0 dBu, 0 dBV & -10 dBV.
I don't know if this was recently added, or if it has always been there, but it is very helpful

This might be a cost effective way for some folks to use the onboard Mac headphone output,
A short minijack to 2 x XLR cable and adjusting the signal level to 0 dBV and problem solved.

It was interesting, but perhaps not unexpected, how different the Mac 'headphone' out sounded compared to using the MTRX II over Thunderbolt.
MTRX II was punchier, had more bottom end and a cleaner midrange, the stereo image was less smeared. Fewer ADA conversions do probably explain this.

Mac Audio is converting to analogue (headphone out), then back to digital (Avio adapter), then back to analogue (monitors), where the MTRX II TB output is digital all the way to the final output from the monitors (Kii Three BXT's).

If I get a chance in the next few days I will check it with the Mac Pro.
I remember that not working very well, I think.

[Picture Start]

1. If there was an AVIO adapter to convert S/PDIF over TOSLINK, that is a $24 adapter cable to come out of a USB port, such as THIS

2. The other, and most obvious solution as I can see it, is to make DADMan recognize Pro Tools Audio Bridge as a valid connection source, then you can make a source in Monitor Profile, even sum it with your usual ones, and have computer sound even when PT isn't running.

[uptheoctave]

Originally Posted by Picture Start

1. If there was an AVIO adapter to convert S/PDIF over TOSLINK, that is a $24 adapter cable to come out of a USB port, such as THIS

2. The other, and most obvious solution as I can see it, is to make DADMan recognize Pro Tools Audio Bridge as a valid connection source, then you can make a source in Monitor Profile, even sum it with your usual ones, and have computer sound even when PT isn't running.

2. is not a trivial amount of work, but the work around is to use Omnibus by Audio Movers, which interconnects two (or more) otherwise separate audio drivers/interfaces. You get pretty much the same thing as Pro Tools Audio bridge plus on the fly SRC in some situations (Spotify, Apple Music, Chrome).

I use Omnibus and Sound Source by Rogue Amoeba to allow me to bring different applications up on different faders in DADman. It works pretty well.
I should make a video of it at some point.

[Picture Start]

Originally Posted by uptheoctave

2. is not a trivial amount of work, but the work around is to use Omnibus by Audio Movers, which interconnects two (or more) otherwise separate audio drivers/interfaces. You get pretty much the same thing as Pro Tools Audio bridge plus on the fly SRC in some situations (Spotify, Apple Music, Chrome).

I use Omnibus and Sound Source by Rogue Amoeba to allow me to bring different applications up on different faders in DADman. It works pretty well.
I should make a video of it at some point.

I would encourage a video. It is a problem that nearly everybody encounters and which neither Avid nor DAD deem important enough a workflow issue to be troubled to address.

[Picture Start]

Has anyone had a go with one of these things? I kept searching for a non-existent SPDIF-to-DANTE adapter for under $500 then I found this, which cuts out the middleman:

Audinate USB-C to DANTE ADAPTER

Perhaps the extra cost offsets the “flaky” comments I hear about Audinate’s virtual soundcard option.

[B-Grade]

I tried the USB Audinate guys, but felt that the fixed sample rate at 48K to be too limiting. The XLR ones and AES guys do all from 44.1 - 96K. DVS is weird to get going but is solid once configured.

The sample rate thing in Dante land is tough. MTRX, DVS, My Midas M32 date card, the M32 by itself, my 3 1073OPX and several Audinate AVIO units ALL need to be changed manually in Dante controller, plus the M32 needs to be changed in it's own app as well. Sure wish all of this stuff could just ripple along with the master.

Originally Posted by Picture Start

Has anyone had a go with one of these things? I kept searching for a non-existent SPDIF-to-DANTE adapter for under $500 then I found this, which cuts out the middleman:

Audinate USB-C to DANTE ADAPTER

Perhaps the extra cost offsets the “flaky” comments I hear about Audinate’s virtual soundcard option.

[Picture Start]

Originally Posted by B-Grade

I tried the USB Audinate guys, but felt that the fixed sample rate at 48K to be too limiting. The XLR ones and AES guys do all from 44.1 - 96K. DVS is weird to get going but is solid once configured.

The sample rate thing in Dante land is tough. MTRX, DVS, My Midas M32 date card, the M32 by itself, my 3 1073OPX and several Audinate AVIO units ALL need to be changed manually in Dante controller, plus the M32 needs to be changed in it's own app as well. Sure wish all of this stuff could just ripple along with the master.

OK that's annoying. I'm playing with a trial of DVS now.

[uptheoctave]

Originally Posted by B-Grade

I tried the USB Audinate guys, but felt that the fixed sample rate at 48K to be too limiting. The XLR ones and AES guys do all from 44.1 - 96K. DVS is weird to get going but is solid once configured.

The sample rate thing in Dante land is tough. MTRX, DVS, My Midas M32 date card, the M32 by itself, my 3 1073OPX and several Audinate AVIO units ALL need to be changed manually in Dante controller, plus the M32 needs to be changed in it's own app as well. Sure wish all of this stuff could just ripple along with the master.

I agree, it is annoying.

It is why I have my AX64, AX32 and MTRX I follow SR changes in the MTRX II via DADlink/MADI and use wordclock for sync.

The only Dante devices I am using regularly are the H9000, Focusrite AM2 and X2P's. If Rednet Control is open then the Focusrite devices chase SR changes.
I might be able to have the H9000 do it over AES but I get more IO over Dante.

IMHO the Dante protocol needs to change to support SR changes.

[Picture Start]

Originally Posted by uptheoctave

I agree, it is annoying.

It is why I have my AX64, AX32 and MTRX I follow SR changes in the MTRX II via DADlink/MADI and use wordclock for sync.

The only Dante devices I am using regularly are the H9000, Focusrite AM2 and X2P's. If Rednet Control is open then the Focusrite devices chase SR changes.
I might be able to have the H9000 do it over AES but I get more IO over Dante.

IMHO the Dante protocol needs to change to support SR changes.

In playing with DVS, I'm realizing that on Macs it cannot support 44.1, which is a non-starter in my world, so I'm on the point of realizing all the gymnastics you've had to resort to in order to find a workable way of getting non-Pro Tools audio into the system, no matter what the sampling rate.

I just wrote that rantiest rant about the mindlessness of losing such a simple but consequential feature in the name of progress, but thought better of it. So instead, I will ask this of the group:

The Omni has a couple brilliant features that are nowhere to be found on the MTRX range of products, one of which is an S/PDIF input with a hardware SRC that would fix all of this. Is it possible to run an Omni in conjunction with two MTRX Studios, just for some inputs that you might need? I would try it but I'm lacking the DigiLink cables at the moment.