@%^*&! ADAT Cables

[fifthcircle]

Blasted ADAT cables suck. Thought I was having clock issues with the 002R and it turns out to be ADAT Cables. I can go from perfect reliability to more pops than a bag o' microwave popcorn depending on the cable I grab.

Just recorded a pair of performances- 2 hours of music each. I need to go through every moment of audio because I get a click on a track every 8-10 minutes or so. They are easy to remove but finding them is a royal pain.

I need something good that can withstand the riggors of being on the road- I treat my stuff well, but it does get plugged and unplugged pretty much on a daily basis and coiled.

What is out there that will last?

--Ben

[MH 3]

Hi Ben,

there is a new Madi Card from Yamaha in a couple of month, a little bit cheaper than the one from Schierbecker and most importend-internal connection is outside via CAT 5. You have bnc and madi optical.

The AesEbu Connection that I use at the moment has never been a problem(I mean the cable not the Lynx).

Regards

Marcus

[fifthcircle]

Good to know... Unfortunately, though, there are no Pro Tools LE MADI interfaces. Gotta go with ADAT for this one- I need to be able to interface either a set of Mytek converters or a Yamaha O1V 96.

--Ben

[MH 3]

Hi Ben,

there are a few options.

RME Adat -> AES/ EBU Converter 2 Options 1st is 9,5 wide 2nd is 19 wide
TC Konnect Patchbay

When you are able to have one of this units in a rack with your LE Harware,
it is possible to have the Adat Cable permanet connected and patch the AES/ EBU Cable on the gig.

Regards

Marcus

[noamraz]

Hey,

Most of the times i'm Clocking via ADAT i find myself handling issues like this - For a stable system i would advice you to try an External clocking for this matter.

Best regards, Noam.

[RawDepth]

You need to keep the ends clean on the ADAT cables. One little spec of dust or dirt can ruin tracks. I use compressed air and give them a quick shot (in the jacks too) before I plug them in. The little caps may keep the ends from getting scratched up too.

[noamraz]

Hey Slutz,

Can you recommend on specific Brand/Model of reliable ADAT cable?
Normally i use 3 ADAT cables @ my rig , The Cables are in good shape but i wish to purchase some spare cables and could use your recommendations.

Best regards, Noam.

[locosoundman]

Guitar Center carries a well-jacketed ADAT cable. I have used them for several years without incident. I forget the brand name - they are silver in color. Live Wires maybe? Because of the jacketing, they are heavier than typical ADAT cables, but less prone to kinking and damage.

Unfortunately, you need to treat ADAT cables as though they were made of glass and support the weight of dangling cables somehow to keep them from jiggling loose. AES is always the better way to go for reliability, but ADAT is a great space-saver.

[soundeziner]

Try putting one of these at each end;

http://www.heartechnologies.com/exte...e_extender.htm

CAT5 can take a bit more of a beating

[mpdonahue]

The problem with all these solutions is that there is still a Toslink cable in the system ;-)
The problems with toslink come from several different issues, all associated with the plastic fiber cables.
The first is that most of the pre-made Chinese Toslink cables have ends that were not properly cut and polished, which causes weird reflections in the cable.
The second problem is that often times when a cable has been used for a while will get an internal break in the fiber, which again causes strange reflections within the cable as well as an attenuated signal level at the other end of the cable. The biggest problem is that you can not easily check the cable for these problems, as they will usually show up only in certain marginal interfaces. We had this problem with the Sonic Solutions SSP-3 cards and the only cure for the problem was removing the toslink interfaces and replacing them with proper copper interfaces (In our case we went with AES-110ohm)
Finally, there is the length issue with Toslink. Toslink cables can be too short as well as too long. If the cable is too short, it causes the reflections to arrive very close to the original signal and with less attenuation. If the cable is too long, the receiver has trouble locking to the signal. Not a very good option in any situation..... IMNSHO.
All the best,
Mark

[fifthcircle]

I'm well aware of all the issues with using ADAT. This is why my Sequoia rigs all use AES. However, as long as I have to use Pro Tools out in the field, I'm dealing with these issues. The 002R does not have word clock (I'm thinking of getting a 003R as it has wordclock on it as well as a 2nd headphone jack). All the Digi interfaces use ADAT for multichannel digital I/O. I'm not bringing an HD system out into the field so I'm stuck with the limitations of LE systems.

I guess I'll just go to GC or West LA music to see what they have. I was just hoping to get a recommendation for a brand that has been cut properly, that has good ends, and has a heavy enough jacket on it so that perhaps it won't crack inside.

--Ben

[mpdonahue]

Ben,
There are people that make data grade Toslink cables. These usually come with a proof of performance measurement WRT attenuation and reflective performance. Also, there are some what I would call "ruggedized" cables on the market that usually have a kevlar jacket to protect from environmental abuse. Also, you want to find a cable that has been hand terminated and tested. The telltale sign of this is the use of the metal ended Toslink connectors, as opposed to the plastic ended connectors.
Good luck and lets hope that Toslink is replaced soon with GB Ethernet interfaces that have 100's of channels and has cables that are cheap, reliable and field repairable. (Snap out of it boy...you're dreaming....;-)
Allthe best,
-mark

[Frost]

I find that glass optical cables work better, and I can hear a difference in sound in some applications. They are around $50 each. I also like the highest end (tho still really cheap) monoprice toslink cables. I thing they have a stronger jacket than anything else I have tried. Look and feel like high end fancy cables with metal ends but without the price ($10 each) at monoprice.com

Frost

[fifthcircle]

Well got a new set of ADAT Cables. So far so good- I'm pretty impressed with these:
Best-Tronics Mfg., Inc.: TOSLINK-XXX

Flexible outer rubber cover, kevlar inside. Metal connectors. Seems to be pretty high quality as well and their prices weren't too bad...

--Ben

[Stevil]

cumon, no mogmai & hosa in the adat cable world?