Extend mic cables or word clock cable professional#

Multiple channels can be transmitted compactly, as in ADAT Optical, which transmits eight uncompressed audio channels over a single fiber-optic cable. If a device isn't set up for that signal, it won't work.ĭigital signal advantages: Audio transmitted digitally doesn't suffer fidelity degradation or added noise the way analog audio does. Digital signals require that the receiving device speak the correct digital language. Digital versus analog: What kind of data are you sending? Analog signals can be understood by any analog input or output, though noise and other problems can be caused by level mismatches.Optical cables transmit digital data as light, not electrical voltage, and are exclusively digital. The voltage on the hot lead can be an analog or encoded digital signal in some cases, analog and digital cables are interchangeable, even though the signals aren't. Coaxial versus optical cabling: Most cables are coaxial or 'coax,' meaning they're shielded wire cables that carry voltage on the center ('hot') lead, around which is wrapped a braided shield that connects to ground.Adapters won't convert one type of signal to another, however. If a connection doesn't fit, you may be able to buy an adapter. You won't need to buy all new cables, though. You'll want to match up the physical connectors so you're not literally trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Generally speaking, a plug (the 'male' side of the connection) has protruding pins and is found at the end of a cable, while the jack (the 'female' side) is found on a panel and has one or more recesses into which the plug's protrusions fit. Physical connector types: Jacks and plugs are differently shaped connections on your equipment.Here are some specific factors to pay attention to: Fortunately, these connectors, despite their physical differences, do the same thing: they carry signals between equipment. Audio cables come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If you don't have experience connecting audio equipment, your first glimpse at a professional's collection of cables can be daunting.

Extend mic cables or word clock cable professional#

And I recently visited a largish seller of professional audio equipment where it took a few salesmen before anyone understood what I was talking about when asking for the word-clock termination.Learn More Buy Connecting Physical Hardware The reason is that an unterminated line is more susceptible to noise and component drifts and that kind of things, and the whole idea of running the word-clock cable from the beginning is to get more precision in the timing. Only the last slave in the chain should have the termination connected.įor a short word-clock cable, perhaps a meter or a bit more, the termination might not strictly be needed (there are ways to calculate this, but that takes math I´ve mostly forgotten), it might be a bit belts and suspenders. Generally, you see this because there is a switch or whatever where you can disconnect it. Now, before going ahead buying the termination and T, check if your slave might have a built-in termination. Ĥ) The termination finally goes on the last open T, on the last slave. (Never, ever, connect the chain 'through' a slave, using the in/out connectors). You want the 75 Ohm.ģ) Daisy chain the cable, from the T-connectors, slave to slave. Warning - most of these things comes in both 50 and 75 Ohm variations. It is picture number 4 (click on the picture and it expands), sort of like a T (two times male, one times female connector). Use the 'Out' connector.Ģ) Now set one T-connector at each slave, at the 'In' connector. In the right corner there is a white square where you can enter a search term, in this case they are part numbers in their catalog.ġ) Anyway, connect the cable to the master. Sorry for the Swedish, hope the pictures talk for themselves. I´ll point you to my electronics supplier for pictures. I have difficulty finding pictures of this on the net (had a few links before, lost them).