Topic: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

I recently purchased a MADI FX. I have it in a Sonnet Thunderbolt enclosure, connected to a 2012 Mac Mini. Current driver & firmware. Optical MADI and Wordclock I/O are fully functional. I have no way to test coaxial MADI.

The AES on this thing is a mystery. While TotalMix sees it physically looping back OK (even through 60ish feet of cable), it will neither send nor receive a valid AES signal to or from any piece of equipment I connect it to, regardless of the piece or the cable. Tried rebooting, switching between pro and consumer, and everything else I could think of in the driver (there's not much). Even the ADI-4 DD won't pick up what it's putting down. I've gone through a Kramer 466, a Broadcast Tools RDDA, and an RDL HR-DAC1 on the output side, as well as an RDL HR-ADC1 for input, all tried individually.

110Ω Cabling is solid – Belden, Mogami, all points checked repeatedly. The physical loopback worked the same even through Hosa cabling. The Kramer is the only thing I can move around, and that won't acknowledge an AES link even when directly connected to the card's DB-15 fanout.

I don't have a scope, but I do have a multimeter. I'm getting .1V AC between pins 2 and 3 of the AES output. Another unit's AES output measured .5V AC. I'm not sure whether this matters, but thought I'd include the info.


Any insight? Is this a known occasional issue on some batch of serial numbers? Any chance it could be a ribbon cable issue? Am I doing something wrong?

2

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

Sounds like you selected 'Consumer' in the Settings dialog. From the manual: In Consumer mode the output voltage is reduced, as SPDIF calls for a lower voltage than AES/EBU.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

Not the case sir. As I mentioned in the original post, I've switched back and forth between pro and consumer (multiple times, through multiple reboots, and have now reseated the card and ribbon cable as well). I'll try reinstalling the driver/firmware now.

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

Reinstalled driver and flashed the card. Shut down and removed power. Rebooted. No AES output. If there's something else I can do here, please let me know. Synthax is cool and all but I'd rather not be without the card.

5

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

From a distance no one can say if the card or the breakout cable is defective. So sending it in or replacing it through the dealer seem the only options.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

6 (edited by Jonah 2020-05-19 06:32:43)

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

Well that’s something. I can make up an AES-only D Sub real quick.

Dealer? I don’t think I’ve bought a piece of gear new in the past fifteen years.

On a related note, I note that the 75 ohm Phones output on this card is very much a line output, with a CS4398 and an NJM4580. If one wanted to really dedicate it to DAC duties and deprioritize the headphone current capability, is there a potential customization path that would allow for a direct coupled output? Looks like the 4580 does have very low offset.

This is a compliment, not a criticism -- we just did a shootout between this source, an RDL HR-DAC1, and a couple of channels of a recently refurbished Orion 32, into our Meyer HD-1s. The MADI FX output is the clear winner in terms of detail and depth and articulation, and though we’ll have to bring it up to +20dBu or +24dBu at full scale for use with our monitor controller, we’d like to start by ensuring that it’s as transparent as possible. The concern here is that it can be a little spiky (some might say too flattering) in the midrange, and I suspect that its revealing nature could be even more effective for critical mix choices if it weren’t required to drive cans. You tell me.

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

Found the AES problem – the input and output XLRs were swapped.

8

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

You mean on the original RME breakout cable? That would be news to me. Especially as you said to have bought a used, means older unit. We never had shipped broken cables with the FX card.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

9 (edited by Jonah 2020-05-20 11:22:37)

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

If the breakout should have XLRs other than the newer series curvy Neutriks, or if those leads were supposed to have white heat shrink labels like the MIDI connectors, then they weren’t in their original positions when the card came to me. They are now.

So about that Phones output, any potential modifications? It’s going to be driving two JLM Regurgitators with LME49720s, set up for 15k balanced input. Then on to the console’s Source Select for monitoring, via the patchbay.

The TRS to dual XLR adapter I’m using off of the MADI FX is going to get two 75 ohm resistors between ground and the colds at the split, making the signals impedance balanced. The shields won’t land at the Regurgitator inputs.

10

Re: MADI FX - Bad / weak AES I/O?

> If the breakout should have XLRs other than the newer series curvy Neutriks

I have no clue what you talk about.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME