Hi Lindsay,

this wildfire was surely a mess and very challenging, so welcome back to more "normal" conditions (except Corona which is a plague for us all).

You put a lot of requirements from different areas into one thread. In my opinion, this is beyond the scope of what a forum/internet consultation can achieve.

If you are looking for consulting for such a big solution, I think it would be better to work with a system house like e.g. Synthax, that can continuously support a project of this size in terms of know-how and execution.

If I were you, I would separate the areas of internet connection, data and audio network and consider them separately.

Audio applications over the Internet are also a very special topic in itself. Here it depends on the distances between you and your communication partner, how many ms delays you will have on a line at least and what you are planning to do there at all, also about the mode of operation, the flows, which all have a certain latency over the WAN. And depending on how your counterpart is connected or how the routing between the transport providers works, the quality will also be very variable.

I think it would be easier to just talk to you about what kind of equipment you need for audio in the studio.

At the moment I see two basic options if you want to get all devices from RME, MADI or AVB based solutions.

You prefer optical cabling, which is IMHO a very good flexible solution because of  ...
a) galvanic isolation
b) allows for separation of audio and data network (also doable with AVB)
c) allows for long and even very long distances cabling:
    - multimode up to 2km
    - single mode (special order @RME) up to 10 km between each of the devices

So with MADI you can build e.g. a nice optical fiber ring installation. As already mentioned from device to device distances of up to 2km or even 10km (single mode) are possible and you can connect up to 8 devices with 8 channels each to a MADI bus.

In case you are using a MADI bus, a UFX+ (USB3/TB) would be a good choice, because you have the possibility to make backup recordings with DURec. Other very nice MADI interfaces (for PCIe) are the HDSPe MADI FX with the special driver that optimizes resource consumption at the computer.

You can find more information about these devices in these blog articles:

About UFX+ and MADI setup:
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … 8-RME-UFX/
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … -DURec-DE/
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … Cber-MADI/

About HDSPe MADI FX
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … Pro-FS-BE/

In contrast to MADI here something different with some basic information to MADI and AVB and MADI integration into AVB.
So should you have already some MADI equipment, then you can integrate it into AVB, like shown in the PDF article:
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … XTC-DE-EN/

In combination with the MADI Router you can do a lot of things, but I have not yet evaluated the full range of possibilities of the MADI Router. Here I would also use the experience of a system house (wzB Synthax), which also takes care of larger installations: https://www.rme-audio.de/de_madi-router.html

Synthax can certainly contribute from their experience and maybe even tell you whether AVB could have further advantages for you at this point or to simply show it as an alternative and then compare costs / benefits ...

It all depends also a bit on how many channels of what type you need per room and how the rooms are distributed around the house.

Hope this helps to get break up such big request into management pieces for a forum.
For the big picture -> integrator
For questions in terms of particular devices or what could be used you can ask of course here as well. But don't expect a big concept out of here, this is not manageable via forum.

to 1) this is my solution
Recording Corner: Computer-->UFX+-(MADI: XTC,12Mic)-->AES->ADI-2Pro FS R BE
                                                   |
                                                   | 15m TOSLINK CABLE
                                                   |
                                                   |     TV         BluRay
                                                   |      |            |
                                                   |     +           +
HiFi:                                            +-TOSLINK_SWITCHER_4:1-->---1m TOSLINK_CABLE--->ADI-2Pro FS R BE---AnalOut---HiFi

Can use computer as player, best software IMHO MusicBee, if you have the content local (FLAC files).
MusicBee allows for a remote pluging, then you can even control MusicBee via WiFi from an Android Smartphone/Tablet.

to 2)

MADI allows
- 64ch at single speed (44.1/48)
- 32ch at double speed (88.2/96)
- 16ch at quad speed (176.5/192 kHz)
over fiber optic cable.
The common transceiver / cable standard is multi-mode (single mode uses laser and different transceiver, this needs a special delivery from RME and is not required for your purpose as you do not need to support 10km between MADI devices).

You can choose either OM3 or OM4 multimode cable. I personally choose OM4 because its also nice for data networks supporting longer cable length even for high speed network adapters. My idea to choose OM4 is, that you can stick to only one cabling standard in the building. Otherwise OM3 is also fine for audio.

The cable length between each of the devices in a MADI ring can be up to 2km with multimode (10km with single mode).
Patch cables are usually available up to 20m length, some shops also offer customized length.

Installation: you chain the MADI devices: from UFX+ MADI Output to the next devices MADI Input and so on..
back to the MADI Input of the UFX+.

With the new RME devices (like 12Mic or M-1610 Pro) you need to buy the optional pluggable SFP, easiest is to use the RME SFPs so that you can be sure not to choose the wrong diameter/supported wavelength.
When buying the cable you need only to take care of, to choose the proper plug format.
On the UFX+ side you need an SC plug, on the M-1610 Pro side you need an LC plug.

A typical 20m patch cable looks like this:
https://www.kabelscheune.de/LWL-Kabel-L … -20-m.html
With this "pair of fiber" (duplex cable) you can cable e.g. from UFX+ to M-1610 Pro and back to the UFX+.
You can make two single cables out of this duplex cable by unmounting the plastic connection that keeps the two together.

RME D/A converter with MADI support: e.g. the new M-1610 Pro.
https://www.rme-audio.de/m-1610-pro.html
https://www.rme-audio.de/de_m-1610-pro.html

But at the end ... what device to place there for the speakers depends also a lot, what connections these speakers provide. Whether analog or also digital. Could also be the case that the speaker have either digital inputs, then RME has other MADI capable devices to provide e.g. more ADAT or AES outputs.
https://www.rme-audio.de/de_adi-648.html
https://www.rme-audio.de/de_adi-642.html

If you have a 7.1 AV Receiver then you might only need a 15m TOSLINK connection between UFX+ and AV Receiver to play simple stereo content. I assume for looking at 5.1/7.1 content you have another device there or a BlueRay Player.

In that regards your setup is not clear to me and needs further clarifications before finalizing cabling and product decisions for your case.

What do you mean by "XO" ? Sorry I can't follow your terminology.
I also do not know exactly what you mean by sub-speaker crossover.

It would be simpler to name the needed amount of analog or digital outputs now and later.
If analog I/O then also tell whether balanced or unbalanced.

If you need analog ports to feed the speakers, well then it might be easiest to move computer and UFX+ upstairs into the room with the speakers. For the MADI devices you would also need at least one Rack Unit if not a second one for patch panel.

Thanks, now i c. Didn't know the english term / abbreviation for that.

Ramses and Vinark
Thank you for the replies and clarifying my acronym for crossover.
An additional option I found is a long Thunderbolt 2 optical cable from Corning  + TB3 card in the computer + TB3-TB2 adapter (total cost roughly CAD $600). I think this would allow the UFX+ to be adjacent to the amps-speakers and the computer to remain in the basement. 
However, for a low-cost start, I will try to computer and UFX+ in the listening room with analog balanced connections from UFX to amplifiers - about 6m long.
Vinark, I appreciate your remarks about active vs passive crossovers. It is a hobby. I am interested in trying an active crossover in addition to the digital room correction I have in place using Acourate (Audiovero.de).
Murray

George,
Thanks for this. I am slowly working through the options, starting with Thunderbolt. This works well with JRiver Media Center, for example. However, I am getting glitches (ticks, dropouts) with Logitech Media Server ("Squeezebox") and Squeezelite-X controller/network player running in Windows 10.

I think the problem is the Logitech/Squeezelite software. However, to confirm this, I am interested in what computer you use with UFX+ and Thunderbolt. Windows or Mac? If Windows, is it a commercial brand or one that you built? If you built it, what motherboard and Thunderbolt "card"?  My setup is a home built Asus Z370-A. The Asus add-on card was a dud, as reported by many users. I now have a Gigabyte Titan Ridge v.2 card that works.

Thanks!
Murray

Hi again George,
I have a 2m long copper Thunderbolt cable working now between a Windows 10 PC and RME UFX+. I continue to be interested in using optical Thunderbolt over a greater distance (20 m or so).

I am looking for confirmation that the Corning optical cable simply plugs into a ThunderBolt 3 port on the computer. It seems magical that there is no conversion box required to go from an electical signal at the port to an optical transmission cable. In my case, I would be using the Startech TB3 to TB2 converter and then a Corning optical TB2 cable, which is available on eBay and is less expensive than TB3. As you know, the RME UFX+ is TB2.
Thanks!
Murray

Hi Ramses,

Edit: My thinking about the design has changed. I no longer plan the computer in the basement. Also, I wrote the reply below while Ramses was editing his original - I need to read that!

Yes, the M-1610 is a very good option. Thank you for pointing to it. In this scenario, the UFX+ and computer are at my desk in the "back" of the room, the M-1610 is at the "front" of the room, adjacent to the passive speakers and amps. The M-1610 analog out channels x 8 exactly meet my need. And I think the M-1610 would be controlled by TotalmixFX (is this correct?)

You mention I would need a patch bay...I do not think so, but please correct me.

On the negative side of the ledger, the M-1610 is relatively more expensive compared to a Thunderbolt optical cable (about 8x for me in Canada including taxes).

In my alternative scenario, if I use a Thunderbolt cable, the UFX+ is at the front of the room, together with the amps and speakers. The computer remains at my desk. Less expensive, but I sacrifice the headphone/mics at my desk and convenient control of the UFX+ as a standalone unit.

Question: is there a Madi option that could be located at the computer, with the UFX+ at the front of the room: Computer --> Madi --> UFX+ ? Would it be less expensive than the M-1610?

Edit: to answer my question: the RME Madiface USB looks like the item. It is less expensive in Canada than the M-1610, with some trade-offs in function of course

Murray

While typing / editing the posting above I am getting another good idea.

Get a second UFX+:
- it has 8 analog outputs
- can be operated in stand-alone mode
- you can then connect the two UFX+ through MADI .. voila ...

You also get two nice phones outputs additionally

AND

You have also a backup device for your UFX+ by this ... and all in one compact unit !