Just found out there will be a QA403 soon. The box uses an ESS chipset. This promises new top performances.
ES9822PRO (ADC)
ES9038Q2M (DAC)
OPA1612
https://quantasylum.com/blogs/news/sneakpeek-the-qa403
ES9822PRO (ADC)
ES9038Q2M (DAC)
OPA1612
https://quantasylum.com/blogs/news/sneakpeek-the-qa403
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The data sheet is available now: https://forum.quantasylum.com/uploads/short-url/e9EUxkUod8AstX3q4DM5uLsmMNL.pdf
The price is $549.
The price is $549.
That depends on your requirements. For me a loopback THD+N of 105dB would be a great step into hi-resolution measurements. The common focusrite, creative... interfaces are more in the ballpark of 95dB. Referring to Amir the only known low-cost interface in that upper class is the Motu 4.
1) input protection
2) much higher max input
3) fully specified for measurement purposes.
4) comes with well sorted software
5) plenty of support and help with more complicated measurments.
6) much easier to use (speaking from experience).
It is test equipment, not studio equipment. The laboratory world uses BNC. Good, reliable, and very high bandwidth. XLR does not have the bandwidth.
What do you mean XLR doesn't have the bandwidth? AFAIK, the QA403 will reach 60-70kHz tops, which is totally fine for an XLR.
Almost all audio analysers have XLR I/O (plus other options), which makes perfect sense. My suspicion is that the QA403 has BNC because of physical real estate limitations, which is fair enough but I'd still much more prefered XLR I/Os. But that's just me
These are pretty nifty devices. Stumbled onto their at their line a few weeks back. If doing tubes or vintage stuff, invaluable. The catch-22 is now, commodity priced amplifiers and DACS are 10 times lower distortion, or more. Even my MOSFET AB amp would be pushing the limits of these. The old "rule of thumb" is your measurement equipment needs to be ten times better than what you are measuring. I am not even sure how you do that for $30,000! That they can get the performance for their price point is quite impressive. A lot of back in cost I expect.
Their scramble, which seems to have been suscessful, highlights a trap we have worked our way into. Much of industry has gotten used to short lead times and distributor inventories. Push to just-in-time supply chains. When everything works, they are great. A hic-up, and a disaster. We had a design that used a FIFO from one supplier. Simple part, but sole source. They ran that die once every two years. Sure enough, there were some issues with one date code, and replacements were 18 months. We had another part, an analog diff amp. ( I wish I had some, they were really good), Anyway, only one plant in the world had that FAB process, and they had serious QA problems as it was an older process and they did not really pay much attention to it. Eventually, we built our own FAB plant. That kind of cost is probably why the company is no longer here.
So. what happens if ESS has a hic-up? What happens if political issues disrupt the supply? Remember the Kobe earthquake? Wiped out a sole source glue factory. The only glue used to bond wafers to the substrate. What if the FAB is doing fine, but there is no one to unload the ship and it sits off the West coast for 6 months? What happens when your one container is the one that falls off? Saw on the news an Amazon truck in the ditch in an ice storm. I wonder, I was getting something from that area, and it now has an indefinite delivery time.
The logical conclusion is more industry redundancy and an increase in local inventory. Costs will go up. It used to ne the military complex financed sectors to ensure future capability. Manufacturing processes need to be down-scaled so they can be reproduces easier. This is not an easy problem.
As my last few builds are just speakers, I can continue with my Focusrite as it is more than good enough for speakers. Glad I'm retired and no longer in manufacturing.
Their scramble, which seems to have been suscessful, highlights a trap we have worked our way into. Much of industry has gotten used to short lead times and distributor inventories. Push to just-in-time supply chains. When everything works, they are great. A hic-up, and a disaster. We had a design that used a FIFO from one supplier. Simple part, but sole source. They ran that die once every two years. Sure enough, there were some issues with one date code, and replacements were 18 months. We had another part, an analog diff amp. ( I wish I had some, they were really good), Anyway, only one plant in the world had that FAB process, and they had serious QA problems as it was an older process and they did not really pay much attention to it. Eventually, we built our own FAB plant. That kind of cost is probably why the company is no longer here.
So. what happens if ESS has a hic-up? What happens if political issues disrupt the supply? Remember the Kobe earthquake? Wiped out a sole source glue factory. The only glue used to bond wafers to the substrate. What if the FAB is doing fine, but there is no one to unload the ship and it sits off the West coast for 6 months? What happens when your one container is the one that falls off? Saw on the news an Amazon truck in the ditch in an ice storm. I wonder, I was getting something from that area, and it now has an indefinite delivery time.
The logical conclusion is more industry redundancy and an increase in local inventory. Costs will go up. It used to ne the military complex financed sectors to ensure future capability. Manufacturing processes need to be down-scaled so they can be reproduces easier. This is not an easy problem.
As my last few builds are just speakers, I can continue with my Focusrite as it is more than good enough for speakers. Glad I'm retired and no longer in manufacturing.
For our low speed frequencies fine, but in the test equipment world, we expect Mhz BW. You don't have a rack full of RCA to BNC cables? You are thinking consumer audio, they are a test equipment company hitting the lowest possible price. You might be able to talk them into building an up-scale unit with balanced IO. Maybe still hit under 1K.What do you mean XLR doesn't have the bandwidth? AFAIK, the QA403 will reach 60-70kHz tops, which is totally fine for an XLR.
Almost all audio analysers have XLR I/O (plus other options), which makes perfect sense. My suspicion is that the QA403 has BNC because of physical real estate limitations, which is fair enough but I'd still much more prefered XLR I/Os. But that's just me
Supply chains issues have been real for a while already, together with the increased prices, be it for components or assembled gear.
I like what Quantasylum does with these devices. They have improved both the hardware and the software. I see Python & REST interfaces for the latter as well. The support forum is great.
OK, if I were to nitpick, I might decry the fact that the software and hardware are too tightly linked, but they do explain their choice about that.
For that price point and those capabilities, it's a no-brainer if you have the budget and getting more serious about designing.
For now, I have modified my Behringer UM202HD for far lower THD than factory. It's going to be quite useful with R.E.W.. But maybe one day I will decide to upgrade to a QA system.
I like what Quantasylum does with these devices. They have improved both the hardware and the software. I see Python & REST interfaces for the latter as well. The support forum is great.
OK, if I were to nitpick, I might decry the fact that the software and hardware are too tightly linked, but they do explain their choice about that.
For that price point and those capabilities, it's a no-brainer if you have the budget and getting more serious about designing.
For now, I have modified my Behringer UM202HD for far lower THD than factory. It's going to be quite useful with R.E.W.. But maybe one day I will decide to upgrade to a QA system.