Hi guys.
Hi checked a few boards to make an USB audio interface like mchstreamer and freedsp Infinitas. I want to buy an board to convert an audio mixer with 16 audio channel input to an audio mixer with 16 audio channel input. But I think mchstreamer is expensive and freedsp Infinitas is hard to make. Can anyone help me give some alternatives
Hi checked a few boards to make an USB audio interface like mchstreamer and freedsp Infinitas. I want to buy an board to convert an audio mixer with 16 audio channel input to an audio mixer with 16 audio channel input. But I think mchstreamer is expensive and freedsp Infinitas is hard to make. Can anyone help me give some alternatives
In that case I would expect you may have a number of problems. One that comes to mind so far is that you would need a 16-input/16-output USB interface. If you want support for ASIO and or WASAPI Exclusive Mode drivers then its gets expensive unless you can find a USB board that already comes with the right Windows drivers. Are you thinking of making your own USB interface on the board using an XMOS chip or some other device for that?
A question for you: DSP boards may or may not include DAC/ADC circuitry. Is it your intention to have those on your board, or external to it? If external, how would you expect to interface them to the DSP board?
A question for you: DSP boards may or may not include DAC/ADC circuitry. Is it your intention to have those on your board, or external to it? If external, how would you expect to interface them to the DSP board?
If external then the ADC/DAC units would probably have to communicate with the DSP board over I2S bus. Some more costly dacs support a form of that but the signals are in a format called LVDS, whereas the I2S signals in a typical DSP board are most likely LVCMOS format. So some conversion electronics might be needed.
On the other hand, if the ADC/DAC stuff in located on the DSP board then there sometimes there can be a problem where digital switching electrical noise gets into the data converters and or analog I/O circuitry. Various other things can be problems too.
Not saying you couldn't learn you to design this stuff, but it can cost more to design and build one custom system, as compared to buying one off-the-shelf commercial unit. If you are willing to spend time and money learning how to design that could be one goal. Building a low cost 16-channel mixer just to use for recording/mixing purposes would be a rather different goal. Maybe you could clarify what you want to get out of this project? How much time and money are you willing to invest? Could your goals be better satisfied by buying one of the many pre-built 16-bit mixers? Understood they might cost more than you want to spend, but if you are starting from the beginning as a designer, you don't have an oscilloscope yet and or don't know how to use one very well yet, etc., and you just want a mixer, then you might want to think some more about the tradeoffs with going diy in this case?
On the other hand, if the ADC/DAC stuff in located on the DSP board then there sometimes there can be a problem where digital switching electrical noise gets into the data converters and or analog I/O circuitry. Various other things can be problems too.
Not saying you couldn't learn you to design this stuff, but it can cost more to design and build one custom system, as compared to buying one off-the-shelf commercial unit. If you are willing to spend time and money learning how to design that could be one goal. Building a low cost 16-channel mixer just to use for recording/mixing purposes would be a rather different goal. Maybe you could clarify what you want to get out of this project? How much time and money are you willing to invest? Could your goals be better satisfied by buying one of the many pre-built 16-bit mixers? Understood they might cost more than you want to spend, but if you are starting from the beginning as a designer, you don't have an oscilloscope yet and or don't know how to use one very well yet, etc., and you just want a mixer, then you might want to think some more about the tradeoffs with going diy in this case?
Then you need to look into speaker quality and room acoustics because that's where the bottleneck is in sound reproduction. DAC is the least of your worries. Around $50 USB powered DAC should work fine as they are audibly transparent. Anyone telling you that you need to spend more is trying to advertise for boutique audio business.
My goal is to learn how to do it and do it after that. Maybe an mchstreamer lite could be an option but there is cheapest options?
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Doesn't look like mchstreamer lite is overpriced for what it is. Probably cost you more than that to make something to do the same thing. However, its only the DSP part of the problem. There is still the matter of ADC/DAC components. IME that's the harder part to get right.
Regarding trying to help you get it right, would be willing to say how you envision using a digital mixer? To record a garage band at rehearsals so band members can review their practice performances later? To record spoken panel discussion by experts on world economic projections? To record a symphony and produce a commercial CD from it? What is needed to do such things well enough and at lowest practical cost for a given end use purpose could very greatly. I just don't want you invest a lot of time and money building something that in end you won't find very satisfying, is all.
Regarding trying to help you get it right, would be willing to say how you envision using a digital mixer? To record a garage band at rehearsals so band members can review their practice performances later? To record spoken panel discussion by experts on world economic projections? To record a symphony and produce a commercial CD from it? What is needed to do such things well enough and at lowest practical cost for a given end use purpose could very greatly. I just don't want you invest a lot of time and money building something that in end you won't find very satisfying, is all.
I make part of an sound team that makes live events with audience on site. And we make YouTube and Facebook stream. Our actual mixer don't allow do an separated mix for live streaming.I would like to have a way of put all inputs from my actual mixer into tracks inside my without buy mixers and that costs 500usd or EUR just because we that thing. That mixer have and insert for external effects processors. I could get the signal from that connector that is line level. I could make an easy circuit to get signal after any effect but we don't need it.
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As you describe it, I don't see why most of that couldn't be done by mixing two different feeds in the analog domain (say, maybe two volume pots per channel, one pot per mix bus), then digitizing the results as/if needed? Is there something else going on that requires a complete digital mixer?
That mixer only have one aux that is for stage monitoring for musicians. And yes there isn't another way to do another mix with that mixer. Like bus groups or other things. Can you just help me to do the thing that way, not say another way to do same thing, I know all analog ways and I don't desire anyone.
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Are you trying to build something like this, the MOTU 16A ? As an alternative you might want to consider a Dante based option. On the PC side all you need is the Dante Virtual Soundcard and on the external hardware side things are relatively inexpensive.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/high-quality-dante-multi-way-system-for-diyers.367636/
Yes, but be more simpliest than motu16a. Probably that have an most sofistified software. The software part could be so simply as the software from Behringer um2 uphoria but with more channels of course.coul even do not have output channels for a start point. Output will be great but we don't need it to much. I will check it later.
I think I actually have some idea of how to do it. We can buy this adc
€ 2,05 9%OFF | PCM1808 105dB SNR Audio Stereo ADC Single-Ended Analog-Input Decoder 24bit Amplifier Board Player Module
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mN6BKXs. And connect it to an mchstreamer lite, or the AliExpress option from that forum.
€ 2,05 9%OFF | PCM1808 105dB SNR Audio Stereo ADC Single-Ended Analog-Input Decoder 24bit Amplifier Board Player Module
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mN6BKXs. And connect it to an mchstreamer lite, or the AliExpress option from that forum.
You probably want to run the ADCs on clean power separate from the DSP?
You would need to generate and distribute master clock signals to the ADC chips, any DAC chips, and the DSP chip. They may require different frequency multiples of the same basic sample rate the unit will run at. By running the ADCs in 'slave' mode, the DSP chip can generate audio clock signals for the data converters. The data output for each ADC would go into a data input on DSP chip.
You would probably want to make sure you understand what features the DSP you want to use has. Implementing submix busses and or other features may not be as easy in some chips.
Also, how will the user interact with the DSP, via computer over USB? With dedicated knobs, switches, and display? A touchscreen?
Need mic pres and phantom power built in too? Adjustible preamp gain? 20dB attenuators in each channel?
What else to consider?
You would need to generate and distribute master clock signals to the ADC chips, any DAC chips, and the DSP chip. They may require different frequency multiples of the same basic sample rate the unit will run at. By running the ADCs in 'slave' mode, the DSP chip can generate audio clock signals for the data converters. The data output for each ADC would go into a data input on DSP chip.
You would probably want to make sure you understand what features the DSP you want to use has. Implementing submix busses and or other features may not be as easy in some chips.
Also, how will the user interact with the DSP, via computer over USB? With dedicated knobs, switches, and display? A touchscreen?
Need mic pres and phantom power built in too? Adjustible preamp gain? 20dB attenuators in each channel?
What else to consider?