DIY wiring of RCA-to-XLR umbilical cable

[rafal123]

Thanks. I reached out to DH Labs. Great customer service. I ordered a 3m 110Ohm cable to test. Will let you know.

[rafal123]

Still no luck.

Tried 3m cable from DH Labs - doesnt work. Great guys though, very responsive and thoughtful.

Contacted Audioprana - they will not make a 3m cable (too long).

Impedance mismatch is causing problems with longer cables. Apparently the higher the frequency the more signal reflections you get, therefore at 192khz sampling rate companion channel goes silent.

[baddog]

That's unfortunate, sorry to hear that.

[thumb5]

rafal123 - have you considered using an active S/P-DIF to AES converter, with an impedance-matched balanced cable?  Maybe that might work better over the distance you need.  Something like the Mutec MC-1.1+ might do the job...possibly a bit of over-engineering, but the cost is not too high (compared with "audiophile" cables, anyway).  Might be worth having a chat with Mutec and asking them what they think; I've found them very responsive and keen to help.

ETA: I am of course assuming that the signal is using standard protocols...

[ogs]

rafal123 - have you considered using an active S/P-DIF to AES converter, with an impedance-matched balanced cable?  Maybe that might work better over the distance you need.  Something like the Mutec MC-1.1+ might do the job...possibly a bit of over-engineering, but the cost is not too high (compared with "audiophile" cables, anyway).  Might be worth having a chat with Mutec and asking them what they think; I've found them very responsive and keen to help.

That is a brilliant idea! I have always found the lack of a dedicated (and proprietary) connection between Master and Companion a problem. Thumb's idea may actually solve this problem! A short RCA-RCA from Master to Mutec (maybe the one included with mono amps) and a long XLR-XLR from Mutec to Companion. Let's hope someone will try this and report back their findings to the forum.

[rafal123]

Thanks, I will definitely look into it.

[Soniclife]

Would the mutek add a delay?
Do we know that the protocol between the two units is standard?

[Axel]

Would the mutek add a delay?
Do we know that the protocol between the two units is standard?

I can confirm that the Mutec will add no delay to the signal. In my living room, I have a Sonos Play going into the Mutec, then into my 440 Pro. In the kitchen I have a Sonos Play going into a Creek CAS4040 (30 years old this year and still going strong!). When I group the living room and kitchen, they are in perfect sync.

[ogs]

Do we know that the protocol between the two units is standard?

A question to Devialet ought to clear that up. One has to test this anyway, but the Mutec looks at the protocol used (according to the user manual) and has a mode where it passes 'non standard' SPDIF too. Hopefully it will work. There is no re-clocking involved which would introduce latency. I am sure Mutec will respond quickly to a question about any latency through the device.

[Confused]

With the question of protocol unanswered, it is not clear if the proposed Mutec solution would work.  Something like this offers a simpler alternative:

http://www.neutrik.com/en/accessories/ae...nsformers/
http://www.canford.co.uk/Index/110-75-oh...converters

I did talk to Devialet's Mathieu Pernod about the optimum solution to the master companion link.  At first he stated that there was basically no difference between the AES/EBU connection and using RCA, but after more detailed discussion he did advise that RCA to AES/EBU connection with a transformer was the optimum solution.  I'm thinking you could try something like the Neutrik transformer with cheap cables as proof of concept.  If this works satisfactorily, then you could get a decent custom cable made with transformer.

There is a very simple solution of course, link using the RCA to RCA method.  NickB has already advised this works without issue.  Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best?  Although I think personally I would try the transformer method, if only out of curiosity, it would be cheap and easy enough to do.