AES/EBU Digital Outs, what can I use them for?

R

Rob Bernstein

Freshman
Oct 23, 2013
66
1
6
Framingham, MA
I have a Soundcraft Mini Stagebox 32 on order to use with my SI Performer 2 console, and am so looking forward to being able to run a Cat5e cable instead of the multicore snake.
What I'm trying to figure out is, the Stagebox has 4 x AES/EBU outputs on it (along with 8 x Analog XLR outs), what i can I do with those?
I'm not recording, and I don't have anything I need to connect them to.
Is there some converter that I could make them additional analog sends/outs with?
Just trying to maximize my real estate.
Thanks for any insights-
 
Re: AES/EBU Digital Outs, what can I use them for?

Rob Bernstein said:
I have a Soundcraft Mini Stagebox 32 on order to use with my SI Performer 2 console, and am so looking forward to being able to run a Cat5e cable instead of the multicore snake.
What I'm trying to figure out is, the Stagebox has 4 x AES/EBU outputs on it (along with 8 x Analog XLR outs), what i can I do with those?
I'm not recording, and I don't have anything I need to connect them to.
Is there some converter that I could make them additional analog sends/outs with?
Just trying to maximize my real estate.
Thanks for any insights-
Click to expand...

Digital outputs are great for minimizing AD/DA conversions. When when they stack up they can degrade sound quality depending on the quality of the components in the chain.

But whether they're useful to you or not depends on what's next in the chain. If by chance you have amps with AES inputs then I'd be using those over analog inputs because then you're keeping it digital all the way to the amp. If you have a DSP that gives you the option of digital or analog inputs but just has analog outputs, then its the same number of conversions it's just happening in a different place. Maybe the DSP has better converters than your stage box or maybe the difference will be negligible.

If you're just feeding self powered speakers with analog inputs with nothing in between, then your digital outputs aren't going to be much use at least, on your PA anyway.
 
Re: AES/EBU Digital Outs, what can I use them for?

I don't know that stagebox, but aren't the AES/EBU outs just copies of the analog outs, ie. they carry the same eight channels, or can you route to them separately?
There are lots of AES/EBU to analog converters, most of them expensive.
 
Re: AES/EBU Digital Outs, what can I use them for?

Per Søvik said:
I don't know that stagebox, but aren't the AES/EBU outs just copies of the analog outs, ie. they carry the same eight channels, or can you route to them separately?
There are lots of AES/EBU to analog converters, most of them expensive.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're asking in general or specifically about that stage box, but for example the AVID stage boxes can have anything routed to AES outputs. I don't know about that box specifically.
 
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