# Apollo 8P w/ Bricasti & Genelec 8341's



## JND (Jul 19, 2018)

Hey Everyone,

I recently purchased a bricasti to add to my studio setup.

I'm currently running my Genelec 8341's digitally with the ADAT OUT into the HOSA ODL312 and AES/XLR IN to my monitors. The second ADAT out port is for S/Mux and does not send a separate signal. Now, with the bricasti I would also like to run them digitally and bypass the convertors. What is the best way to do this? I know I'll need a secondary device to make the connection, but I'm not sure what it is. 

I've been looking at the RME ADI-4 DD as an option, but not sure if this would work for me needs. Any thoughts on what would be best?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,


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## charlieclouser (Jul 19, 2018)

I use RME ADI-192dd units to extract 4x AES pairs from a single 8-channel ADAT stream, and on the other side to combine 4x AES pairs into a single 8-channel ADAT stream - but that's an expensive box. 

Their ADI-4dd would suit your needs perfectly though. Still almost a grand though.

I wish there were more / cheaper versions of this type of thing. Anybody know of one?


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## JND (Jul 19, 2018)

charlieclouser said:


> I use RME ADI-192dd units to extract 4x AES pairs from a single 8-channel ADAT stream, and on the other side to combine 4x AES pairs into a single 8-channel ADAT stream - but that's an expensive box.
> 
> Their ADI-4dd would suit your needs perfectly though. Still almost a grand though.
> 
> I wish there were more / cheaper versions of this type of thing. Anybody know of one?



Thanks for the reply.

If I used the ADI-4 DD what would the setup look like for this? I'm thinking I would need to run an ADAT out of the Apollo 8P into the ADAT 1 IN of the RME ADI-4. Then, to hook up the bricasti I would take the DB 25 cables and run AES XLR IN & OUT to the Bricasti. Next, to hook up the Genelec 8341's I would take the AES XLR OUT of the RME to the Genelec monitor. Now, to go back to the computer with the signal of the Bricasti would I need to make another ADAT connection from the RME ADAT OUT 2 to the ADAT IN of the Apollo 8p?

This stuff gets confusing. Sorry for all the hassle. It was definitely easier staying in the box. haha.

Thanks in advance.


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## tmhuud (Jul 19, 2018)

Yes , but there is a lot of hardware out there that is worth the effort.


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## charlieclouser (Jul 20, 2018)

JND said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> If I used the ADI-4 DD what would the setup look like for this? I'm thinking I would need to run an ADAT out of the Apollo 8P into the ADAT 1 IN of the RME ADI-4. Then, to hook up the bricasti I would take the DB 25 cables and run AES XLR IN & OUT to the Bricasti. Next, to hook up the Genelec 8341's I would take the AES XLR OUT of the RME to the Genelec monitor. Now, to go back to the computer with the signal of the Bricasti would I need to make another ADAT connection from the RME ADAT OUT 2 to the ADAT IN of the Apollo 8p?
> 
> ...



You've got it right. You make a bi-directional ADAT connection to the ADI-4dd, which just breaks that out into AES via the DB-25. Set the switches on the front as follows:

- AES1 = this just determines if channels 1+2 of the ADAT streams will be routed to the DB-25 or to that single pair of XLR jacks on the back of the ADI-4dd. This can be used as a sort of switcher - if you had two different sets of monitors with AES inputs for instance, you could switch between them with this button. If you don't have anything connected to that single pair of XLR jacks, leave this set to "DB-25".

- SYNC = set this to ADAT. That way the ADI-4dd will sync to the ADAT stream from the Apollo. The Genelecs will always sync to their AES input, and you just need to set the Bricasti to use its AES i/o and it should automatically sync to the incoming AES signal.

- DS MODE = set this to OFF (no LEDs lit). This is for working at 88.2k / 96k and using the S-Mux mode. To enable this, you'd need to use a double-set of ADAT connections. All the gear you've mentioned will work in this mode, and all you'd need to do is get a second pair of ADAT cables and hook them up.

- AES STATE = set this to PRO.

Job done. Should work perfectly first time. I've been using two of the bigger ADI-8dd (now discontinued) and the ADI-192dd for 15 years or so and not one problem.


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## JND (Jul 20, 2018)

charlieclouser said:


> You've got it right. You make a bi-directional ADAT connection to the ADI-4dd, which just breaks that out into AES via the DB-25. Set the switches on the front as follows:
> 
> - AES1 = this just determines if channels 1+2 of the ADAT streams will be routed to the DB-25 or to that single pair of XLR jacks on the back of the ADI-4dd. This can be used as a sort of switcher - if you had two different sets of monitors with AES inputs for instance, you could switch between them with this button. If you don't have anything connected to that single pair of XLR jacks, leave this set to "DB-25".
> 
> ...



WOW! Thank you for this! This was seriously such a huge help! I'm very grateful.


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## chimuelo (Jul 20, 2018)

I use my hardware Solaris synths TosLink out into a Hosa ODL-312, then the ODL-312s AES/EBU Out into AES/EBU In on my DSP Rack.
Fantastic little converter but the RME looks like something I need to get.
Good discussion..


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## charlieclouser (Jul 20, 2018)

The benefit of the big-dollar ADI-192dd is that it has built-in SRC (sample rate converters) on all of the AES inputs. 

This means that you can bring in four separate AES signals that are NOT locked to the word clock of anything else in the room, and fold them all into a single ADAT stream. 

This is so freaking useful to me. I bring in the AES outputs of a Line6 Podx3Pro, a Virus TI and a V-Synth XT (by way of Canare XLR barrel-style S/PDIF > AES impedance converters), and the output of my CraneSong Spider (8x2 mic preamp + mixer). All four of those sources come in "wild", or un-clocked to the main DAW. And they sound just fine. This also lets you do stuff like use a synth or processor that's stuck at 44k or whatever and bring it into your DAW which is running at 48k. Stuff like an iPad with a Zoom U44 interface that has S/PDIF output but is too much hassle to get it to slave to the DAW audio clock - screw it, bring it in to the ADI and enable the SRC. Done!

In my configuration the ADI-192dd is locked to the DAW's word clock output, but none of those "wild" sources are. It's so good.

So that's part of the reason why the ADI-192dd is so expensive (and so useful).


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## chimuelo (Jul 21, 2018)

I’ve been adding so much gear I was thinking of a Mutec clock, but if sample rates get converted automatically that’s a huge benefit. Same price as the 5 port WClock.


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## charlieclouser (Jul 21, 2018)

Yes, with the SRCs on the ADI-192dd you can just plug in those four digital sources with a single cable - from the device outputs to the inputs on the ADI. You don't need to have any cabling going out to the devices to provide them with clock. It's so much simpler. They can all just run on internal clock, which is super handy for sketchy or older gear that might not be up to snuff with modern digital i/o tech. Gear that might have just a single S/PDIF output but no input, or gear that doesn't have a word clock input or the ability to slave to incoming digital, etc. 

I just have four 30-foot color-coded S/PDIF cables that go into the ADI, and I can just yank one out of the back of one piece of gear and jam it into another and I'm connected. It really makes using that gear so convenient. 

I originally got two of the ADI-8dd because the monitors in my two rooms only had AES inputs, and the ADAT outs on my Logic rig's MOTU 2408mk3's were all used to feed 24 channels over to the separate ProTools print rigs - but the 2408 had TDIF outputs as well (which mirror the ADAT outs), and the ADI-8dd has TDIF as well. So I ran the TDIF to the ADI, which converted that to AES to drive the speakers. Another huge bonus - the ADAT coming out of ProTools went into the ADAT in on the ADI, and with the push of a button on the ADI I could switch between the Logic and ProTools rigs being connected to the speakers - so that's like an 8-channel digital input selector for the speakers. 

That's all on the right half of the ADI-8dd. 

The fact that the left side of the ADI does the 4x AES > ADAT conversion, with SRC, was a bonus - but I soon found I couldn't live without it, what with all the random gear that has S/PDIF outs.

Gotta love RME.


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## JND (Jul 23, 2018)

Just wanted to follow up and note that the RME ADI-4 DD is working wonderfully. I'm running my Genelec 8341's and Bricasti both digitally now.

I did have a follow up question for you if have experience routing in logic. I set up an insert I/O on an aux return for the Bricasti. When I send a ping to determine the latency, I'm getting -11. Is this normal for a digital setup? Before when I had the Bricasti set up in analog it was +46. 

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,


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## charlieclouser (Jul 23, 2018)

I have no experience with the i/o plugin and its "ping" function, although a negative number does sound a little weird. 

Anyone else?


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## JND (Jul 24, 2018)

charlieclouser said:


> I have no experience with the i/o plugin and its "ping" function, although a negative number does sound a little weird.
> 
> Anyone else?



I reached out to Bricasti and Joe said, "No that’s not odd, interesting, but this is a reverb. What your doing is not relevant"


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