So part of the reason I use Eurorack is for the analog of course. Ironically I started looking into AVB though because I wanted to use my analog mixer to do mixdowns of things in Ableton. Both to see if analog summing is better and if I like it more. I haven't drawn apples to apples conclusions on the former, but the latter is definitely true and thus my results to sound better.
I've only been doing tests so far. My current gear requires I drop down to 48kHz sampling to do mixing. That's probably fine but when tracking, I much prefer 96kHz. In order to do that I need to upgrade my gear and, sidenote, hard to believe in 2024 we're mostly stuck with USB2 (and on some occasion 3) and Thunderbolt (which Intel seems hell bent on making difficult/impossible for us PC users, nothing they broke compatibility with TB1 and 2, much to the ire of many a musician using TB1 gear). RME has some nice MADI cards for PCIe and of course there's Dante and all that.
Well after a week of raging ADHD I found a solution that fits my needs - MOTU M64 plus Ferrofish Pulse 16MX, using my MOTU 828mk3 via DAT. The M64 is notable because it can do MADI but also is an AVB endpoint with USB2. There's no easy option for AVB directly from a NIC at least on Windows (there is for Linux and Mac) hence the need for the box. I won't be using AVB initially but wanted it for some fun future options.
Enter Modular! While I plan on tracking my modular into my mixer when using it as a channel strip, I also realized, having an AVB interface could make locating the rig much easier without having to deal with long balanced cable runs for wherever I put it, along with line to eurorack in and out modules. This plus the idea of recording CV got me to thinking about what components would be required for an AVB module.
Turns out that some ARM-based microcontrollers have AVB support already (such as the Cortex-M7) and there's dedicated solutions (such as the LAN9360C from Microchip). I wasn't able to find a whole lot for how AVB might work on the M7 but for the LAN9360, looks to want a PCM (actually PDM but also TDM) signal, though the datasheet was light on details. It does say it supports 8 AVB streams and 40 channels. That math doesn't quite add up there but 40 channels is more than plenty. Lack of specifics in the datasheet kinda limits anything more than speculation and I haven't dug through the M7 to see what would be required there. I would guess the M7 might have more latency than a dedicated solution like the LAN9360.
I looked and, at least based on my searching, no modules exist that do this yet, but it sure would be neat to see! I was going to keep digging just to see how far I got. I've done basic stuff for my WaveBoy module (lofi wavetable based around the GameBoy's wave channel, plus step sequencer - which I need to really finish to document and release the thing open source...) but this would probably be a step above, though the datasheet of the LAN9360 mentions a CODEC chip and that might make for an easier path. Biggest hurdle is the packaging of these chips, the 9360 notably, would require using a pick and place fab shop or being skilled at mounting ball grid chips using skillets...
It would be pretty neat to have a modular with either a front RJ45 or (my preference) headers for a panel mount jack to mount at the rear of my case with the front having a set of ins and outs.
I've only been doing tests so far. My current gear requires I drop down to 48kHz sampling to do mixing. That's probably fine but when tracking, I much prefer 96kHz. In order to do that I need to upgrade my gear and, sidenote, hard to believe in 2024 we're mostly stuck with USB2 (and on some occasion 3) and Thunderbolt (which Intel seems hell bent on making difficult/impossible for us PC users, nothing they broke compatibility with TB1 and 2, much to the ire of many a musician using TB1 gear). RME has some nice MADI cards for PCIe and of course there's Dante and all that.
Well after a week of raging ADHD I found a solution that fits my needs - MOTU M64 plus Ferrofish Pulse 16MX, using my MOTU 828mk3 via DAT. The M64 is notable because it can do MADI but also is an AVB endpoint with USB2. There's no easy option for AVB directly from a NIC at least on Windows (there is for Linux and Mac) hence the need for the box. I won't be using AVB initially but wanted it for some fun future options.
Enter Modular! While I plan on tracking my modular into my mixer when using it as a channel strip, I also realized, having an AVB interface could make locating the rig much easier without having to deal with long balanced cable runs for wherever I put it, along with line to eurorack in and out modules. This plus the idea of recording CV got me to thinking about what components would be required for an AVB module.
Turns out that some ARM-based microcontrollers have AVB support already (such as the Cortex-M7) and there's dedicated solutions (such as the LAN9360C from Microchip). I wasn't able to find a whole lot for how AVB might work on the M7 but for the LAN9360, looks to want a PCM (actually PDM but also TDM) signal, though the datasheet was light on details. It does say it supports 8 AVB streams and 40 channels. That math doesn't quite add up there but 40 channels is more than plenty. Lack of specifics in the datasheet kinda limits anything more than speculation and I haven't dug through the M7 to see what would be required there. I would guess the M7 might have more latency than a dedicated solution like the LAN9360.
I looked and, at least based on my searching, no modules exist that do this yet, but it sure would be neat to see! I was going to keep digging just to see how far I got. I've done basic stuff for my WaveBoy module (lofi wavetable based around the GameBoy's wave channel, plus step sequencer - which I need to really finish to document and release the thing open source...) but this would probably be a step above, though the datasheet of the LAN9360 mentions a CODEC chip and that might make for an easier path. Biggest hurdle is the packaging of these chips, the 9360 notably, would require using a pick and place fab shop or being skilled at mounting ball grid chips using skillets...
It would be pretty neat to have a modular with either a front RJ45 or (my preference) headers for a panel mount jack to mount at the rear of my case with the front having a set of ins and outs.
Statistics: Posted by m00dawg — Mon Aug 05, 2024 2:06 pm — Replies 17 — Views 444