Ordering a QU32 which is exactly what I’ve been looking for for ages - EXCEPT it is such a shame it doesn’t have a digital input! AES, SP/DIF, ADAT… Anything would be welcome!
Maybe you should order a GLD?
Digital inputs would require the whole desk to synchronize to some external wordclock which adds complexity to the internal clocking domains thus increasing hardware cost. I could imagine this was one of the first features dropped when designing the Qu series…
Indeed, if digital inputs (and wordclock sync) is required, the Qu isn’t yours…
It has digital in, kind of.
USB B is digital in 
sure, but this synchronizes the connected PC/MAC to the wordclock of the Qu (from the samplerate the Qu sends out)…
Maybe you should order a GLD?
Err… What digital in on a GLD? Do you mean via an additional I/O module?
Yes, ADAT via MMO. Maybe I’m mistaken on functionality?
Sorry, I should remind myself what MMO stands for. Output only! Doh. But a Dante card should still provide digital input, surely?
Hmm, I’ve just sold the PC that this could have worked with, so I can’t test this…
PC with USB-B connection to QU, ADAT card acting as the clock master to an I/O device…
PC then passes audio from one to the other - I have NO idea if this would work…
Of course it might end up with horrify latency, and of course re sampling if the I/O isn’t already at 48kHz…
It is plausibly possible, but I’m not sure I’d want to run it live! (Or rather, I am sure I wouldn’t want to run it live without a lot of testing)
Ok, some technote from my side, sorry…
For proper digital connections between audio gear a global clock reference needs to be established. I’m not talking about everything switched to the same sampling rate (which is a prerequisite) but for sample clock on all units running in sync.
Even with everything set to 48kHz, for example, any oscillator still has some tolerance (~100ppm). So one unit may run with 48.000,1 Hz, the next one with 47.999,8Hz.
Word Clock in/out is the magical word here. Even if word clock could be extracted from ADAT or S/PDIF streams, it is far more reliable and provides less clock jitter (turns into noise when converted to analog) to run a separate BNC cable for the word clock.
There is exactly one Word Clock Master providing the reference and one or more slaves synchronizing their (internal) clock generators to that word clock (using PLL/DLL/VCXO or similar technology).
With everything running in the same word clock domain no resampling is required at all. If the units are not synced, resampling is required (on a sub-sample basis) or you’ll hear a click from time to time.
Bob’s scenario may work, if the ADAT card is able to synchronize to the clock reference from the Qu (via USB), but this would require some generic API within the OS which is aware of clock domains at all. Nothing a PC will do, maybe CoreAudio on Mac, not sure. ASIO is not an option, since you only can use one ASIO driver per application, for the same reason (not synchronizable).
I’d probably prefer an analog connection…
I would too, the PC I just sold could certainly master the ADAT connection (though I usually slaved it) - passing the word clock around in software would be ‘fun’
Price point!
The QU is fabulous!
He should probably buy a mixer that one can build on.
https://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/firewire-interface/
Word Clock input and output BNC connectors
4 x ADAT Input and 4x ADAT Output ports
And never sell your old equipment until you are absolutely sure you will never want to use it again… hind sight!
my 2 cents worth
Hmm, the GS-R is an analog desk and this interface is “just” a bunch of DACs and ADCs (sourced from FireWire resp. ADAT). Of course a similar interface could be used to convert from ADAT etc. to analog and then connect to the Qu, but that’s probably not an acceptable path for the initial request…
A question to the OP: what is the use case in mind for the digital inputs? To a DAW etc, or to digital rack equipment? Ie, is a stereo or multichannel link required?
Had a similar question in mind but didn’t dare to ask…
I guess this is more a studio question where the Qu replaces a regular audio interface which likely provides ADAT or S/PDIF inputs and connects to some vintage gear like MD-Recorder or a stack of ADATs or specialized units like the Eleven Rack.
If the DAW does not support multiple concurrent audio interfaces and is connected to the Qu, there’s no chance to receive audio from those sources digitally.
If this is worth bothering is another point, though…
Just a bunch of DACs!
I don’t think from original concept the QU was never designed to do otherwise what it is doing at that price point.
After owning and using a GSR for 3 years… that desk was more designed for the add-ons from that last era we have come from.
And after using both now in studio and live the wish for a combination of both of those desks would be awesome!
They are what they are and people will continue to try to squeeze more and more out of the QU
I’m sitting here here ‘right now’ about to edit 100 tracks wishing the QU had A/B monitor studio outs to different monitors.
Maybe A&H would build a digital “in” to attach instead of the d’snake arrangement?
I’m pretty sure the Qu series does not have the necessary circuits to be slaved from some external word clock. Such a “digital in box” would need to perform (unwanted) resampling.
Regarding the A/B switch: Maybe use the Matrix outputs? Could easily be toggled from the screen…
Technically no reason that an ADAT dsnake couldn’t be built, but allocation would be in chunks of 8
Hi,
Once dante via is out a pc connected to qu qu16 usb Asio drivers in windows would be directly patchable channel by channel as a dante device. by this anything on a dante network would connect with the computer acting as a converter. Obiosuly same sample rate would be required but it should work. Via will be out sometime in the next 4 months a cording to Dantes Website.
Regards