Xite-1 optical connection up to 50m

[tonatona]

Hi,

this is a solution to use the Xite-1 with a long optical cable. I'm using a common thunderbolt 3 dock station with an optical Corning Thunderbolt 3 cable for all connections. My pc is in another room so i don't hear it at all and have more space in my studio desk. You need the Sonnet SxS PRO X Thunderbolt 3 adapter and the Sonic Core Express Card adapter. It works perfectly since two months.
This option is expensive but it is future proof and saves you one PCI Express slot on the mainboard. My HDMI to Mini HDMI cable is 20cm long, that's what makes me happy.
There are several optical USB 4 cables on the market. The Corning cable is pure optical without any copper so it does not transmit any interferencies from the pc regardless of it's load and power consumption. It does not absorb interferencies from the air and does not affect audio cables in the same cable duct. Depending on the use scenario you sometimes need an optical cable with copper wires (for power and recharge), sometimes pure optical without copper wires.

pc -> Corning -> dock station -> Sonnet -> SC Express Card -> HDMI -> Xite-1

Kind regards, Anton

[Bud Weiser]

pc -> Corning -> dock station -> Sonnet -> SC Express Card -> HDMI -> Xite-1

possibly too complicated and too expensive solution.

There´s appsys ADX-8 Extender ...
https://appsys.ch/products/adat-tools/adx-8

I myself, I´m using the discontinued 19" rackmount without the MIDI connectors which I got for a bargain from a PA company.
https://appsys.ch/products/adat-tools/a ... dx-64b-pro

The systems work for 100 meters distance.



Bud

[tonatona]

I also tried 10m ADAT cables but this is not the same. I missed the hardware Ins and Outs within easy reach and in the same rack with other hardware. The solution i described is using the Xite-1 like any modern interface on an USB port.

pc -> USB4 cable -> Sonnet -> Xite-1

You don't need a thunderbolt dock station. I'm using it because i have it. The SC Express Card adapter is almost completely inside the Sonnet adapter.
I just read that my HDMI cable is 15cm long so i'm even happier.

[nitri]

Can you share links about this devices? THX

[Bud Weiser]

I also tried 10m ADAT cables but this is not the same. I missed the hardware Ins and Outs within easy reach and in the same rack with other hardware. The solution i described is using the Xite-1 like any modern interface on an USB port.

pc -> USB4 cable -> Sonnet -> Xite-1

You don't need a thunderbolt dock station. I'm using it because i have it. The SC Express Card adapter is almost completely inside the Sonnet adapter.
I just read that my HDMI cable is 15cm long so i'm even happier.

Maybe I don´t understand correctly and that´s why I answered to "optical cable" solution.

The by you so called "Sonnet SxS PRO X Thunderbolt 3 adapter" is a card reader device.
So,- what are you really doing w/ it and the PCIexpresscard for XITE-1?
You say you´re using a cardreader to get (digital ?) audio in and out of the XITE-1 ?
MID I/O too ?



Bud

[valis]

He's using something to extend the Xite connector, more or less. The card and HDMI connection to Xite still sit in the studio, the PCIe/expresscard is socketed into a solution that then runs a Thunderbolt 4 cable to the PC in the other room.

[tonatona]

You put this one

https://sonic-core.de/product/expressca ... pe-xite-1/

into thls one

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/sxs- ... rview.html

It works directly on the pc but also on my thunderbolt dock station (which is connected to the pc). It works even if the thunderbolt dock station is connected to the pc per pure optical thunderbolt cable.

[Bud Weiser]

He's using something to extend the Xite connector, more or less. The card and HDMI connection to Xite still sit in the studio, the PCIe/expresscard is socketed into a solution that then runs a Thunderbolt 4 cable to the PC in the other room.

So,- the XITE PCIexpresscard34 is a SxS (or SxS Pro+ ???) card ?

It´s just only by interest, but I wonder WHY it works,- not if.
Normally, when I have a cardreader in mind,- that´s for data storage (read & write), but in this case, there´s the PCIexpresscard as the data modulator between CPU and XITE handling all the digital audio, MIDI, Sync and Async etc..
Now I wonder how a card reader device is able to pass thru all that data where in a normal usage, it just only receives data from CPU, writes on media and transfers back in a read process.
Did he find out by luck and is the Sonnet the only device working,- or is this behaviour normal for all SxS card readers?



Bud

[Bud Weiser]

You put this one

https://sonic-core.de/product/expressca ... pe-xite-1/

into thls one

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/sxs- ... rview.html

It works directly on the pc but also on my thunderbolt dock station (which is connected to the pc). It works even if the thunderbolt dock station is connected to the pc per pure optical thunderbolt cable.

You say your mini-hdmi to hdmi cable is 15 or 20 cm "short".
The original cable I use w/ the expresscard34 into my laptop is much longer.
Anyway ... you say "up to 50m" overall distance,-

what´s the real world distance in your setup and how long are these thunderbolt- (what ? 3, 4 or 5) and & or USB4 cables?
Up to now I learned there are limitations for TB and USB4 cables to when it comes to length,- no ?
The Sonnet SxS Pro X is 200 bucks and Thunderbolt 3 spec.
Copper cable limit is 10ft,- optical = 200ft.
Which length do you use optical and what does it cost?
AFAIK,- XITE-1 PCIexpresscard34 is PCIe 2.0 standard only and only ONE lane (x1) = 500MB/sec max..
Is it worth the investment in that Sonnet device and optical thunderbolt cable ?

I see, the S|C PCIexpresscard34 for XITE-1 is out of stock anyway and we dunno when it will be available again.



Bud

[tonatona]

The Sonnet SxS Pro X is a card reader in the "Pro" format, the fast format for professional video storage cards. See it as bidirectional HDMI to Thunderbolt converter for the Xite-1.
As i wrote there are several options for optical cables. The Corning is Thunderbolt 3, up to 50m, pure optical, expensive. According to forum users It works also as Thunderbolt 4 without speed limitations. I love it because it allows me to use my pc in another room. It offers (with a cheap thunderbolt dock station) all the connections i need. No errors and issues in 7 years. Galvanic isolation from the pc is an audiophiles dream.
There are also USB4 optical cables on the market. I did not try them, they may work. You need optical cables if you need long distances only.
If you want to try this solution then i recommend to buy the devices and cables with a return period. Then you can try all setups and all loads on the Xite-1.
I did not try the pure optical Corning cable directly on the Sonnet device. I may try this in the future after a pc update.
Pure optical cables did not transmit power due to their optical nature, they rely on devices providing power on both ends.

[tonatona]

So,- the XITE PCIexpresscard34 is a SxS (or SxS Pro+ ???) card ?

No, they are just compatible. You need both. The SC card is almost completely inside the Sonnet so it is a compact solution.

[Bud Weiser]

Please answer my question:

"What´s the cable YOU use between the cardreader (bi-dir. HDMI to TB converter) and computer?
Optical ?
Which length?
Price ?
Seller´s Link ?

In my house, it would be room-to-room too and I have a hole in the wall for it already.
I guess 20 meters distance at max..
I also own the S|C expresscard34 (and XITE-1).
We should not need the best and most expensive cables because the S|C card is "only" PCIe 2.0 data transfers (500MB/sec).
No need for USB4, TB4 or 5 !
So, the cable and the Sonnet box would be the only ones to buy,- a USB 3.1/3.2 PCIe card possibly too.
In theory, USB3.0 is already enough for the 500MB/sec,- but here we also learned USB connected ext. boxes didn´t work well w/ SCOPE.

I understand, the S|C card will be inserted into the Sonnet´s media slot,- correct ?
The most interesting point is that it simply works like a converter that way.

What´s your computer´s USB-C specs ?
Is it a dedicated Thunderbolt connection ?

My DAW machine doesn´t offer any Thunderbolt at all and the optional AsRock TB card isn´t available since years anymore.
The TB3 card for follow up mobo generation isn´t compatible.

I guess, any USB won´t work flawlessly and Thunderbolt 2 or 3 is essential precondition,- no ?



Bud

[tonatona]

You need a pc with Thunderbolt 3 or 4 or 5. USB 3 won't work. USB4 should work.
I told in the first post the cable i'm using.
Optical USB4 cables are less expensive because several manufacturers and perhaps chinese manufacturers.
Optical cables are the same 5m, 10m or 50m. The length is technically irrelevant.
I have an old pc with Thunderbolt 3.
The Sonnet SxS PRO X comes with a short Thunderbolt 3 cable.
Sonnet has had a suitable Thunderbolt 2 card but it is outdated. The thunderbolt version 2 plugs were different from the subsequent versions.

[tonatona]

I forgot to mention that there are optical HDMI cables too. They don't work because they are unidirectional. It is a pity, this would be a cheap slim ergonomic solution.

[Bud Weiser]

O.k.,- thx for all your info.

Corning TB3 optical cable, 10 meters = EUR 583,74 at Amazon,-

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08XC1JVG6/?ta ... d8b9e982fc

and I´d need 15 meters minimum, add. TB3 card and the Sonnet device.
That´s far more than 1K EUROs (VAT, custom tax & shipping incl.) insane investment for such a task.

The ADAT extenders I bought used offer 16 by dip-switches freely configuratable ADAT ports each, work bi-directional too and transport dedicated (BNC) wordclock as also extract wordclock from ADAT.
Only short ADAT cables neccessary within the rack(s) and for in-house, 2 cheap 15 meters Cat5e cables.

The better solution,- at least for me.



Bud

[tonatona]

The Corning TB3 optical cable is old. There were no alternatives at it's release. Nowadays there are cheap optical USB4 cables. I don't know which of them work though. There are optical USB4 cables for audio and video only, they don't work for our purpose.

But the most important thing: Optical cables have converters on both ends which need power to operate. Also the Sonnet's chipset needs power. I guess the Xite-1 HDMI does not deliver (enough) power. So you need a pure optical cable with a thunderbolt dock or a hybrid cupper optical cable. In a hybrid cable the optical part transmits the data and the cupper part power (and maybe some data).

[valis]

Good information, thanks.

There was a point where I wanted a separate machine room. The issue then is I also had 3D workstations & etc, and they were quite loud back then. Now machines have gotten quieter, but if you can't separate out your recording area this is still useful.