Dolby SDU4 Hardware Dolby Stereo/Surround decoding

[deleted user]

Found this nearby: https://line6.com/legacy/toneportux8/

at 190€ is quite expensive, but I looked around and it's difficult to find out audio interfaces with 6 or 8 input - I know that 4 would be enough to capture audio from SDU4, still I'm planning to eventually capture other configurations as full Dolby Pro-Logic, DTS Neo, or even Audissey DSX (for what all this worth, though...)

Question: would be that compatible with Windows 10?

spoRv, there are many interfaces out there with 6 or 8 inputs. I don't know where you searched, but there's a ton.

I found a Rightmark Audio Analyzer test for this one: https://en.audiofanzine.com/usb-interfac...-back.html

Not a very good unit judging by that imo.

[spoRv]

spoRv, there are many interfaces out there with 6 or 8 inputs. I don't know where you searched, but there's a ton.

I found a Rightmark Audio Analyzer test for this one: https://en.audiofanzine.com/usb-interfac...-back.html

Not a very good unit judging by that imo.

Thanks for the link! Actually I read the review AND the RAA test, and it's not that bad indeed... sure, for "high end" use it could be not enough, but given the fact it will be used mainly to record SDU4, it more than enough!

Many interfaces... I know there are, but features I'm looking for are:
6 (or better) 8 inputs
possibly USB (if Firewire, that must work with a simple FW-USB cable)
working with Windows 10
good price

It seems that to get something nice at (relatively) good price, I should dig some graves and resurrect 10+ years old (if not older) pieces of gear!

[deleted user]

@spoRv

Just from a quick google search I found a few that are probably better:

ESI Gigaport HD+:
https://www.amazon.com/ESI-Gigaport-Outp...B0064RWFM4

Better values than the one you picked: https://prosound.ixbt.com/interfaces/esi...t-hd.shtml
And you can find it used under 100 EUR. Although I would personally probably avoid it because it is USB-powered and I've always had noise issues with USB-powered devices.

Probably better unit (though I can't find a test) from the same company: https://www.thomann.de/de/esi_u86_xt_b_stock.htm
Probably a lot better and not that much more expensive.

Or: https://www.thomann.de/de/tascam_us_16x08.htm
Couldn't find RMAA for this exact unit either, but for the 2x2 model: https://prosound.ixbt.com/interfaces/tas...616m.shtml
I see it used for around 190 EUR.

And these are just from a quick google. There's a ton of older great gear out there, especially if you'd be willing to get a Firewire card I think.

[spoRv]

• ESI Gigaport HD+ IT IS "ONLY" A SOUNDCARD WITH 8 OUTPUTS...
  
• ESI U86 XT - seems much better, I like its "simplicity"; brand new is around 290€ though
  
• TASCAM US-16X08 - on amazon.de at 299€, but I like previous one more
  
• Behringer UMC1820 - seems to have similar features at about 229€ is nicer price...
  

Agree, there should be a lot more around, and buying a decade old model at almost the same price of a brand new (and surely compatible with Windows 10) is not a smart move...

[deleted user]

@spoRv

Aye, and that's only units that are currently in production. Personally I don't mind buying used or refurbished units. I will typically look on something called "Kleinanzeigen" here, where people put things usually really cheaply. There's few things that I wouldn't buy used. PSUs being one of them.

Personally I'd stay away from Behringer, they tend to be a cheap low-budget brand. They might or might not still be better than that old dinosaur that you wanted originally, but I couldn't find a test to make sure.

Edit: If you wanted to go more premium, I'd get a used Fireface 800 and a Firewire card. That old unit is in some aspects even better than the new RME units and it has rock solid drivers.
Or: https://motu.com/products/avb/8a The Motu 8A has fantastic converters.

[pipefan413]

This has a lot to do with why I haven't yet done my own SDU4 / Yamaha decoded recordings, though I definitely am going to. I have a way of recording 4 channels at once but I don't know how high fidelity it will be: my Blackmagic Design Decklink Studio 2 has 4 channels of balanced analogue audio input but it seems to be limited to 48 kHz at 24-bit. Might be fine, honestly, but who knows. I've come close to buying a few USB interfaces but haven't yet because I've been in LaserDisc Land... one of those was a Behringer except I found rather a lot of people discussing various problems with them so I stopped myself. But I've not found a better alternative so far. I'll probably just do some test runs on my Decklink at some point and see how it goes.

[deleted user]

This has a lot to do with why I haven't yet done my own SDU4 / Yamaha decoded recordings, though I definitely am going to. I have a way of recording 4 channels at once but I don't know how high fidelity it will be: my Blackmagic Design Decklink Studio 2 has 4 channels of balanced analogue audio input but it seems to be limited to 48 kHz at 24-bit. Might be fine, honestly, but who knows. I've come close to buying a few USB interfaces but haven't yet because I've been in LaserDisc Land... one of those was a Behringer except I found rather a lot of people discussing various problems with them so I stopped myself. But I've not found a better alternative so far. I'll probably just do some test runs on my Decklink at some point and see how it goes.

I only do SDU4 decodings at 48 kHz anyway. Especially with 44.1 kHz Laserdisc sources, I don't see any need to go higher, since even 48 has a bit of headroom already. But I definitely like capturing vinyl at higher rates.

(More?) important things are noise floor, distortion, stereo crosstalk and related stuff, which is what really sets apart a good converter from a low budget one.

And lastly, input level is also important. May seem counter-intuitive, but let's say you have a typical consumer setup at home. That runs typically at the -10 dBV level I think. Don't ask me what the dBV means lol, it's just how I remember it. Point being, it's quieter than studio level, which is typically at +4dBU or higher. So let's say you get an interface calibrated to +4dBU. If you record -10dBV content with it, it will be 9 dB (?) too quiet. You can boost it of course, but that will also raise the noise floor by 9dB, so the dynamic range which you originally assumed from the spec sheet is suddenly 9 dB lower. Some interfaces like the Fireface 800 have switchable input sensitivity, which also supports -10dBV for instance, which is why it actually gets a higher dynamic range with consumer sources than newer or other better interfaces, since with some others you'd have to boost the signal so much you lose out on the whole benefit of the better converter.

Now let's say you start out with an already cheap low-budget interface, and maybe you get unlucky and only have +4dBU input, then you started out with bad specs and you get even worse specs in reality.

Though to be fair, in this instance, purely talking about SDU4, it can be calibrated to any volume level you like pretty much. But still something to keep in mind if you want something that will last you a long time and be versatile.

[spoRv]

ESI Gigaport HD+:
https://www.amazon.com/ESI-Gigaport-Outp...B0064RWFM4

Just realized that it has 8 OUTPUTS, not inputs...

my Blackmagic Design Decklink Studio 2 has 4 channels of balanced analogue audio input but it seems to be limited to 48 kHz at 24-bit. Might be fine, honestly

To record SDU4?!? It will be fine, I'm sure Tom agrees as well!

[pipefan413]

my Blackmagic Design Decklink Studio 2 has 4 channels of balanced analogue audio input but it seems to be limited to 48 kHz at 24-bit. Might be fine, honestly

To record SDU4?!? It will be fine, I'm sure Tom agrees as well!

No, I got it for LaserDisc captures *and* recording SDU4 (because of the crapload of analogue inputs). It seems like a decent bit of kit, but I don't really know because I've nothing to compare it against!

[deleted user]

ESI Gigaport HD+:
https://www.amazon.com/ESI-Gigaport-Outp...B0064RWFM4

Just realized that it has 8 OUTPUTS, not inputs...

Whoops. Good thing it was already disqualified for other reasons.

my Blackmagic Design Decklink Studio 2 has 4 channels of balanced analogue audio input but it seems to be limited to 48 kHz at 24-bit. Might be fine, honestly

To record SDU4?!? It will be fine, I'm sure Tom agrees as well!

Couldn't find any specs or tests. They might be in the manual but I couldn't find a pdf of it.