Audio Engineering Society
Chicago
Meeting Review, May 6, 2008
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5/6/08
Meeting Highlights the topic of digital
audio networking. In his role as Business Development Manager at Crown, Mr. Benn works to define
new products, review technologies, and support customers and consultants. He is also
a regular presenter for Syn-Aud-Con, an organization which provides seminars and practical
training in the field of audio and acoustics. Mr. Benn spoke to a group of approximately 40 audio
professionals on the workings of digital audio networks, including Ethernet protocols, the
differences between several popular licensable networks such as CobraNet and EtherSound,
and the use of available network test tools. He also briefly discussed the differences between
CobraNet and AES3, a commonly-used two-channel digital audio interface. Many common digital
audio network technologies use some portion of the existing Ethernet protocol. For example,
both EtherSound and CobraNet utilize the physical and data layers of the Ethernet stackup,
allowing them to operate on existing Ethernet cable installations and network hardware. Because of
certain incompatibilities with existing data networks, however, some technologies require
dedicated Ethernet networks. The various digital audio network technologies differ in
terms of number of channels supported, sampling rates supported, and minimum latency across a
connection. CobraNet, for example, supports up to 64 simultaneous channels of 20-bit,
48-kHz uncompressed audio with a minimum point to point latency of 1.33ms. In contrast,
AES3, which is an open standard, provides a two-channel, one-way connection. The Chicago Section
would like to thank Brenda Brown and Syn-Aud-Con for facilitating this meeting. Syn-Aud-Con
conducts training seminars on topics ranging from sound reinforcement to digital audio
networking. For more information, visit their website: www.synaudcon.com.
Brad Benn discusses the common digital audio networking technologies. |
