Report of the meeting of the SC-05-02 Working Group on Audio Connectors of the SC-05 Subcommittee on Interconnections, held in Milan, Italy, 2018-05-25
The meeting was convened by chair Markus Natter.
Attendees introduced themselves, M Natter, P Treleaven, B Olson, R Crestani, J Grant, R Cabot were present, A Kuzub participated by internet link.
The formal notice on patent policy was read.
The agenda was accepted after adding the new project X246 to open projects. The report of the previous meeting held in Warsaw, 2015-05-08, was not further considered due to its age.
AES59-R Review of AES59-2012, Audio application of 25-way D-type connectors in balanced circuits
AES63-R Review of AES63-2012, AES standard for interconnections – Data connector in an XLR connector shell
AES65-R Review of AES65-2012: AES standard for interconnections – Connector for surround microphones
AES66-R Review of AES66-2012: AES standard for professional audio equipment – Application of connectors – Miniature XLR-type polarity and gender
All projects considered for review will be reaffirmed. There are some projects which possibly need to undergo revision with regard to contents and to account for editorial issues.
Development projects
AES-X222 - New audio data connector
No further progress has been made due to missing further development and interest in related product. The project is to be closed.
AES-X246 – Application of 8P8C data connector (RJ45 type) and quad twisted-pair cable for audio interconnections
This project was discussed for the biggest part of the meeting. The key issue in a new standard should be the pin to pin assignment between the 8P8C data connector and the audio connectors. The assignment should not be based on the colors used in the data cables, but on the contact numbers only. It was agreed that A. Kuzub would prepare a 2nd draft with a revised table for the various existing use cases. Any other existing assignments in products not yet considered should be included too, and then the table should be reduced to the minimum possible number of different use cases.
The possibility of conducting a survey addressed to relevant manufacturers was discussed.
AES59 should be considered as a reference on how to deal with variants. It is expected that at least 3 different pin assignments will be relevant to include in such a standard. Where implementations differ only in the assigned polarity of the audio connections these would be designated by the same assignment number with an added + or – suffix.
Currently there is a lot of informative content in the proposed document which needs to be moved to informative annexes in a revised draft.
Liaisons
Nothing to report.
New projects
None
New business
None
The next meeting will be scheduled in conjunction with the AES 145th Convention, to be held 17 to 20 October 2018 in New York, NY, US.
