Arturia’s ADAT expanders are a useful and affordable option for anyone who needs more I/O.
Not even misplaced ’90s nostalgia is likely to revive Alesis Digital Audio Tape as a recording format in 2024, but the ADAT Lightpipe digital audio transfer protocol remains ubiquitous. A single optical cable allows convenient one‑way transfer of up to eight mono channels of 24‑bit audio at base sample rates, or four at 88.2 and 96 kHz. It’s easy to use, cheap to implement and scaleable enough to suit most situations.
One of the original use cases for ADAT expansion was to interface digital recording systems with analogue mixing consoles. Many older A‑D and D‑A converters with ADAT ports thus operated purely at line level on the analogue side. But it now seems that the main application for ADAT connectivity is to add extra standalone mic preamps to a computer audio interface. Consequently, there are now very few ADAT expanders with only line‑level inputs, and almost none that provide only outputs. If you need such a thing, you could seek it out second‑hand, but the audio performance of a 20‑year‑old converter won’t match what’s possible even in budget gear today.
Back In Black
With the AudioFuse X8 In and X8 Out, Arturia have revived the line‑level ADAT expander. As the names imply, these two 1U, half‑rack units respectively offer eight channels of A‑D and D‑A conversion. Each of them boasts two optical ports, allowing the full channel count to be maintained at higher sample rates as long as the connected device plays ball, and a BNC word‑clock input with associated termination switch. Analogue signals enter the X8 In and depart the X8 Out on balanced quarter‑inch jacks. As these units are standalone converters rather than audio interfaces, bus powering is not an option, so both come with wall‑wart power supplies that have locking DC connectors. Both also come with optional widgets attached to the base that can be detached and used as rack ears.
One of the reasons why Arturia have decided the time is right to revisit...
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