'One Connector to Rule Them All?'
In a fast-moving technological world, manufacturers of high-quality audio interfaces are always looking towards future developments and how these might be useful in an audio context, as Robindore explains: “We’re watching the development of the USB Type-C connector, especially with Intel’s recent announcement that Thunderbolt 3 will employ it. This means that the audio industry could finally have ‘one connector to rule them all’ that could eventually be used in anything from mobile devices to high-bandwidth professional systems,” he reveals. “Hopefully users won’t be confused by the fact that protocols with vastly varying performance can run across a Type-C connection.”
This convergence of protocols could finally mean that engineers would not have to carry around a case full of leads and converters every time they leave the studio, while leaving open opportunities for manufacturers to innovate and create products that would meet the varying requirements of their various customers.
One connection protocol that is ubiquitous on both Apple- and Windows-based machines is Ethernet. Currently mainly in use for distributed audio and large-scale networked systems, the protocol has been championed by Merging Technologies. “There are a number of audio-over-IP protocols now established in the pro-audio market that use Ethernet as the connection – the main players being Ravenna, Dante and Livewire,” details Paul Mortimer, managing director of Merging’s UK distributor eMerging. “Compatible devices can be connected using a simple point-to-point connection or via an existing standard IT network infrastructure.
“The main advantages of Ethernet-based formats are the ability to run much longer distances between devices; being able to take audio signals from one source and route to many destinations; and sample accurate clocking from one master device on the network. Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3 offer the ability to connect to Ethernet, so would also be compatible with networked audio devices. With the introduction of AES67, all of these audio-over-IP formats will talk to each other, so enabling one harmonious compatible format.”
PreSonus could also make use of the Ethernet protocol in the future, states Smith. “Audio networking solutions hold great promise – especially for higher-end products. The ability to connect audio with Cat cables for long runs is a huge advantage for audio transports. Being able to pull any stream off the network to record makes them great for larger installations and super-high channel count situations,” he notes.
Perrey says that Universal Audio is also looking ahead. “Thunderbolt 3 was just recently announced, allowing for even more bandwidth over a USB Type-C connector, and it will be backwards-compatible with USB 3.0 as well as Thunderbolt,” he explains. “It feels like the natural progression of the protocol, and reinforces our decision to use it as the connector for our scalable system of Apollo interfaces.”
The prospect of a single protocol that provides all the capabilities that engineers might require in their audio interface is a beguiling one, but also one that is unlikely to bring to an end the heated discussions between manufacturers over the best way to implement the emerging underlying technology in future products.
