Akai AES Dsub wiring

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Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Rob Collins »

Hi

Does anyone remember if Akai used to adopt the Tascam or Yamaha wiring standard for products with AES D sub connectors?

I’ve just got hold of an old Akai DD8 Plus with the AES card installed and before I ordered a Dsub to Dsub cable , I had a look around on the internet for info on wiring - a few websites suggested Tascam so I ordered one.

I’ve just gone to plug it in (to both a MOTU 112D and a RMe ADI-4DD converter (both by default use Tascam wiring) , but I can’t get Digital Audio into the DD8 Plus.

Either something is faulty (more likely the DD8 , as I have tested the MOTU and RME units with other AES gear and it works) or it is Yamaha AES wiring after all.

Can anyone shed some light on the subject please?

Thanks
Rob Collins
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

Rob Collins wrote:Does anyone remember if Akai used to adopt the Tascam or Yamaha wiring standard for products with AES D sub connectors?

Yamaha wiring protocol. Here's the relevant page from the manual
Akai AES wiring1.jpg
You can get suitable converter cables (Yamaha to AES59/Tascam) from Alva

eg:
https://www.synthax.co.uk/alva/aes-ebu/alva-pro-d-sub-25-yamaha-to-d-sub-25-tascam-pin-out-format-converter-cable/

You can find detailed information about the wiring of a range of digital d-sub formats in the SOS glossary here:

https://www.soundonsound.com/glossary/aes59
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Rob Collins »

Ahh, that would explain why it doesn’t work !

I did look at the manual but obviously hard enough
Shame there’s no jumper on the Akai AES card to change the pin configuration as on thr RME ADI-4DD, I can just change the ribbon cable over internally to change it to Yamaha config.

Thanks Hugh
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

At the time the Akai was in vogue most 'digital studios' were using Yamaha digital consoles, so it made sense to stick with the YGDAI wiring format.

But at least the signals are standard AES3 so it's easy to make or buy a multi-pair cable wired to the Yamaha scheme at one end and the Yamaha scheme at the other.
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Rob Collins »

So….

I returned the AES Dsub cable (Tascam-Tascam) - luckily they considered it a standard cable , otherwise I wouldn’t have Been able to return it.

I then ordered a new DSub cable with Yamaha wiring at one end and Tascam at the other - I thought as the RME ADI-4DD can accept both Yamaha and Tascam , and Tascam seems to be the dominant format these days it might be more useful long term)

With end labelled Yamaha , I connected it to the DD-8 ‘s AES connector and the other end labelled Tascam plugged into the RME (with the internal ribbon cable set for Tascam mode)

Still no signal is getting to the DD8 -.it gives me an error message when I try and arm a couple of tracks saying ‘No signal present’

The 4DD seems to be getting a signal from my MOTU 16A’ ADAT connections so I just can’t work out whats going on .

I could maybe understand if the AES board in the DD8 is maybe faulty , but I’ve got three DD8’s and they all behave the same.

I’m I missing something really obvious?
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

Rob Collins wrote:Still no signal is getting to the DD8 -.it gives me an error message when I try and arm a couple of tracks saying ‘No signal present’

That's odd... Assuming the 4DD is configured correctly, 'No Signal' might imply that the sends and receive connections are the wrong way around... I'd check the wiring details carefully.

Note that some T/Y adapter cables are intended as extensions for use with standard Tascam AES59 cables and I'm wondering if that's what's needed to do the cross-over bit in your case.
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Rob Collins »

…and what’s also odd is that when the 4DD is in Tascam mode , the top 4 AES leds on the front did not light, so just to see what would happen, I switched the 4DD into Yamaha mode and all four leds then stayed lit - the DD8 still reports no input but this seems to indicate the AES outs of the DD8 are communicating with the 4DD.

Very strange
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Rob Collins »

I have just tried connecting a DD-8 to a MOTU 112D , using the new cable (Yamaha at the DD8 end and Tascam at the 112d’s end) . As the 112D’s 3 AES dsubs adopts the Tascam wiring protocol, this new cable should have worked fine …….but no luck.

After trying my another couple of DD-8’s with no joy, I can only conclude that the cable has been wired wrong
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Re: Akai AES Dsub wiring

Post by Hugh Robjohns »

[quote="Rob Collins"I can only conclude that the cable has been wired wrong[/quote]

Wrong for the way you're using it, perhaps...

Are you sure this cable is wired for a direct connection between the Akai and interface, rather than as an extension to a standard AES59 cable?

Were any wiring details supplied with the cable, or can you get confirmation from the cable manufacturer?
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