nw2s::io progress!

Asym9 · Post by **Asym9** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 12:52 pm

I placed my pre-order yesterday. Looking forward to having a new level of integration with my modular, DAW, and outboard gear!

I assume at least a few people have had to pick up some DB-25 to TRS or XLR cables. Any recommendations?

lamouette/rck · Post by **lamouette/rck** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 2:14 pm

i think of getting one too, maybe i will go for a 1U rack with DB25 on the back, and 16 combo on the front. Like that you just have to get a basic DB25 cable to connect both.

visible cow · Post by **visible cow** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:26 pm

lamouette/rck wrote:i think of getting one too, maybe i will go for a 1U rack with DB25 on the back, and 16 combo on the front. Like that you just have to get a basic DB25 cable to connect both.

That's an intereresting solution....the cheapest db25 to trs patchbay I can find is around $300 though....but maybe I need to look around some more.

gwpt · Post by **gwpt** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 4:49 am

I got 2 x db-25 to trs cables $40 each) and a rack balanced patchbay (2nd hand $40) which made it only $120 all up

A cheaper option

thresholdpeople · Post by **thresholdpeople** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:29 am

High quality cables, using the best wire and connectors can be DIYed for about $50-60 each (DB25-1/4" TRS gold). Any deviation in quality away from Canare or Mogami wire and Nuetrik connectors drives the price down incredibly fast. In fact it's the Nuetriks which are driving the price up in that estimate.

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:54 am

Production boards were delivered yesterday... and woooboy they sound so good. Really excited. It's the first round I've gotten with the full +6dB of gain coming from the DAW side, and ahhh just the ability to get that smooth SeM20 saturation as a hardware insert makes it worth it!

I have a few more tests to run through to have a full workout, but assuming that's all good, then the upgrades will ship this week and the newer orders will ship starting Monday!

Regards,

Scott

visible cow · Post by **visible cow** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:53 pm

How do I purchase just the upgrade? I didn't see the option on your site but maybe I just missed it. Would love to be on that Monday batch if all goes well.

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:01 pm

I added the upgrade to the site at the price it will be if bought outright. I'll need to email coupons to the folks who ordered earlier who want to upgrade so that you can get it for the agreed price.

Regards,

s

visible cow · Post by **visible cow** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:16 pm

Cool, sent you an email for that coupon.

wcheeese · Post by **wcheeese** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:56 am

I'm a eurorack newb and am curious if the nw2s::io is a what I'm after.

In Eurorack I'm starting off with a focus on utility and a bi-directional connection between eurorack & my computer (max/msp, etc.) as well as a bi-directional connection between eurorack & my standalone effects units like vintage tape echoes and various effects processors.

I began with an audio interface for my computer complete with ADAT - the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20.
http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-inter ... lett-18i20

I have Expert Sleepers ES-3 & ES-6 for the eurorack / computer connection. And I think these can be used to deliver audio in and out as well if i'm recalling correctly.

I was also just considering picking up a Doepfer A-138d for the eurorack / efx processors & vintage gear connection.

Would the nw2s::io take the place of some of this gear or compliment things?

Can you recommend if a balanced or unbalanced unit would be more suitable for what I've described or any other opinion or advice you can pass along to a curious newb?

Thank for any time you can lend me.

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:11 am

> with a focus on utility and a bi-directional connection between eurorack & my computer (max/msp, etc.) as well as a bi-directional connection between eurorack & my standalone effects units

The nw2s::io was developed primarily for this purpose. It's symmetric in that the gain is near unity going in and out... and it symmetric in that it's 8 channels in and out. So you can easily have 8 channels of hardware insert with your DAW or have 8 channels of external effects routed into your modular.

> I have Expert Sleepers ES-3 & ES-6 for the eurorack / computer connection. And I think these can be used to deliver audio in and out as well if i'm recalling correctly

Yes, the ES3 and ES6 can be used for audio or CV into and out of lightpipe. The difference is that it has on-board converters whereas the nw2s::io is meant to deliver high-quality balanced audio signals to your studio gear that has its own converters.

The ES3/6 combo is certainly convenient and definitely can't be beat for CV integration. But personally, I'd rather run audio to the converters in my Avid HD IO converters than use the ES3/6 for recording.

> I was also just considering picking up a Doepfer A-138d for the eurorack / efx processors & vintage gear connection.

This is going to be a personal decision for you. While I may be particularly biased, there's more to take into consideration. Apples and oranges and all that. If you want a single channel insert with blending/crossfade, then that will be great. If however you want what the 'io provides, then it's a bit different. Just 16 channels of high-quality balanced drivers and receivers.

Since you are looking for a two-way interface, I would suggest the balanced version. If you're going to be using it as an insert and processing audio from your DAW, then you will want the 6dB gain coming from the studio side to the modular side. The unbalanced doesn't provide this. The unbalanced version is a lower priced option for those who primarily need an 8 channel recording interface who may want to run some audio into the system from time to time.

TL:DR - A perfect system to me would be a pair of ES3/ES6 for CV and clock duties and an nw2s::io dedicated to audio.

Hope that helps explain a bit more... Feel free to hit me up for more information, especially if you have questions about balancing audio or gain staging - that's the most confusing part for newcomers to both audio in general and modular in particular.

s

suboptimal · Post by **suboptimal** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:06 pm

Thus far I'm enjoying the flexibility this module provides quite a bit. It's really nice to have a few external routing options immediately available within the modular. It's quite liberating. I suspect everyone with large systems would benefit from this.

flipper16 · Post by **flipper16** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:47 am

Hi Scott

I thought I'd let you know my i/o arrived safely in the UK this morning and is in first class condition.

Thank you for a great looking and extremely useful module.

gwpt · Post by **gwpt** » Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:38 pm

I got mine the other day and this module is totally amazing!

for anyone with out board gear it essential. I cannot recommend it enough.

newgreyarea · Post by **newgreyarea** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 7:18 pm

I'm considering getting one of these as I have an Erbeverb, Springray and Modcan Dual Phaser that I want to use on my mixer's aux sends as well as some modular stuff on inserts.
The Erbeverb as it is now, is very noisy. Just hiss. I'm imagining that has something to do with bringing the signal up that is going into the Erbeverb.

I'm hoping one of these will help.

Was really really hoping I could get away with the unbalanced version but it seems that I'll need the balanced.. . . . and will have to wait as it's so much more expensive.
-b

EnricoGaruda · Post by **EnricoGaruda** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:26 pm

Just want ask a question , how much is the signal coming out of the balanced version, attenuated? -6dB?

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 5:22 am

EnricoGaruda wrote:Just want ask a question , how much is the signal coming out of the balanced version, attenuated? -6dB?

Correct - 6dB of attenuation going out to the DB-25 and 6dB of gain coming in from the DB-25s.

-s

bisquick · Post by **bisquick** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:14 pm

@scottwilson
ok, this is probably a silly q:

you'd mentioned that the unit supports DC-coupled output, which I'm clear pertains to the section that outputs audio from the computer to your modular, but what about the input side?
can I send DC-coupled signals TO the computer as well? I'd imagine that this will _not_ normally work, since it's all up to the audio interface whether or not it's supported, afaik.
...
also, latency would be exclusively based on your soundcard, right?

thank you...

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 7:07 am

The 'io is DC coupled going both in and out. As long as your interface is DC coupled, then you'll be fine. The MOTU interfaces are the only ones I know of that are DC coupled going both directions.

And yes, the 'io is all analog, so no latency there. It's dependent on your ADC/DAC, and how your recording software deals with latency issues.

Regards,

Scott

bisquick wrote:@scottwilson
ok, this is probably a silly q:

you'd mentioned that the unit supports DC-coupled output, which I'm clear pertains to the section that outputs audio from the computer to your modular, but what about the input side?
can I send DC-coupled signals TO the computer as well? I'd imagine that this will _not_ normally work, since it's all up to the audio interface whether or not it's supported, afaik.
...
also, latency would be exclusively based on your soundcard, right?

thank you...

bisquick · Post by **bisquick** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:04 pm

whoa!

it wasn't my impression that the MOTU stuff did this, but i'll look at it again. i'd love to find that i am wrong, but i think you need special polling electronics to get a DC into the device, and that MOTU's boxes mainly deal w/ output. there was a device in the past called a teabox which does it, but i'm deciding whether or not i want to dedicate the time to programming an update in C.

in fact, i've been considering building a solution for this very reason. have you done a lot of testing with those devices? for example, can you get an LFO in at lower than 10hz?

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 5:17 pm

Ah I see. MOTU inputs are not DC coupled only the outputs. I know someone is using it to record CV. I never thought to ask what interface he was using.

s

qualitypetrol · Post by **qualitypetrol** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 10:21 am

Did you ever consider a version of the io without the DB25 on the front panel (and therefore a smaller front panels with only the jacks)? I think a lot of people would prefer rear mounted DB25 and a couple of HP less in the rack... any plans for something along those lines? It would probably mean redesigning the PCB's so they take less real estate?

scottwilson · Post by **scottwilson** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 10:56 am

qualitypetrol wrote:Did you ever consider a version of the io without the DB25 on the front panel

I have... but it's already three PCBs deep and the middle one takes up the full width of the panel. It would be pretty hard to get it down that far I think. It's not out of the question, and I'm considering some other options, but I don't want to compromise on the quality for a couple of HP. There are some other areas of flexibility that are worth exploring.

Thanks!

s

qualitypetrol · Post by **qualitypetrol** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:55 am

Ok, I thought as much. In a purely esthetic sense, it would be nice if you had a blank part instead of the DB25's on the front. But: a fantastic module by any standards, I'll be getting one soon!

analogdigital · Post by **analogdigital** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:08 pm

Just throwing this out there - any chance for a version that has 16ch of outs from the modular vs 8 in + 8 out?

I have no need to run anything into the modular so paying for an 8 in 8 out unit and only using half is a bit of a waste in my mind. Personally speaking of course.

I also considered that the ins could be used the other direction, but I take it the gain circuitry is the opposite of the out channels, thus not the expected result.

Cheers

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

nw2s::io progress!