Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

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MJKlein
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Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by MJKlein »

I'm interested in getting a Dante PCIe card and I would like to hear some recommendations from owners. The Focusrite seems to be the cheapest. The SSL card is more expensive but does the same thing apparently.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... pcier-card

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ante-pcier

The RedNet version page talks about it being made for RedNet converters, but if it's a true Dante PCIe card, it should not matter to it what is on the network. It says under features "Compatibility with any Dante network". So I think that means I can use it with my Dante network and the X32 X-Dante with no issues.
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thunfisch
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by thunfisch »

I think it's worth taking a look at the Digigram LX-Dante. They seem to be the only vendor that explicitly provide Linux drivers, and also slighlty mod the OEM card. https://www.steller-online.de/Audiohard ... Dante.html Seems to be slightly more expensive than the Focusrite variant, but IMO for a good reason.
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by MJKlein »

thunfisch wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:03 pm I think it's worth taking a look at the Digigram LX-Dante. They seem to be the only vendor that explicitly provide Linux drivers, and also slighlty mod the OEM card. https://www.steller-online.de/Audiohard ... Dante.html Seems to be slightly more expensive than the Focusrite variant, but IMO for a good reason.
The price difference is really negligible. I did see that brand card but didn't know anything about it. Are you referring to the AES67 mode as the mod their card has that makes it different? That could be useful across different networks. Thanks!
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thunfisch
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by thunfisch »

No, the focusrite cards etc. are AES67 compatible as well. But as far as I know, only the Digigram LX-Dante provides a Linux/ALSA driver. This is why, if I would buy a Dante PCIe card, the Digigram is the only sensible option in my eyes. :)
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by MJKlein »

thunfisch wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:34 am No, the focusrite cards etc. are AES67 compatible as well. But as far as I know, only the Digigram LX-Dante provides a Linux/ALSA driver. This is why, if I would buy a Dante PCIe card, the Digigram is the only sensible option in my eyes. :)
Thank you for the clarification!
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by MJKlein »

I have the Focusrite PCI card coming via UPS later this week.

Now I need to build a new computer!
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by thunfisch »

Nice! Can you try to do some RTL measurements with that setup and the Wing Dante? Would love to see how quick a full roundtrip via Dante to Wing analog (local i/o) and back into the computer is :)

edit: https://oblique-audio.com/rtl-utility.php this works pretty great for such measurements.
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by MJKlein »

thunfisch wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 9:38 pm Nice! Can you try to do some RTL measurements with that setup and the Wing Dante? Would love to see how quick a full roundtrip via Dante to Wing analog (local i/o) and back into the computer is :)

edit: https://oblique-audio.com/rtl-utility.php this works pretty great for such measurements.
Sure. Send me your WING and I'll return it when I'm finished testing. :D

I'm a lowly X32 user with no current plans for a WING. 8-)

After I get the new computer built I'll be doing round-trip testing and compensation in Reaper. It's very easy to do with ReaInsert. I was getting good results with DVS so the PCIe card should be insane. I will document that of course.
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by thunfisch »

MJKlein wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:10 am Sure. Send me your WING and I'll return it when I'm finished testing. :D

I'm a lowly X32 user with no current plans for a WING. 8-)
LOL, sorry! Was just assuming you owned a Wing :D My bad. But I think the round trip with the X32 would still be interesting - probably a very similar number (+- 0.5ms). Looking forward to hearing about your experiences :)
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Re: Dante PCIe Card Recommendations

Post by MJKlein »

thunfisch wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:59 am
MJKlein wrote: Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:10 am Sure. Send me your WING and I'll return it when I'm finished testing. :D

I'm a lowly X32 user with no current plans for a WING. 8-)
LOL, sorry! Was just assuming you owned a Wing :D My bad. But I think the round trip with the X32 would still be interesting - probably a very similar number (+- 0.5ms). Looking forward to hearing about your experiences :)
I got mine in 2018 so it was pretty new when the WING was announced. Here in Taiwan the WING is probably close to $6,000 USD but I've never seen one. I use mine exclusively in the studio with @pmaillot's X32ReaperAutomate system. I have no complaints at all with the X32 and even with DVS, Dante has been great. I did a loopback test with Reaper and was able to add samples so the latency is fully compensated for when recording.
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