Glad that you posted this Preston. I always assumed the code was NRZ data. So looked it up. You are correct. The clock is imposed on the data. The data is Biphase Mark encoded. The only difference between AES and optical or coaxial is the differential signal with AES for common mode rejection of electromagnetic radiation. Not too sure there would be any advantage sending an external clock with the data, i.e. I2S.
Some Little Truths about AES/EBU.
Hi all,
Have you wondered why there are some many types of digital audio transfer benchmarks?
Anyways, so it's said that AES/EBU(AES3) is the the most common alternative to the S/PDIF, and typically used to transmit PCM and Dolby Digital 5.1, the cable is formed by 110 ohm shielded twisted pair (STP) cable with XLR connectors up to a distance of 100 meters, and it's got longer life span .
Fun fact, most AES3 interfaces are self-clocking, they carry an embedded clock from the source. that being said, a receiving device can be synchronized just to the embedded clock from the source device in a simple audio system.
A DAC could automatically synchronize itself to the incoming signal; and so does a CD recorder when it's recording, some might use an external World Clock to as a master to slave other devices to achieve better clock synchronization, which effectively lowers the jitter effect and levels up the digital audio quality, per se.
It serves 2-channels of 24bit/192k audio, but it also has the capability of carrying 4-channels of 24bit or 20bit/96k digital audio(I would't say optimally), and those may be related "stereo" channels or independent mono channels or 1-stereo plus 2 mono, however, when it comes to " Sound Quality ", it's somewhat personal & subjective haha..., so it's not really my place to conclude which digital audio format can be the best fit to an audio system, still all depends on the setup and the preference of one's ears.
Hope my understandings are correct, please do share anything below if interested, I'd like to know more about the digital audio stuff for sure!
Best,
2 responses Add your response