Suggested AES/EBU Cable

[dolfan058]

Hi all - I know the answer will probably be "any cable", but are there any suggested AES/EBU cables folks on here like to connect their Helix to their Powercabs?

 

I have no specific requirements, not gigging, but I don't mind having a long cable (I have the 25 foot variax cable, I just use cable ties when using it at home with the Shuriken + Helix).

 

Thanks in advance!

[somebodyelse]

Not so much a brand recommendation. I got one from a local (UK) cable supplier.

You'll probably get lots of suggestions that a standard XLR cable will do. Maybe it will... I dunno, but I wasn't going to risk the best part of three grands worth of Helix/PC212, just for the sake of saving a few quid on a cable.

An AES-EBU cable has a 110 ohm impedance/resistance. A mic cable doesn't.

There's a good reason why they specify AES-EBU.

[rd2rk]

Not the cheapest one you can find.

[rwinking]

 I want to run stereo with my 212 and 112 power cabs. I want to order a cable from designacable.com but not sure what to order. In the past I ordered the cat5E EtherCON cable and that seems interchangeable with the Variax and helix control. What should I tell them I am looking for?

[rwinking]

I checked it out and you guys said that any AES/EBU should work but don’t buy a cheap one. I found a lot of them on Amazon, Sweetwater, etc. And design a cable can easily build one. So instead of running a 1/4” cable to the two PCs, this will split the signal to the 2nd PC for stereo?

[rd2rk]

The usual method is to use two AES/EBU cables - one to the first PC and the other to link them.

IDK exactly how this will work with a 112/212 configuration, most I've heard of use two of a kind.

[rwinking]

Sometimes I will be using a Quad Cortex so I am not sure at all what it will look like. I ordered the 112 + as a refurb and got it yesterday but I had to send it back as it would not boot up. So I have a couple of weeks to figure it out. Stereo out to the 212 and then Link 6 to the next cab?

[rd2rk]

The main point of using the digital cables is to enable per preset control from Helix.

If you're not using L6 Link end-to-end you might as well just use standard mic cables.

In that case (and with the QC) it makes sense to run stereo to the PC212, but L/Mono Out from the 212 to the 112.

[rwinking]

So if I go L6 Link from my Helix to one PC and L6 Link to the next one, will that take the place of MIDI cables? Basically does the L6 Link send midid info to the powercabs or do I need MIDI cables too?

[rd2rk]

On 6/30/2023 at 9:59 AM, rwinking said:

So if I go L6 Link from my Helix to one PC and L6 Link to the next one, will that take the place of MIDI cables? Basically does the L6 Link send midid info to the powercabs or do I need MIDI cables too?

 

TL;DR -  L6 Link works fine UNLESS you try to get too fancy with changing Modes WITHIN PRESETS (MIDI use case), and if you encounter the no audio problem with the PC112+ it's simply a matter of the order of activation.

 

The Whole Story (AFAIK) - 

 

The L6 Link cables do not carry MIDI. The Link protocol is intended to replace MIDI. Unfortunately, there are bugs which L6 refuses to address. This is why I mentioned that I didn't know how using a 112 with a 212 would work out. You're kind of in uncharted territory there, since it's an uncommon combination.

 

In the case of my PC212+ the main problem I found was inconsistency in controlling the HF Driver. It's supposed to be OFF when using Speaker Emulations and ON when using FRFR and USER IRs (USER IRs are stored on the PC212 vs cabs/IRs that are part of the Helix preset). In some scenarios when switching between FRFR and Speaker Emulations the HF Driver would not turn ON/OFF as expected. Part of the reason L6 has not addressed the issue is that this behavior is extremely random, and random bugs are very difficult to track down. However, when using MIDI to change between the modes there are no such problems, which points to L6 Link as the culprit. For this reason I use L6 Link as the audio transmission method (and for simple speaker/IR changes) and MIDI when changing MODES (WITHIN A PRESET). Since most of the misbehavior seems to occur when changing MODES (WITHIN A PRESET - for instance, using a snapshot to switch between FRFR and a Speaker Emulation) adhering to the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) philosophy OR using MIDI eliminates the problem.

 

IOW - unless you insist on pushing the envelope WITHIN PRESETS, L6 Link works fine for most purposes.

 

There's some other problem when using two PC212+ at once as relates to changing Speaker Emulations in a coordinated fashion between PCs, but since I only have the one PC212+ I've never experienced this. Again, this seems to be a problem that occurs when making changes WITHIN A PRESET. Another reason I'm not sure how combining the two different PCs will work out, so KISS.

 

The only problem I recall with the PC112+ is that the PCs need to be turned on in a specific order, else the second PC doesn't properly receive audio over L6 Link.

A non-issue once you have the order down.

 

I want to reiterate in case it's not clear. L6 Link works fine UNLESS you try to get too fancy with changing Modes WITHIN PRESETS, and if you encounter the no audio problem with the PC112+ it's simply a matter of the order of activation.

[rwinking]

I'll get the 112 back in a couple of weeks so I can experiment then. I don't plan on using them in stereo on a gig....just at home. I have been using the 212 as an acoustic monitor and along with the Grace Felix and the QC, it is the best acoustic tone I have ever achieved. Sometimes it will be easier to just take the 112+ to the gig as it is nice and small. But at home it might be cool to see what stereo sounds like with more separtion than I can get with just the 212.

You have been more than helpful.

Thanks!

rick

[rwinking]

So I got the PC 112+ back and tried to run it with the 212+ via the link cable.

It did not work. Like I said earlier, I am not going to use it live. Ithought it would be a cool sound in the studio.

As I am understanding, it is best to use the link system with the Helix. i tried using the Quad Cortex and Got sound out of the 112+ but not the 212+. When I get home, I will try and just use the mic cable like you suggested. i did try it with a 1/4 " cable and it worked just fine in stereo. I will also try and turn the two PCs on in different sequences and seeif that helps as was suggested.

I am reheasing digitally lately, using a STOMP XL but have not done the full on gig yet. I still love my tubes but boy howdy, I am really close to hopefully finding a low pressue gig and run with either the Helix or QC into a PC+.

[rd2rk]

I'm not clear on your connections.

The digital cable works with the PC112+, yes?

The digital cable works with the PC212+, yes?

You connected a digital cable from Helix to the PC?+, then connected another digital cable from the PC?+ to the other PC+? and something didn't work, yes?

 

On 7/18/2023 at 5:17 PM, rwinking said:

As I am understanding, it is best to use the link system with the Helix.

 

Depends on your needs.

If all you want is audio, connect two XLRs to the PC212+ (for stereo) and one XLR from the PC212+ L/Mono Out to the PC112+.

If you want to control the whole thing on a per preset basis then you need the digital cables.

 

[rwinking]

So I have a Helix Rack but I am using the Quad Cortex right now. I am going from the QC to the 212+ using 2 1/4" cables. I then tried to go from the 212+ to the 112+ using the digital AES cable and only the 112 works. If I just use the 1/4" from the QC to the 212+ and then using another regular guitar cable to the 112+ it works just fine. I was just wondering why I can't use the AES cable. I also hooked up the AES cable from the XLR out of the 212 to the XLR in of the 112 and it does the stereo nicely. I was kind of hoping that if I went MIDI from the QC to the 212+ and then AES to the 112+ I might be able to switch speaker models via the AES cable. I probably won't be using this set up live but it was just an experiment in the studio and it does sound great!

[rd2rk]

It's called L6 Link because it works with L6 devices.

There's no advantage to using the digital cable with multiple PCs unless you're using a Helix and two digital cables.

With the QC just use XLRs as I described above.

[rwinking]

Thanks a lot! Yeah, I will try it with the Helix. I was hoping ti would do something with the QC and was worth a try.

And it definitely works great with the XLRs!

[psarkissian]

There are two kinds of XLR type AES/EBU cables,...

Low impedance Mic cable at 50-Ohms for analog use.

Line 6 Link or L6 Link cable at 110-Ohms for digital use.

 

Do Not mix or swap them.

Correct impedance for the correct usage, or problems can occur.

 

[rwinking]

I have the 110 OHM