Z-Systems z-8.8a Lightpipe digital detangler - Manual

z-8.8a Digital Detangler Instructions
Thank you for purchasing the z-8.8a Digital Detangler from Z-Systems Audio Engineering. We
are certain that you will find the z-8.8a to be an invaluable part of your digital audio production
system and urge you to take a few minutes to read this manual and familiarize yourself with the z-
8.8a's features and method of operation.
The z-8.8a Digital Detangler is an automated patchbay and distribution amplifier for Lightpipe
format signals. Furthermore, it can carry out format conversion between the ADAT Lightpipe
format and S/PDIF. Let's look at these functions separately.
•
Digital Patchbay and Distribution Amplifier
If you have more than a few pieces of gear which utilize the Lightpipe format, you have probably
encountered difficulties in setting things up so they are readily re-configurable. Now all you need
to do is hook all of your Lightpipe sources to the z-8.8a's Lightpipe Source connectors and hook
all of your Lightpipe destinations to the z-8.8a's Lightpipe Destination connectors. This has two
benefits:
1. Controlling which sources speak to which destinations is as simple as turning a few knobs and
pressing a few buttons. That is, the routing pattern can be changed without having to unplug
and re-plug optical cables. Furthermore, the routing pattern can be saved as one of 99
presets. Any of these presets can be recalled at a later time so that you can effectively store
routing "scenes" or "snapshots."
2. A single Lightpipe source can drive multiple Lightpipe destinations. This is a function which
is analogous to that of a distribution amplifier. A single source driving multiple destinations
is also known as a "mult."
•
Format Converter
ADAT Optical and S/PDIF are similar in purpose but quite different in terms of data formatting.
ADAT Optical format carries eight channels of digital audio on a single plastic optical fiber.
S/PDIF carries a single stereo pair of digital audio on coaxial (or optical) cable. In addition to the
electrical differences and differences in the number of channels carried, the formats also differ in
terms of how the data is encoded within the streams of bits. Consequently, conversion between
ADAT Optical and S/PDIF is quite complicated.
The z-8.8a allows you to convert all eight channels in an ADAT Optical signal to four stereo pairs
of S/PDIF and four stereo pairs of S/PDIF to an ADAT Optical signal. This is a useful function if
you need to maintain compatibility between S/PDIF -equipped gear and ADAT Optical-equipped
gear without leaving the digital domain.