What is a Patchbay and Why is it Used?
A Brief History
The first audio patchbays were developed for the telephone industry. At the time, the main use of the patchbay,
also known as the jackfield, was for telephone operators to manually route calls from one region to another. As
technology advanced, the patchbay made its way into recording studios, radio stations, television broadcast
facilities, and virtually anyplace that needed to route audio and/or video signals from one place to another. In a
recording studio, patchbays are used to connect and route various pieces of equipment such as audio consoles,
tape machines, outboard effects processors, digital audio workstations, etc.
Today
With modern digital technology constantly interfacing with high-quality analog equipment in all aspects of
professional audio and broadcasting, it is essential to maintain fast, flexible routing options capable of working
with digital and/or analog audio signals. At Switchcraft, we realize that the needs of audio engineers can be
drastically different depending on their particular situation. F lexibility is critical!
INTRODUCING...
StudioPatch Series Audio Patchbay
Analog
StudioPatch Series (6425 and 9625) audio patchbays are designed with industry standard DB25 (also known as
DSUB) I/O connectors. The pinouts follow the same standards used by Tascam
®
, Digidesign
®
, and many other
audio product manufacturers. It is important to note, however, that you are not limited to using only equipment
with DB25 connections. You can choose from a wide variety of DB25 breakout cabling options enabling you to
connect to virtually any piece of audio equipment quickly and easily. You might decide, for example, that
having patchbay access to your audio consoles direct outputs would come in handy. Assuming that your
consoles direct outputs are 1/4-inch TRS, this would require a cable consisting of one DB25 male connector to
eight, 1/4-inch TRS plugs. The same can be done for any of the analog inputs and outputs of your console,
outboard gear, digital audio workstation, tape machine, etc. allowing for the most flexible and versatile audio
processing environment. The routing possibilities are endless!
Digital
Another great feature of the StudioPatch Series of audio patchbays, is that they are capable of routing
AES/EBU digital audio signals, which carry two channels of interleaved digital audio data through one
standard balanced audio cable. For example, four XLR cables would carry eight channels of AES/EBU digital
audio data. Therefore, when connecting AES/EBU digital signals using DB25 connectors, you are capable of
transmitting eight and receiving eight channels of audio through one DB25 cable.
*Note: AES/EBU signals require the use of 110 ohm digital grade cable.
*Note: AES/EBU is not to be confused with a TDIF signal.
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