The Digital Q Box
Okay, it was a month that it sat on my desk before I got it out and started seeing how this device shakes out. Mine came without a manual, so as I often do, I'll just started plugging it into things to see what happens…. I have a few shows coming up where I will be using digital console and amplifiers that have AES inputs, so that will be a place to check this puppy out.
Physical: The construction is robust, the case is made from real metal (Honest) and has all of the critical bits recessed into the front face or protected by the handle. I like that. It runs on either four AA batteries or remote power supply.
The Whirlwind AES Qbox has a few more controls, lights and knobs that the typical cue box as this is a digital device. It appears to take in both balanced and unbalanced AES on XLR and BNC style connections. The BNC’s appear to be compatible with the RCA SPDIF outputs from most pro-sumer CD and DVD players when they are outputting a standard stereo stream. I am not sure what happens when they see an AC-3 multi channel signal. That we will test too.
On the face is a few new fun function knobs like MODE, speaker selection, which I presume to listen to the different channels in the AES stream. There is an on board speaker and a mic in the front panel. The speaker has a volume control and the mic…well I guess we will have to figure that one out.
Things I don’t know but want to find out:
Can I leave the device in my AES pathway without degrading the signal?
What happens if the batteries run out when I do this? If I use the supplied wall wart power supply, can I create a ground hum?
Will it generate a signal that I can put into my Crown I-Tech amps when I have them running using the AES inputs?
More in a bit as we discover this cool new tool.
Ken