OT: ADAT Cables and Feed Through Connectors

[TomyN]

Keep in mind that ADAT cables are designed to be cheap and to work for a short distance only. So each connection will add loss, and at the end the signal is not high enough for a reliable detection.
I do not like plugin and removing ADAT connections often. So try to avoid any plug in connection using ADAT connecters that will be plugged on a regular basis. If you're using two racks all the time I'd suggest that you'll get something like this http://appsys.ch/en/products/extenders/adx-16 and use a cat cable. As a side-effect you'd be able to bridge larger distances.

Tomy

[UpTilDawn]

Keep in mind that ADAT cables are designed to be cheap and to work for a short distance only. So each connection will add loss, and at the end the signal is not high enough for a reliable detection.
I do not like plugin and removing ADAT connections often. So try to avoid any plug in connection using ADAT connecters that will be plugged on a regular basis. If you're using two racks all the time I'd suggest that you'll get something like this http://appsys.ch/en/products/extenders/adx-16 and use a cat cable. As a side-effect you'd be able to bridge larger distances.

Tomy

I understand your feelings about this and I like that the cat cable would be a more stable connection between two points.
The cost and the fact that there's something else to plug into the wall socket sort of make it less of a desirable thing for me, though.

After some more testing and swapping cables and connectors, I finally did just come up with a combination that appears to be working. More testing is in order before I can trust it for a gig.

It's inevitable that I will be plugging and unplugging the cable between racks, whether to a feed through, or to a rack unit - and the frequency of doing so depends completely on how often I need to use the full 48 channel rig, which up to now has been infrequent. After more than 8 years of connecting these two racks without the feed throughs, I have been fortunate to only experience an issue with one preamp losing sync/lock with the others during a performance at one event.

And if I should have an issue with the current setup, I will know to always have extra cables and an quick fix alternative by simply bypassing one panel connector and cable.