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ESI Gigaport HD+

+2 votes
438 views

I am getting 8 channels over USB+ by the ESI Gigaport!

https://youtu.be/7gO0nm8PqKA

Just bought this one 2nd hand for E50. On the road you can listen to 8 Channels by using headphone right (all chnls). The left out is stereo L&R.

asked Aug 31, 2021 in Hardware & Interfaces by roland-kuit (Master) (3,350 points)
Great find! Thank you, Roland!

One caveat to anyone who's interested in this converter, the new models of the ESI Gigaport use USB-C so they are not compatible, even if you use a cable adapter. As Roland mentioned, he found an older model on the used market that was based on regular USB.
Nice! I have 2 of them for installations and immersive theatre. I've been using them with RaspbrryPi and PureData. Never thought of trying out them with Kyma. I believe they are the best affordable solution for multichannel USB-sound as well.

1 Answer

0 votes
Nice discovery. What makes it different to other USB cards that only give 2 with Kyma?
answered Sep 2, 2021 by cristian-vogel (Master) (8,440 points)
The firmware in any USB audio interface specifies the word-size and format. This one's device descriptor specifies 16-bit words for 8-channels at 44.1 kHz as an option, which is compatible with the Paca(rana) USB input. Most multichannel USB converters do not specify a 16-bit word option so their required bandwidth is too high.
"This one's device descriptor specifies 16-bit words for 8-channels at 44.1 kHz as an option" - thanks SSC!
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