Sonnect's NEW SoundWire | First Look, Thoughts and Demo

Just announced by the folks at Sonnect, the SoundWire is their latest must-have tool that every audio technician will want in their bag. It's a transformer-balanced USB-C Audio interface built into a rugged, three-meter-long cable. Watch the video and find out more direct from the source at sonnect.com/product/soundwire/
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[@DcSoundOp]

If anyone would like to post this video to a group, page, subreddit or forum you think would dig it, please feel free. It really helps the channel grow.

[@kevinathandsofsupport1495]

Shared as suggested.

[@DcSoundOp]

@@kevinathandsofsupport1495 Thanks Kevin!

[@rosealex6]

I think this great! Thank you! I’m having trouble justifying this over my 3.5 to dual xlr. Definitely will be thinking about it.

[@jbaileypro]

Still holding on to my pixel which has a 3.5mm jack. This would actually let me upgrade!

[@nilsrp]

Brilliant new cable. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. 👍 This will make a few situations a lot easier to solve.

[@Sonnect]

😎😎😎

[@polakdan]

Just pre-ordered one. Looks real nice. Just recently I made myself a diy version from a balanced headphone amp and a deliberately disconnected pin 1.

[@DcSoundOp]

That’s cool you were able to DIY one, it sounds like a fun project. Let us know how you like the Soundwire when you get yours!

[@curly_]

thats a gamechanger, i work in a theater constantly with different musicians they don't have to bring a interface or they are protected by our 48V is super critical and easy . I love it sooo much.

[@DcSoundOp]

This will make your life easier for sure in those situations!

[@musicafteroldage]

No doubt I’ll get at least one! Must have!

[@matoflynn]

This is amazing!

[@kieranniemand2939]

Great video!

[@DcSoundOp]

Thanks!

[@lifeisgood4519]

Great review; must have in the pelican... thank you!

[@DcSoundOp]

Thanks for the message!

[@ScottGrammer]

Very cool - I wonder though, if the transformers are a bit small for +4dBm audio.

[@parkendsoundservices9861]

The USB DI is not new tool in the audio engineers toolbox however this form factor, specification and quality is an absolute winner.

[@headphonecable]

Great!

[@jameslawford4057]

Great video BUT you missed a critical thing...If you flip the polarity of one of the signals when you've got them lined up in REAPER for your comparison section, then you will hear exactly what the quality is like - this test will reveal if anything is different to the original source, as the two tracks will 100% cancel each other out if they are identical and one of them has flipped polarity. If you have the ability to run that test, it will make your review complete!

[@DcSoundOp]

I didn’t miss it, I purposefully left it out. Anything played out through this cable would have to go back into another audio interface, and be converted back to digital to get into the DAW again… so when that doesn’t null perfectly, what would we learn? Thanks for watching & for the message.

[@aaronaustin7760]

The flip between the source and the SoundWire inputs showed that SoundWire feels a bit thinner. At least to my ears. Still a fantastic product.

[@mark12.31]

Very nice! I can see several applications for that little cable. Also, unrelated to the product, but is it just me or did the audio level on this video seem quieter than others? I had been watching various videos but had to crank this one up about 12% to match the level. Could be just me, though, I guess.

[@DcSoundOp]

No you're absolutely right, I've been trying not to push the audio too much lately in the video exports. Listening back on some old videos recently, I felt like I was crushing some of them (or at least that was the effect after uploading to KZbin)… this feels better to me on my devices and airpods specifically. Thanks for listening so intently!

[@robertharker]

Nice bit of kit.

[@DcSoundOp]

It sure is

[@raggedrec]

would love an input cable in same config

[@DcSoundOp]

That is becoming a popular request! Thanks for checking out the video.

[@DJURBANBG]

So, i can use this cable to output digital audio signal from my PC through it, directly to my monitors ?

[@DcSoundOp]

If your monitors are powered and have an XLR input, then YES you can absolutely do that. Thanks for the message & sorry for the slow response.

[@xian3000]

Looks awesome. Maybe in a later iteration they can figure out how to charge your device with phantom power. Then I'll buy it!

[@DcSoundOp]

The IEC spec for Phantom power is a max of 10ma current draw per microphone, which would take forever to charge anything off of unfortunately.

[@PetetheSweety]

Thank you for showing a first look. I would prefer a version with a quick dual mono and a pad button. Maybe a version with NC3FM-C unisex connectors in both directions. I usually use the analogue Interspace PC DI PCBB², because it has a mono, pad and earth switch. No problems with USB device drivers that crash or get disconnected because of powersaving modes. The fact that it's cast in resin, makes it pretty unrepairable. It would be better to have two resin / plastic halfs, to secure the innards and build a strain relieve.

[@Sven.Bornemark]

I wonder, will there be a version with audio in to the computer, i. e. female XLRs?

[@DcSoundOp]

That is starting to look like a popular request from many folks. Hopefully, they'll be able to make it happen at some point. Thanks for the message!

[@matoflynn]

Would love this as well.

[@paulbrown4598]

This is sweet..gives me "sum cable 2023" vibes

[@DcSoundOp]

love it!

[@stillhungry4217]

hello, can the wire act as input too?

[@DcSoundOp]

Hi, no this one is an output interface only. Maybe someday they'll do one that does inputs or both. Thanks for watching!

[@BjorfRodriguez]

I mean it's nice to have it I suppose, but has anyone ever used 384kHz 32bit for anything professionally? I'm genuinely curious.

[@DcSoundOp]

Some folks in the scientific world use higher sample rates for various things. These examples are on the capture side, so maybe not the best examples for what you'd need it for on the SoundWire, but this ultrasonic microphone is an example: www.avisoft.com/ultrasound-microphones/ultrasound-microphones-p48/ - I also found this poor scientist getting shouted down in an A/V forum for asking for recommendations... "It's not oversampling, when you are actually TRYING to capture sounds over 100kHz. I can either spend $10000 on a scientific high speed digitizer with a 100MHz sample rate (WAY more than I need for my experiment), or I can spend like $500 to $1000 (what I'm guessing it will cost) on an ultra-high-end sound card with a line-in port capable of 384kHz sample rate. The sound I want to record is slightly higher than 100kHz, but my current 192kHz sound card has a bandwidth of only 96kHz. I need the next higher sample rate soundcard (384kHz) if one even exists, in order to capture sounds over 96kHz (maximum frequency captured being 192kHz with a 384kHz soundcard). Unfortunately I have tried the same search you did and didn't actually find such a sound card."

[@BjorfRodriguez]

@@DcSoundOp fascinating find, thank you!

[@M4musicTT]

Is there a DA AD version???

[@DcSoundOp]

As far as I know, there is only the output model currently. You're not the only person asking for it, though & they have a reputation for taking customer feedback seriously. Thanks for watching!

[@ErikTheAndroid]

Nice bit of kit, but for the price I will just buy a USB DI instead.

[@DcSoundOp]

Fair enough, Thanks for checking out the video!

[@realSethMeyers]

Beautiful! And now that Apple has finally joined the USB C club with their phones (only ~8 years late) it works when someone hands you their iPhone and asks you to play their track.

[@DcSoundOp]

For those of us who have not upgraded yet: With a lightning to USB-a *camera adapter*, you can use this (and any other class-compliant audio interface) with older iPhone & iPads too. I'm using the SoundWire with an iPhone 12 mini in this video! Here's the adapter for anyone who doesn't have one - amzn.to/46TWpcX - that's an affiliate link. Thanks for watching!

[@galaniz10]

STOP MAKING COOL THINGS I'M GONNA GO BROKE!!!!!!

[@DcSoundOp]

😂

[@enquiries.kbaphotography8501]

Shame it doesn't use phantom power to charge the device... Especially if it's an iPad.

[@DcSoundOp]

Phantom power delivers a max of 10ma of current, which would take ages to charge anything.

[@daavneeq]

Whoever thought this up knows his way around a pack of Rizla for sure.

[@dagwood4189]

ShIIIIIIIIIIt... I may never bring a computer to a gig again!

[@DcSoundOp]

What kind of work do you do? I'm interested to know what everyone will use these for. Thanks for the message!

[@dagwood4189]

I am primarily a broadcast mixer... Mostly televised sports, but I do music, entertainment and talking heads too... I bring my computer to play music while setting up... I also sometimes use it to check Dante settings and/or make changes to an intercom...

[@sophiarodriguez1861]

Extremely expensive. In that price, you can get a real DAC (Focusrite or others), which high quality preamps. Doesn't make sense to buy this product for more than $150. Just doesn't make sense financially

[@DcSoundOp]

Can you link which Focusrite (or other "real" DAC) you'd suggest for under $165 USD with transformer balanced outputs? The one Radial makes about $100 more expensive, heavier & you have to add your own XLR cables to patch it in...

[@sophiarodriguez1861]

​@@DcSoundOpKZbin doesn't allow me to share links here, but Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen is better and the same price (or cheaper, depends when). It also gives you high quality preamps, reverb, and much more than your cable offers.

[@DcSoundOp]

​@@sophiarodriguez1861 The Scarlett 2i2 is not transformer-balanced at the output. This is a big deal for professionals working in live and broadcast audio. Transformers physically isolate the signal path from the other gear we are connecting to & good quality ones cost money. The extra bells and whistles (like reverb) are also not relevant for the folks buying this cable; it's for a completely different use case. I hope that helps clear up why people see this as a good value, it's certainly not for everyone, but there is a reason for the madness.

[@sophiarodriguez1861]

@@DcSoundOp Can you elaborate about the "transformer-balanced" please? The advantage of transformer-balanced is to avoid humming? Any other advantages?

[@DcSoundOp]

Avoiding hum is one advantage, but that's a side product of the physical isolation I mentioned before as being so important. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need them, but on a given day we have to connect electronics together that we don't always have control of, and don't always know the condition of. For example, if I'm sending an audio feed from a venue's mixer to a dozen press cameras, I need to be physically isolated from their systems, their power supplies, any faulty wiring etc. or those faults will impact the entire show. This can range from hum to actually damaging equipment. In the case of the SoundWire, a big concern is phantom power from a console damaging laptops or consumer interfaces (like the focusrite) which have no protection against incoming DC power. There is endless amounts of info online about audio transformes and their advantages and disadvantages in various situations. Again, they are not for everyone or every situation, but they are a nescessary tool in our kit. I hope that helps a bit.