thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Collaboration, Voice & AV · Intermediate

AES3

The professional standard for transmitting two channels of digital audio over balanced 110-ohm cable with XLR connectors.

Definition

AES3 (also called AES/EBU) carries two channels of PCM audio with embedded clock over twisted pair, and AES3id uses 75-ohm coax with BNC. S/PDIF is the consumer equivalent using RCA coax or TOSLINK optical. It is used for point-to-point digital connections between consoles, processors and amplifiers.

Example

A broadcast mixer sends a stereo AES3 feed to a transmitter processor over 110-ohm cable.

Exam tip

Use 110-ohm digital audio cable for AES3; standard mic cable may cause errors over distance.

Related terms