Log in
Log in

or

Thread digital/optical inputs

  • 6 replies
  • 4 participants
  • 6,707 views
  • 0 follower
bobohut

bobohut

2 posts
New AFfiliate
First post
1 Posted on 01/18/2004 at 13:11:10
hi ladies and gentlemen,

i have need of an interface to get tracks from my digital 8-track to my computer. the 8-track has both rca type and optical digital outputs. anyone know of a good card with one of these inputs or have suggestions on what i might need?

thanks,
bob
gawain_en

gawain_en

181 posts
AFfinity Poster
2 Posted on 01/19/2004 at 23:26:33
Hi,
is the optical output of your recorder spdif or adat?
How much do you have to spend?
billyjcoombs

billyjcoombs

1 post
New AFfiliate
3 Posted on 01/21/2004 at 22:27:30
me too.
Ihave a fostex adat with spdif, rca and adat outputs.
gawain_en

gawain_en

181 posts
AFfinity Poster
4 Posted on 01/21/2004 at 23:40:27
Excellent soundcards with spdif inputs are the RME's. Probably the best soundcards for PCs.
http://www.rme-audio.com
A more affordable choice would be the M-audio Audiophile 2496
Stbean

Stbean

1 post
New AFfiliate
5 Posted on 01/22/2004 at 11:16:52
I have an M-audio firewire 410...It's quite pricy and but its external and may be of great use for quite a long time. It has an optical and coaxial digital in, and an optical and coaxial digital out. So a totat of 2 digital ins and 2 digital outs.

heres the specs.

4 x 10 FireWire audio interface

192kHz stereo out

2 x 8 24-bit/96kHz analog I/O (1/4” TS)

dual mic/instrument preamps (Neutriks XLR/ 1/4” TS)

global phantom power

66dB available preamp gain

S/PDIF digital I/O (coaxial/optical) w/ 2-channel PCM

digital I/O supports surround-encoded AC-3 and DTS passthrough

1 x 1 MIDI I/O w/ bypass for stand-alone use

2 headphone outs w/ individual level controls (1/4" TRS)

stereo monitor level control

low-latency software monitoring

direct hardware monitoring

8 analog outs can directly drive up to 7.1 surround

software-controlled mixing and routing

software-assignable level controller

powered via DC supply or FireWire bus*

2 convenient high-speed FireWire ports
bobohut

bobohut

2 posts
New AFfiliate
6 Posted on 01/23/2004 at 08:51:04
i decided to jump in and buy the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 pci card. It seems the most affordable choice and people who have them generally seem to like them. It also has midi in/out, which is nice cuz now i can return the usb midi device i just bought and put the $40 toward the card.

I still wonder, is optical any better than digital? I imagine there should be no difference...

Also, what kind of processing would an optical input to a computer have to do? Is it important to get a really high quality soundcard with superb D/A A/D converters and 24 bit processing in order to get a digital data stream into the computer, or is it just a simple transfer that any card could do? Does that make sense?

Anyway, I'll post how I fare with the Audiophile 2496... it sure was hard to find someone with one in stock...

thanks for the replies...


ps, suddenly it occurs to me that the firewire version that someone recommended might be more flexible... I could bring it to a friends house or plug it into a new laptop if i ever get one.... oh well! It's lots more money anyhow...
gawain_en

gawain_en

181 posts
AFfinity Poster
7 Posted on 01/23/2004 at 10:50:14
Theoretically optical is the guaranty of minimal signal loss. But I do not think you'll notice any difference with you ears.

If you only transfer digital to digital the signal will not go through the soundcard's converters and they therefore make no differenece.
cookies
We are using cookies!

Yes, Audiofanzine is using cookies. Since the last thing that we want is disturbing your diet with too much fat or too much sugar, you'll be glad to learn that we made them ourselves with fresh, organic and fair ingredients, and with a perfect nutritional balance. What this means is that the data we store in them is used to enhance your use of our website as well as improve your user experience on our pages and show you personalised ads (learn more). To configure your cookie preferences, click here.

We did not wait for a law to make us respect our members and visitors' privacy. The cookies that we use are only meant to improve your experience on our website.

Our cookies
Cookies not subject to consent
These are cookies that guarantee the proper functioning of Audiofanzine and allow its optimization. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. Example: cookies that help you stay logged in from page to page or that help customizing your usage of the website (dark mode or filters).
Google Analytics
We are using Google Analytics in order to better understand the use that our visitors make of our website in an attempt to improve it.
Advertising
This information allows us to show you personalized advertisements thanks to which Audiofanzine is financed. By unchecking this box you will still have advertisements but they may be less interesting :) We are using Google Ad Manager to display part of our ads, or tools integrated to our own CMS for the rest. We are likely to display advertisements from our own platform, from Google Advertising Products or from Adform.

We did not wait for a law to make us respect our members and visitors' privacy. The cookies that we use are only meant to improve your experience on our website.

Our cookies
Cookies not subject to consent

These are cookies that guarantee the proper functioning of Audiofanzine. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. Examples: cookies that help you stay logged in from page to page or that help customizing your usage of the website (dark mode or filters).

Google Analytics

We are using Google Analytics in order to better understand the use that our visitors make of our website in an attempt to improve it. When this parameter is activated, no personal information is sent to Google and the IP addresses are anonymized.

Advertising

This information allows us to show you personalized advertisements thanks to which Audiofanzine is financed. By unchecking this box you will still have advertisements but they may be less interesting :) We are using Google Ad Manager to display part of our ads, or tools integrated to our own CMS for the rest. We are likely to display advertisements from our own platform, from Google Advertising Products or from Adform.


You can find more details on data protection in our privacy policy.
You can also find information about how Google uses personal data by following this link.