What is S/PDIF cable, what kind should I buy, and where should I buy it?

[Chris F]

I've got an S/PDIF out on my Soundcraft M12, and S/PDIF in on my cheapo Teac CD burner. For recording rehearsals, it would be really convenient to simply get a halfway decent mix on the M12 and send it straight to the CD burner. What kind of cable do I need? It only needs to go about 4 feet.

Thanks in advance.

[Richard Monroe]

S/PDIF is a digital data transfer format, and it uses basically male/male RCA jacks. The bitch is that the cable quality is critical in the quality of audio data transfer. I've got several fair quality gold plated HOSA's, which I will happily send you one for the price of shipping. I'm currently sending my digital data through a Monster cable- 3 meters/$50! But you get what you pay for. If you want a free cruddy S/PDIF cable, I'll send you one, just PM me, but you will get better results with top notch cable. And don't use a cheap RCA cable that wasn't intended for digital data transfer- the results will truly suck, and could actually damage some types of equipment.-Richie

[subtractor]

spidf=sony /phillips digital interface.
Don't waste your money on hosa's.
Get good cables.

PS good digital cables are easy to find at stereo/ home theater places. Or pro audio stores.