s/pdif question

[xdankennyx]

hey i ahve an echo mia sound card , and my board has rca outs on each chanell, its a yamaha rm2408. i was wondering couldi use the s/pdif connection at another channel or do i need some sort of converter

[69ShadesofRed]

Though S/PDIF uses RCA connections it's a digital protocol. You cannot connect analog signals to it. It is used for connecting two digital devices together.

[drstawl]

Originally posted by xdankennyx
i was wondering couldi use the s/pdif connection at another channel or do i need some sort of converter

You have to base your purchase of an outboard converter on its price and whether it is better than the converters in the Mia as well as the convenience of the S/PDIF connectivity.

[endodoc]

If you want to use the 2 channel s/pdif input on the echo mia and create a higher quality signal than the stock internal a/d converters on the mia's other 2 analog inputs, then an outboard a/d converter would surely be the answer. Dedicated units like the Lucid, Apogee, Benchmark, etc have been extensively reviewed on this board.

Another option to give you another preamp flavor would be to use a 2 channel mic preamp with built in a/d conversion like the dbx 386 or apogee mini-me.

A cheaper all-around option to increase the inputs to your computer would be to change out the mia card to something like an echo layla or rme multiface to increase your analog I/O to 8 channels. Both of these units can be used with a PCI card for your desktop pc or via a PCMCIA card for a laptop. I have used both and highly recommend the rme for sound and stability.

[boze]

i have a Genesis3 amp modeler (digitech's version of the Pod by Line6).

it has a spdif out so i run it right to the in of my 01v.

so if you were a guitarist you could do something like that. it's a nice way to lay down tracks right in front of your machine and it's not as flat as a line-out from an amp.