Can Coaxial outputs and RCA outputs be used as the same thing?

ok i know the diffurent between coaxial outputs and rca outputs. They the same kinda connections, but the Coaxial is a digital signal. well im in the process of ugrading my studio and im going to be buying a roland vs-2480cd DAW within the next month and i noticed that it does not have any Rca outputs on the back panle. just The coaxial outputs and your other connections (scsi, midi, r-bus,ect,ect)

Here is my problem. The amp that i use to power my monitors is a "home-theather" amp, with many connections for cd players, main players and so on. well all the inputs are RCA. ok HERE IS MY QUESTION..: Can i just use a standerd RCA cable to carry my music feed out of the Coaxial output and into a RCA input on my amp? i think it will work. but i would like to know for sure before i buy any kinda new cables or so on. thanks for you time.
 
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Red Dog Studios said:
ok i know the diffurent between coaxial outputs and rca outputs. They the same kinda connections
OK, there's a breakdown in terminology here, because coaxial connectors and RCA plugs are not the same thing.

But let's assume that you are talking about RCA in both cases. You mentioned that one is a digital signal. That answers your question right there, and the answer is "No, they are not compatable." The RCA ins and outs on the home theater amp are all analog line level ins and outs and not in the least related to digital signals. The only thing you can hook up to that amp are analog "line level" signals.

G.
 
Ok well yeah i ment that the connections are the same (i.e you can plug an Rca cable into a coaxial input. but yeah i know there not the same kinda cable. Is there anything you could suggest that i could do about this problem? I may just need to buy an amp with Coaxial inputs or digital monitors. thanks for your reply.
 
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First off, Coaxial and RCA connectors are NOT the same thing. Coaxial is like the cable coming out of your cable box into your TV (ie you can screw the connector into the jack) They are similar in design, but not compatible and not the same thing.

Second, I just went over the product page because I was suprised by your saying that there is no analog output on the Roland. However I see that it has a Main Out and a Monitor out that are both stereo 1/4" balanced running at +4dBu. If you don't understand how to get this signal into your home theater receiver, perhaps you should hold off a bit on buying this advanced piece of gear (~$3500, yikes!) Maybe buy a book or two on home recording or audio. You need to read up on signal types (analog vs. digital), connection types (coaxial, phono/RCA, 1/4", XLR, balanced/unbalanced). And this is just hooking the darn thing up, you still need to know use it! Not to mention microphones, preamps, acoustic treatment, mixing, compression, reverb, monitoring.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I recommend doing ALOT of research before blowing over $3K on this piece of gear.
 
Yes i did notice the Monitor outputs, but i was looking for a way to keep my signal in rca form. and yes i do know how to use them. i have worked in alot of live set ups before. however the amp i'm using right now only has rca type inputs. i think my only options are gettin another amp, useing an adapter from 1/4" to rca (i dont really wanna do that cause it would prolly do something to the quality of the signal right?) And thank you for your concern but i have thought this over and i've worked with many DAWs before and after about 6 years i think it's time to upgrade. Thanks for your post though. i think i'm just going to half to buy me another amp.
 
The adapter will not screw with the quality. You could also get 1/4 to RCA cables.

BTW, on the roland, the monitor out and the spdif (coaxial) aren't fed the same signal. You want to use the monitor output.
 
Thanks Farview. Yeah i got to thinking and i noticed that. for the past 4 years i've been using a Fostex vf-16 DAW and i've used the rca outputs on there. But i just got back from Radio Shack.com and i found a Goldplatted 1/4"-to-Rca Adapter and i think it will work too. thanks for your post
 
Farview said:
The adapter will not screw with the quality. You could also get 1/4 to RCA cables.

BTW, on the roland, the monitor out and the spdif (coaxial) aren't fed the same signal. You want to use the monitor output.

The spdif plug looks like a regular ol' RCA cable plugs into it. Can a regular ol' RCA cable be used in spdif apps?

I just got the Audiophile 24/96 and, NOT TO HIGHJACK THE THREAD, but was wondering which would be better to use with a pedalboard/modeler, the OUTPUT or the spdif? I asked the guy at Radio Hack and he didn't have a clue what spdif was.
 
7string said:
The spdif plug looks like a regular ol' RCA cable plugs into it. Can a regular ol' RCA cable be used in spdif apps?
The connecters are the same, but the cable is not. The cable is 75ohm cable (like for your TV), it is designed for the high frequencies of a digital signal, normal audio RCA cable is not. You can get away with it on short runs, but it isn't a good idea.
 
i think he's talkin about digital coaxal...aka...the surround sound connectors on the back of so many new dolby digital recievers, home theatre systems, etc.

if that is the case, the plug looks just like an RCA cable.
the RCA cable CAN carry the digital signal - and will do it fine in most cases.
you DO NOT need to buy a special "digital coaxal" cable, although it is reccommended for plenty of reasons.


but still, you CAN NOT get a signal from a digital coaxal OUT plug into a RCA analog in. it'll be digital noise at the least, ha.

that help?

i'm assuming that's the plug he's talking about becasue there's no reason why a cable coaxal plug would be on a piece of recording equipment. maybe you're thinking of the word clock input which looks similar? haha.
 
shackrock said:
the RCA cable CAN carry the digital signal - and will do it fine in most cases.
you DO NOT need to buy a special "digital coaxal" cable, although it is reccommended for plenty of reasons.
If you do not use a digital cable, you will be degrading the signal. You might not notice, but there is a good reason why coaxial spdif cable is what it is.

Never make the mistake of confusing the connector with the signal it is carrying.
 
none the less, it can be done.

should it be done? no. especially not for recording.

but for consumer listening, it's done all the time (like home theatres). who wants to pay for a $50 cable when you can use a $5 one for your home theatre system, and not notice the difference?
 
The right cable is not that expensive. I've seen them for less than $10. He is also talking about recording gear, not the surround channels on him home theater.
 
yep yep, i know - recording gear.

i'm just saying though, it was said above that RCA's couldn't be used...and they CAN be used.

btw, can you link me to a $10 one? I'd like to pick one up if i can for that price...ha.
 
How about Canare connectors with belden cable in lengths up to 15 feet for under $20

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/digital-audio_cables.html

Didn't have enough time to dig harder. Remember, this is the same stuff that you run digital video with. If you can use a soldering iron, you can get 75 ohm cable and put the ends on yourself for next to nothing.

It isn't that it is a higher quality cable, it just has the right properties. You could get a connection using phone cord, you would just have a lot of errors.
 
Yo Zeke- You are way confused. Let's simplify it- Webster's dictionary says coaxial cable is:

"A cable consisting of a conducting outer metal tube enclosing and insulated from a central conducting core, used for high-frequency transmission of telephone, telegraph, and television signals. Also called coaxial line ."

It is called coaxial because the 2 conductors are around the same center point, or axis. It's just a way of making a 2 (or more, I suppose) conductor cable. The monitor outputs on a Roland VS studio put out a line level signal, whether they have RCA outs or 1/4", or XLR, or whatever.
S/PDIF (Sony-Phillips digital interface) Is a way of sending a digital signal, usually audio, through a cable, to another digital device. The 2 devices must be synched in bit rate and resolution, and one must provide the "master" clock. The other clock is "slaved", in synch with the master.
There is also *optical* S/PDIF, which transmits the same data via optical fiber cable, but only 2 channels, unlike ADAT or Firewire, which can transmit many more channels.

Moving along- "Line level" comes in 2 flavors- 1. -10dBV and 2. +4dBu.
-10 is consumer level, what you expect to come out of a home stereo or a walkman, MP3 player, most camcorders, etc. +4 is pro level, usually used on recording gear. Usually (but not always), RCA jacks are used for -10 and 1/4" or XLR connectors are used for +4. Exception- My VS1824CD has RCA monitor outs, for instance, but they are +4 line outs, compatible with a studio power amp or active monitors. Your 2480 has +4 monitor outs, but I don't know if they are RCA, 1/4" (my guess), or XLR.

The S/PDIF outs are RCA jacks also, but only transmit a stereo digital signal, 2 channels from one jack. In a perfect world, your stereo amp would have a switch for -10 or +4, as many recorders and preamps have. Most likely, you will run the +4 monitor outs of the Roland to the -10 RCA inputs on your amp, and you will have to turn down the monitor out signal to avoid overloading and clipping the home stereo amp. If you've been using it so far, you probably already know this.

The difference between -10 and +4 isn't really 14db, because dBV and dBu are different reference systems. I'm told the difference is more like 11db, but I don't know the exact figure, I'm a songwriter, not an engineer.

Short answer. All you need is the right cable to get from whatever the monitor outs are on the Roland Studio to RCA jacks, and you'll be fine. You should learn more about digital transfer, though, because it's the key to getting good sound out of a Roland VS studio or similar standalone. It allows you to bypass the Rolnd's preamps, and its A-D conversion, and send a clean digital signal straight to the Roland's hard drive. Then you send it back out, in the digital domain, for processing in the PC. At least that's how I do it. Optical S/PDIF is particularly cool, because it is not subject to electromagnetic interference, doesn't care if it's running over power cables, and doesn't pick up the radio. Hope this helps.-Richie
 
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