tthcore said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm still confused, i don't really understand the tech jargon of analog/line s/pdif etc.. I will someday, but i'm still a rookie. How many tracks of audio can i record with this thing at one time? 2? 4? 18? thanks, i learn more here everyday.
Yikes! Okay. I'll try to make this as simple as I can, but it's not an easy subject....
Lightpipe: an optical (fiber optic) data connection capable of carrying 8 channels of digital audio between two devices that support it. The 1814 has a lightpipe input and output. ADATs also have lightpipe inputs and outputs. Thus, this is also commonly called "ADAT lightpipe".
S/PDIF: a coaxial (shielded copper wire) or optical (fiber optic) data connection capable of carrying 2 channels of digital audio between two devices that support it. The FW1818 has coaxial S/PDIF.
Line level: the normal signal level for analog audio devices when routing between components (e.g. between a TV and a VCR, between a cassette deck and your mixer, etc.).
Mic level: the signal level for microphones. This is much weaker than line level.
Preamp: a device that boosts a mic level signal to line level.
Digital: an electrical signal in the form of of a string of 0s and 1s (data). Your computer stores data in digital form. Examples of digital connections are USB, FireWire, Lightpipe, S/PDIF. Digital connections are highly specialized. You can connect a Lightpipe output to a Lightpipe input, but not to an S/PDIF input (even if they are both optical).
Analog: an electrical wave of varying levels. Audio signals that most people work with are analog.
Converter: short for analog-to-digital converter or digital-to-analog converter, depending on context. A device that converts between analog signals (audio) and digital signals (data).
The FW1814 has eight analog-to-digital converters built into it (for recording) and four digital-to-analog converters (for playback).
Thus, the FW1814 has 8 analog line level inputs. Two can be switched to use microphone inputs. Thus, you can hook up two microphones directly. If you have a separate mixer with built-in preamps or an stand-alone preamp , you can hook up more mics than that.
It has 4 analog line level outputs. You will probably only need two.
It has an ADAT lightpipe input and output that you will probably never use. It has an S/PDIF output that you will probably never use.
As shipped, it has 8 inputs and 4 outputs. If you have an external converter or an ADAT deck to connect to the lightpipe input, this provides a way of adding (up to) an additional 8 inputs. The S/PDIF connection can be used to add an additional 2 inputs from an S/PDIF-compatible external converter, or to bring data in digitally from certain DAT decks.
