quick question, s/pdif?

[Falopo]

I have a terratec ews88d soundcard. i use the midi and the adat connections with my yamaha 01v and i record into nuendo.
it has spdif also. ive never used it and i dont know what its for(may sound stupid). what would i use it for if anything at all in my setup? thanks a lot for any replies.

 

[SPINSTERWUN]

Sony/Philips Digital InterFace

 

[Track Rat]

If by chance you had a device like a mic preamp with a digital (S/PDIF) output or something like a Johnson J Station (which also is equiped with a S/PDIF output) you could go into your soundcard in the digital domain through this connection.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I have thought about using my digital mixer connected to the ADAT ins on the EWS88D and my preamp w digital outs into the S/PDIF but I seem to remember the preamp has to be the word clock master in that case...anyway, I didn't do it.

 

[Track Rat]

True that whatever is the digital SOURCE must be the clock master and the recieving device must SLAVE to that source (clock wise).

 

[WinstonCowboy]

If by chance you had a device like a mic preamp with a digital (S/PDIF) output or something like a Johnson J Station (which also is equiped with a S/PDIF output) you could go into your soundcard in the digital domain through this connection.

I am thinking about getting a J-Station...and I was wandering what would be the best way to hook it to my computer. I am using a M-Audio USB Duo?

Can you run a S/PDIF into a USB port? Or could I run it through the Duo somehow? Or do I need a midi interface?

 

[AlChuck]

Can you run a S/PDIF into a USB port?

Well... could you run a USB cable into a serial port? Or a FireWire cable into a parallel port?

Of course not.

Or could I run it through the Duo somehow?

If the Duo has a S/PDIF port, then yes, Otherwise, no.

Or do I need a midi interface?

A MIDI interface has nothing to do with it. MIDI data is not digitized audio.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I have thought about using my digital mixer connected to the ADAT ins on the EWS88D and my preamp w digital outs into the S/PDIF but I seem to remember the preamp has to be the word clock master in that case...anyway, I didn't do it.

ADAT Lightpipe and S/PDIF digital protocols sometimes use the type of optical connectors, but they are not the same digital protocol and are completely incompatible.

 

[WinstonCowboy]

Well... could you run a USB cable into a serial port? Or a FireWire cable into a parallel port?

Of course not.



If the Duo has a S/PDIF port, then yes, Otherwise, no.

A MIDI interface has nothing to do with it. MIDI data is not digitized audio.

Yo Sisyphus...Here is what the J-Station has:

2 1/4 TRS Outputs
Midi Ins/Outs
S/PDIF

Would there be any difference in quality between these 3 options? I guess I could run the 2 balanced outs into the back of the Duo's TRS inputs. I don't have any midi. I was thinking there might be an adpater I could hook to the S/PDIF. I guess not. So to hook this up via S/PDIF...you're saying that I MUST have a S/PDIF input on my soundcard? The Duo has S/PDIF...but its only output.


WINSTON

 

[AlChuck]

Yo Sisyphus...Here is what the J-Station has:

2 1/4 TRS Outputs
Midi Ins/Outs
S/PDIF

Would there be any difference in quality between these 3 options?

Forget about the MIDI ins and outs, there is no digital audio in a MIDI data stream. The MIDI ports on the J-Station are there for controlling its parameters and program changes with MIDI messages, period. The question of there being a difference in quality between the MIDI output and the other two is a question that makes no sense to ask. It's like asking "what's better, mustard or October?"

The S/PDIF allows you to keep the output of the J-Station in the digital domain when you record it. In order to send out analog outputs the J-Station has to do a digital-to-analog conversion, and then your soundcard has to reverse that and do an analog-to-digital conversion. So, technically speaking, the digital transfer is bound to be better because you have eliminated a round of conversions between the digital and analog realm. But I bet the difference is nearly indetectable.

I was thinking there might be an adpater I could hook to the S/PDIF. I guess not.

Not, indeed. Adapters can only the same kind of signal out of another connector type -- for example, a 1/4" plug to a RCA plug for routing an analog line-level signal. But analog and digital signals are completely different things. Changing the connector doesn't work. It would be something like putting an electrical receptacle into the end of a water pipe and then expecting that electricity will come out. Or like splicing a 1/4" plug to the end of a MIDI cable and expecting an audio signal to come out.

So to hook this up via S/PDIF...you're saying that I MUST have a S/PDIF input on my soundcard?

That's what it comes down to, yes.

 

[WinstonCowboy]

It's like asking "what's better, mustard or October?"

Damn...I haven't laughed that hard in a while...I don't know why...but that line really got me good. Its' always a gas viewing your shortcomings from the director's seat. Things tend to be a bit more glaring from that prospective.

I do ask some pretty assified questions from time to time. When I read your reply (midi)...I was like...I knew that...what the hell was I thinking?!....complete spaz of the frontal lobe I guess???

Thanks for all the info...that was very thorough...and I really appreciate it.


WINSTON

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

It's like asking "what's better, mustard or October?"

October is CLEARLY better than mustard... Halloween occurs in October, and that means Halloween candy - which is a tastier treat than mustard - except on Hot Dogs!

 

[AlChuck]

Glad to be the cause of some merriment... I've had far too little of it myself lately, it probably shows in my brittle tone...

 

[Treeline]

My soundcard is dying a flaming, hissing, slow death. It's rather refreshing, actually; my SBLive!Value card (read: cheaper than usual version of a vanilla gamer card that I hang onto only because it has a decent MIDI set that I've never used) took a static hit and has been wheezing ever since. Pretty soon I'll HAVE to buy a real interface. But I digress.

I had a $ 35.00 Hoontech digital interface, pulled it out of the sock drawer and installed it. Hooked up my AKAI DPS16 S/PDIF outs, set the soundcard's recording controls to recognize something more or less digital, and voila!
Perfect transfer; completely bypasses the analog circuitry in the soundcard; mixes down well and records to CD without a fuss.

The only downside is whenever I listen to it through my monitors, I get the analog playback signal - which is full of dreck. Guess I'll have to spring for that E-MU thingie after all. Whoops - Honey, the card won't work with Win98. Guess I'll have to upgrade the box...

It's good to have a plan.