s/pdif --> AES/EBU converters

  • Thread starter Thread starter BigKahuna
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BigKahuna

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Does anyone know where I could buy a converter that would take an spdif signal and convert it to AES/EBU?
The sound card I'm looking at getting recommends using a Hosa CDL-313 converter for this ... but I can't find any info on it anywhere.
Does anyone know of any other manufacturers that make such a contraption?
Thanks!
 
you can make your own cable for spdif to aes/ebu. simple. just take a mic cable, cut off the end that is not needed (the male end), and wire a rca plug to it, but, combine the wires from pins 2 and 3 on the xlr end to the hot lead on the rca end. Or course, connect the pin 1 xlr wire to the ground on the rca. there you go, a spdif to aes/ebu cable for the price of a mic cable and a rca plug. you could also just use a rca cable and cut off one end and get a inline female xlr plug and wire the hot lead from the rca to either pin 2 or 3 on the xlr, then jump a little wire from 2 to 3, then the ground from the rca to pin 1 on the xlr. this may actually be cheaper to do.

WARNING!!! do not try to reverse this though. aes/ebu format runs at +4 and spdif runs at -10. you could do some serious damage to your devise trying to make a aes/ebu to spdif cable reversing the above.

Ed
 
Wow ... thanks Ed.
I'm actually surprised that there's not more to it than that.
Thanks for the tip! This should help save some $ for beer! :)
 
But wait!!! There is more!!!

You are going to run a -10 signal to a +4 input. That can create some very interesting problems with regular audio signal as it is, such as not driving the OP amp to a point where it will work with the signal in it's optimum range. Now with digital sources, you could really be missing out!!!

I would suspect though that you will be okay.

Here is what you need to consider.

In a digital transfer that goes through a wire, you ARE going to lose data!!! No way around that. It has been scientifically proven that the exact digital clone is impossible when running though cheapy wire. So the issues here could be also that you may lose some data from not driving the recieving OP amp with a hot enough signal.

Now, I believe that all's that little spdif to aes/ebu thing you can buy is just a matching transformer. At the price that was listed for it, it can't really be a good transformer, because good transformers cost over $100. So, that transformer may have some effect on the digital transfer.

Next. Cheap wire will cause bad digital transfers too. So, no matter which way you choose to go, it may be wise to invest in a good quality "Digital Cable". Yes!!! There are cables specific for digital transfers.

Also, spdif has been shown not to actually pass as good of data as aes/ebu. Something to do with the output level or something. So, you are going to pass a bass signal already, or at least an unideal signal to a mismatched input, which really could have an effect on the data transfer too. So, you may also be transferring that data through a bad cable. So, you are screwing yourself in three ways.

Your best bet is to get rid of the device that has spdif and get something that has aes/ebu and invest in a nice digital cable to do these transfers.

Sorry to rain on the parade.

But, I am sure though that you will at least get the transfers to happen making a cable like described above. You may be hard pressed to here the difference between the original and the transferred signal. So, this is all a little premature.

Ed
 
That's really good advice, Ed. :)
I think you're right about eliminating the s/pdif format completely. The good news is I haven't bought the sound card that I'm referring to, yet ... so I have the flexibility to do that. I was planning to hook an AES/EBU output from a Panasonic DA7 console to a Frontier Design Wavercenter/PCI sound card. The literature says this card is switchable between AES/EBU and s/pdif. It still connects with an RCA jack, though which explains the need to get a specialty cable or converter.
I actually have Monster Cable that was designed for digital transfer, so I think I'll be ok there.
While I like the Wavecenter/PCI's features, I may have to rethink which card I'll actually get. I really like the lightpipe i/o on that card, though. I may be better off finding a card that integrates better with my board. One that has true XLR AES/EBU inputs ... then it could plug directly in my board with no messing around.
If you have any ideas on sound cards, let me know.
Thanks again!
 
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