S/PDif, bit depth?

  • Thread starter Thread starter EveningSky
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EveningSky

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Can some reader explain to me the bit depth of SPDIF (coaxial)? Is it standardized? I have several effects boxes for guitar with SPDIF output, but there is little explanation of the bit depth. If A/D conversion is 20 bit, does that mean that the SPDIF is also 20 bit, or 16bit, or 24bit?
Thank you,
ES
 
It's what ever you send down it and whatever is recieving it. S/PDIF is 16 to 24 bits. If you have a device that is sending 24 bits into a device that is 16 bit, the last 8 bits are thrown away.
 
What happens if I am recording at 24 bit and the SPDIF signal is at 20bit. I am sending from a Yam dg stomp box into my DP4. It seems to take the signal, even when I record at 24bit. Yam says little about the nature of the SPDIF signal.
Many companies say very little about the SPDIF signal their product sends. Are most devices on the market today sending SPDIF at 24bit?
Yours,
ES
 
S/PDIF is a digital protocol (ie signal type).... as such, it's the sending/recieving gear that dictates the bit depth of the signal, not S/PDIF itself (the spec only dictates the range).

A 20-bit signal sent into a 24-bit device is a 24-bit signal with 4 bits zero'd. You lose no resolution, but you gain no advantage either.
 
Thank you Track Rat and Blue Bear. That makes sense and explains why it apparently works. Yours, ES
 
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