Digi 002r clarification needed on digital I/O (S/PDIF) standards

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by GhaleonX

Thanks again for your responses. I really appreciate them. I think based on your personal experience, you're probably right about the 002, and this really would end up being a crapshot at best.

Just because I read the Rane note, doesn't mean I understood all of it :P

Perhaps I was too dismissive of a converter, however; the responses from several people seems to indicate that it's the preferred method. My reason for avoiding it was because I wanted to keep the signal as close to original as possible, so I figured it was mostly a matter of converting balanced to unbalanced. Would using a converter such as the ODL-312 that John mentioned (AES->Toslink S/PDIF) possibly degrade the signal in any way/shape/form, or is that the "more pure" way to ensure I'm getting exactly what the DAC on my 4-710 captures?

So long as your clocking is accurate and configured correctly (One master clock, all other devices are slaves), there is no loss when you keep a signal entirely digital, so the converter will simply change the format of your signal, but not affect the sound of it at all. You could change from ADAT to AES to SPDIF and back, and it would still sound exactly the same.

While it may work, using a cable to shoehorn an AES signal into an SPDIF input has the potential to either not work at all, or even worse to work, but unreliably. In my opinion A digital signal that is less than 100% accurate is much worse than a digital signal that doesn't work at all. The reason is that anything you record with a jittery digital signal is garbage, and you may not notice the glitches until after the recording, when it's too late. A completely non-working digital connection however, will stop you from making a recording entirely, so you don't waste the time and energy of making a recording only to find out that it's full of digital artifacts when you go to mix it down.

I have been using my ODL-312 since 2006, it's never failed me, always worked perfectly and never needed any kind of troubleshooting. These little boxes also seem to hold their value very well( I think it was $90 new, I've seen used ones go for $75), so if you ever end up not needing it, there's always ebay.

[John_Toolbox]

Just and FYI, it looks like the box you need is the HOSA CDL-313 (AES to Coaxial SPDIF).

[GhaleonX]

Originally Posted by John_Toolbox

Just and FYI, it looks like the box you need is the HOSA CDL-313 (AES to Coaxial SPDIF).

Actually, I'm thinking of getting the same box you have, since the digi 002 should take up to 96k fine as S/PDIF over light pipe.

The clock would be syncing over light pipe as well - still shouldn't be a problem with your proposed setup, right?

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by GhaleonX

Actually, I'm thinking of getting the same box you have, since the digi 002 should take up to 96k fine as S/PDIF over light pipe.

The clock would be syncing over light pipe as well - still shouldn't be a problem with your proposed setup, right?

Does Digi 002 accept optical SPDIF? I didn't think it did, but if it does, then yes the ODL-312 will work fine. You do not need any external word clock cabling, but you will need to set your 4-710d to be the master clock, and set your digi 002 to external clocking.

[John_Toolbox]

UPDATE: Yes it does support optical SPDIF.

The clock would be syncing over light pipe as well

Just to avoid confusion for anyone that reads this in the future, lightpipe is an Alesis term for the ADAT format(8channel) and should not be confused with Optical SPDIF(2 channel). Both Optical SPDIF and ADAT(light pipe) use the same type of "Toslink" connector, but they are different formats and not directly compatible. Most pro audio devices with toslink ports will support both formats, but things like CD players and computers generally don't support the ADAT format.

[Top Jimmy]

Originally Posted by GhaleonX

Actually, I'm thinking of getting the same box you have, since the digi 002 should take up to 96k fine as S/PDIF over light pipe.

The clock would be syncing over light pipe as well - still shouldn't be a problem with your proposed setup, right?

You better double check. IIRC, the 002 can only do 44/48 via optical S/PDIF.


Buttdialed by me & Tapatalk

[GhaleonX]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

You better double check. IIRC, the 002 can only do 44/48 via optical S/PDIF.


Buttdialed by me & Tapatalk

In my first post, I quoted the 002/002r manual, page 55:

Optical I/O
These are a pair of TOS-link style connectors for ADAT Optical (8 channels of I/O) or S/PDIF Op- tical (2 channels of I/O) devices. You can choose between these Optical I/O formats in the
Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog. When trans- ferring material in one of these formats to
Pro Tools, be sure to select the appropriate Opti- cal I/O format as the Clock Source in the Hard- ware Setup dialog.
The Optical I/O ports support sample rates of 44.1 and 48 kHz in ADAT Optical mode, and sample rates up to 96 kHz in Optical S/PDIF mode. The Optical I/O ports support 24-bit, 20-bit and 16-bit resolutions in both modes.
The Optical I/O ports use a standard optical “lightpipe” cable.

and from page 1:

Digi 002 and Digi 002 Rack Features
Audio and MIDI Features
(Digi 002 and Digi 002 Rack)
The Digi 002 and Digi 002 Rack units provide the following input and output capacity:
• 8 analog audio inputs (4 with mic preamps), with A/D converters supporting up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio
• 48V phantom power on mic preamps, switch- able in channel pairs
• –10 dBV input pair for direct monitoring of tape or CD input sources
• Eight analog audio outputs, with D/A con- verters supporting up to 24-bit, 96 kHz audio
• Monitor Output pair (+4 dBu) mirrors Main Outputs 1–2 with dedicated volume control for direct connection to powered speakers
• Alternate Main Output pair (–10 dBV) mir- rors Main Outputs 1–2 for direct output to –10 dBV devices.
• Stereo headphone output with level control
• Optical connectors for 8 channels of
ADAT I/O (up to 48 kHz) or 2 channels of Op- tical S/PDIF I/O (up to 96 kHz)

Just being thorough - but I get the impression that the ODL312 is the most "doubt-less" solution for me (though I'd still like to test AES->S/PDIF in the other way, if I ever get the opportunity).

Of course, I'll inevitably upgrade to a newer (better) interface eventually, but as it stands I still prefer working with my 002 over this RME Fireface 800 I've got on loan (gasp)! Focusrite has a new rackmount that looks rather good...

[John_Toolbox]

There are a few odl-312s on ebay right now for $45. Pretty much a no brainer at that price.

[Top Jimmy]

Originally Posted by GhaleonX

In my first post, I quoted the 002/002r manual, page 55:


and from page 1:


Just being thorough - but I get the impression that the ODL312 is the most "doubt-less" solution for me (though I'd still like to test AES->S/PDIF in the other way, if I ever get the opportunity).

Of course, I'll inevitably upgrade to a newer (better) interface eventually, but as it stands I still prefer working with my 002 over this RME Fireface 800 I've got on loan (gasp)! Focusrite has a new rackmount that looks rather good...

I stand corrected.

After you've had to switch the optical cable a few times, you'll wish you had the AES to coax S/PDIF converter instead.

[GhaleonX]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

I stand corrected.

After you've had to switch the optical cable a few times, you'll wish you had the AES to coax S/PDIF converter instead.

Why would I need to switch the optical cable?