VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Jason Huggins]

So, most Macs have an optical input and output hidden inside the headphone and input 1/8" jacks. Some preamps and some interfaces have optical outputs. So I thought to myself...does S/PIDF or USB sound better? They are both a digital transmission of sound, so they should both be technically identical, but has anyone tried to send the optical signal into the Mac instead of sending it USB via an interface?

I know that the converter in a preamp with an optical output might not be as high quality as a dedicated interface, but what if a preamp had killer conversion? Has anyone send the Isa One Digital S/PIDF signal into a Mac via the S/PIDF input? That would potentially save you from needing the external gear (providing you don't need the additional inputs and functionality that you interface affords).

Just thinking out loud and wondering if anyone has messed with this.

Thanks!

[vkuehn]

For the first time in my life, I have an "optical circuit" at work. Not in the studio. I wanted to watch TV and listen via a headset. Cable box had audio out but the picture is processed by the TV and that delays it. I needed audio out of the TV and the only out it provided was optical.

It works just fine. I have no way of judging whether audio out via another format would be equal or better or worse.

I have ONE COMMENT: Keeping the optical "cable" in place (both ends) is a mechanical circus. It doesn't "SNAP IN PLACE'... it just kind of nests there. A little electrical tape here, a little electrical tape there keeps it connected.

My experience does not give me great desires to find a way to use optical in my studio. If I can't plug it in, disconnect and then re-plug with convenience and reliability.... I have a hard time finding enthusiasm.

[georgethetech]

Theoretically it should make zero difference to the audio quality. I've used the technique as a problem solving solution in studios were Firewire or USB cause too many recording glitches.

I've made use of that feature built into Mac Minis (sadly, no longer in Macbooks or iMacs) in a number of studios. When USB and Firewire proved unreliable in one studio, going optical was the solution. In conjunction with a Vorsis M1 and Hosa ODI312 adapter it's a very slick solution. A few preamps already have the optical outputs onboard.

Another use case is connecting one's AES I/O from a Zephyr to Mac Mini for "self-bridging" purposes, eliminating gain matching and analog conversion.
Works a treat! Make sure you set the Wordclock source in your DAW to "external" or "SPDIF" or you'll have big problems, only caveat.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

[Jason Huggins]

Good to know. It's also good to know that the option is there if the necessity arrises. Maybe I'll pick up a cable and do an A/B and just record simultaneously into two DAWS, one with USB and the other with S/PIDF both out of the Audient iD22. I have Adobe Audition CS6 and CC so that would eliminate the potential that different DAWs sound different, making the only variable the different transmission mediums.

[FinMac]

Know a couple of guys who run a tosilink cable from their RME interfaces into a mac mini. Result is a Really clean signal!

One is the RME ADI-2 and the other is a babyface. Didn't get the babyface myself because of the break out cable and the complicated software.

Tried using the iD22 but there was some problem. Steve, the designer of the iD22 suggested it was better to use the usb rather than the digital out.

Perhaps I had it configured incorrectly but Steve knows best.
_________________
www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

[georgethetech]

Once advantage of Toslink is there are no electrical connections since it's purely optical. One less ground-loop to deal with!
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder