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Topic: Adding S/PDIF questions (Read 1688 times) previous topic - next topic
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Adding S/PDIF questions

Hi

Firstly thank you for such an excellent site - after years of buying into too much audiophile BS the logical, evidence-based ethos here is fantastic.

My problem however is this:  I have a Linux vortexbox feeding my audio into a Benchmark DAC2 via asynchronous USB but want to add DIRAC room correction by using a miniDSP DDRC-22D. To do so I need to connect the DDRC-22D via S/PDIF (as it does not use USB) between the vortexbox and the DAC.  Unfortunately my vortexbox does not have S/PDIF out (or header for it on the motherboard).  So as I see it my only options are:

  • Add a USB to S/PDIF converter between the vortexbox and DDRC-22D
  • Change my motherboard for one with S/PDIF out
  • Ditch the Vortexbox altogether, buy a Mac Mini and run Amarra Symphony (with DIRAC buit in) and connect via USB

Questions (sorry I have a few!):

  • Is USB to S/PDIF conversion a bad idea?  I have seen converters for this from cheap to crazy money so I guess it is not a simple job to do properly and non-destructively and thus may be a bit of a kludge?
  • Is S/PDIF out from a motherboard therefore inherently better than a signal converted from USB?
  • Is there any difference in using coaxial or optical S/PDIF?
  • Option 3 would be nice (and feels like overkill and will be hugely expensive) but is it however the only way to get the maximum data accuracy and thus fidelity possible (which is very important to me)?
  • If I go the S/PDIF route, will I be loosing much i.e. supported bit depths, data formats etc ?  I'm not convinced by 'hi resolution' digital and 16/44 works fine for me (although I do have some 24/96 files I would still want to access).  Maybe I am wrong but it feels superceeded by USB these days.

Thank you in advance

Doug

Re: Adding S/PDIF questions

Reply #1 –
Quote from: dougunn on
Hi

Firstly thank you for such an excellent site - after years of buying into too much audiophile BS the logical, evidence-based ethos here is fantastic.

My problem however is this:  I have a Linux vortexbox feeding my audio into a Benchmark DAC2 via asynchronous USB but want to add DIRAC room correction by using a miniDSP DDRC-22D. To do so I need to connect the DDRC-22D via S/PDIF (as it does not use USB) between the vortexbox and the DAC.  Unfortunately my vortexbox does not have S/PDIF out (or header for it on the motherboard).  So as I see it my only options are:

  • Add a USB to S/PDIF converter between the vortexbox and DDRC-22D
  • Change my motherboard for one with S/PDIF out
  • Ditch the Vortexbox altogether, buy a Mac Mini and run Amarra Symphony (with DIRAC buit in) and connect via USB


4. Add a sound card with digital i/o.

Quote
Is there any difference in using coaxial or optical S/PDIF?
optical s/pdif...

  • Electrical isolation can be an advantage in some situations
  • Sample rate is limited (to 96, I think) if that bothers you
  • Audiophiles grit their teeth, make religious signs and scream "Jitter." But hey, they do that anyway.

What sound card? Juli@ is well spoken of, and had some excellent results in Gearslutz loop-back testing a few years ago. Not frightfully expensive. You'd have to check the spec to ensure that it has the i/o options you need.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

Re: Adding S/PDIF questions

Reply #2 –
Thanks for that, yes I had thought about a soundcard but they all seem to be DAC soundcards - which seems pointless as I have a good DAC already.  Also I'm not sure about drivers etc for Linux (which mu Vortexbox runs on).

I will research this further tho'

Thank you

D

Re: Adding S/PDIF questions

Reply #3 –
The Juli@ certainly has analogue i/o, so comes with a DAC and a ADC (and I guess that is the loop-back testing that was done on Gearslutz) as well as digital i/o options. It also comes with a hardware configurable choice of balanced or unbalanced analogue.

You could say that you are paying for a number of things that you will never need, including the whole input section if you are convinced that you will never, ever record anything. However, if you look (I haven't for quite a while) at other soundcard options for digital-only i/o, one quickly moves into much more expensive equipment aimed at pro/home-studio users.

I also use Linux. I have not tried a Juli@ but might one day: I believe it works. Linuxmusicians.com is a good source of information on Linux compatibility.

One more thought: your PC motherboard may not have a socket on the back of the case for s/pdif, but are you sure there is no header on the board itself? It would be nice to only have to buy a bracket and cable.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain
 

Re: Adding S/PDIF questions

Reply #5 –
OK, switched out my motherboard for one with a S/PDIF output.  All seems fine.

D