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Topic: How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192 (Read 8633 times) previous topic - next topic
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How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Hello,


I have a minidisc hi-fi component and a cable I got with a Sony portable minidisc player.
The cable doesn't look like this one but it has similar connections:


The one on the left is what I think is called SPDIF/Toslink, and I can connect it to the hi-fi component.
The one on the right it what I think is called SPDIF.

On the other side, I have and M-Audio Audiophile-192 which has and "SPDIF" input:


No the SPDIF plug on the cable doesn't fit in the soundcard's SPDIF. What am I supposed to look for as an adapter ?

Thank you for your help.

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #1
Search your favorite online store for these words:
toslink coaxial adapter
toslink coaxial converter

One of them should do it.
The should cost around USD$20

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/PDIF


EDIT:

Example:
http://www.amazon.com/C2G-40019-Optical-Co...coaxial+adapter
(I have not tested, or endorse this product)

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #2
Thank you. Since these adapters must receive power, I guess they have to do some transformation to the signal. I there ANY quality loss possible at this step ?
Because I bought the matererial a PERFECT recording of my MDs, then maybe throw them away or forget them in a box forever.
So I'd even prefer to find a minidisc player with coaxial out.


How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #4
Isn't it a power connection on the right ?



Or here ?


How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #5
I'm referring to the first image in your initial post.  That cable needs no conversion because it is optical. The image of the sound card below it appears to have a coaxial connector; so, yes, you will need an active converter if you're connecting it to a device with an optical connector.

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #6
Yes, it does need power but the converter box should not be changing any bits.  Otherwise, people would not be reporting success with Dolby Digital/DTS.

You will also need some cables if you don't already have them:

From mini-disc to converter box*:
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Digital...cal+audio+cable

From converter box to sound card:
http://www.amazon.com/Cables-29115-Meters-...I/ref=pd_cp_e_2

*I'm going by what you said in reference to the picture of the cable you already have.  That cable is an optical S/PDIF (also called "Toslink") connector with a standard plug at one end and a mini-plug at the other.  If as you say the standard-sized plug fits your mini-disc component, then you'll need a cable with standard plugs at both ends to use the converter box recommended above.

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #7
Thank you. Since these adapters must receive power, I guess they have to do some transformation to the signal. I there ANY quality loss possible at this step ?
Because I bought the matererial a PERFECT recording of my MDs, then maybe throw them away or forget them in a box forever.
So I'd even prefer to find a minidisc player with coaxial out.

Ignoring the FUD of timing jitter (which does not apply in this case) there is NO loss of quality at all.

 

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #8
Sony MZ-RH1 can use the SonicStage software to copy MDs using USB cable just like reading from a USB harddrive, SonicStage can bypass SCMS protection as well, so there is no need to use SPDIF and record in realtime.

EDIT:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=816213
Just searched and I found your old post. I am using MZ-RH1 in XP with SonicStage having no problems at all.

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #9
Yes, it does need power but the converter box should not be changing any bits.  Otherwise, people would not be reporting success with Dolby Digital/DTS.
I've used a mini optical > standard optical cable, to one of those boxes, to a coaxial input on my soundcard, and decoded the resulting Dolby Digital AC-3 bitstream without errors.

The optical/electrical conversion is trivial. The optical and electrical signals are "identical" in structure - if you connect a suitable diode to the electrical (coaxial) output, you will get the optical version. If you put a suitable optical detector + amplifier on the optical output, you get the electrical (coaxial) version. There is no possible mechanism for subtle errors like re-quantisation, re-dithering etc to occurr - it's impossible.

Cheers,
David.

How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #10
Sony MZ-RH1 can use the SonicStage software to copy MDs using USB cable just like reading from a USB harddrive, SonicStage can bypass SCMS protection as well, so there is no need to use SPDIF and record in realtime.

EDIT:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=816213
Just searched and I found your old post. I am using MZ-RH1 in XP with SonicStage having no problems at all.


If I rember well, I had to user a virtual machine (Virtual Box) to get Sonic Stage to work, the problem was that the USB transfert only worked depending on how the disc was recorded/formatted (which uses compressed files). My MD's have not been recording that way.


How do I get S/PDIF out of Minidisc to input of M-Audio Audiophile 192

Reply #12
From converter box to sound card:
http://www.amazon.com/Cables-29115-Meters-...I/ref=pd_cp_e_2



Thank you.
Is this cable actually different compared to a standard RCA cable ?

There are basically two kinds of RCA cables. There are the ones that have a characteristic impedance (75 ohms) suitable for high frequencies, and the other kind that should only be used for audio. If you have an RCA cable meant for video (the ones that connect to the yellow sockets) then that will also work perfectly well as a S/P-DIF cable. Of course, for a short length (1M or less) the audio type will also probably work.