Where can I find optical spdif?

RobertPlatinum · Post by **RobertPlatinum** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:12 pm

I'm about to buy a computer for my Oasys. Who makes an inexpensive optical spdif interface? Are there any computer manufacturers who build computers with spdif? Any help would be appreciated!

franzlp · Post by **franzlp** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:00 pm

The best card out there ( for less than $100) for your computer would be the EMU 0404 period. Look up most reviews and you will agree. I brought it and I love it.

Post by **Sharp** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:08 pm

I'd bet that the majority of new PC's have optical connections on them as standard.

Regards.
Sharp.

t_tangent · Post by **t_tangent** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:40 pm

For Mobo's check out ASUS, although I am a bit out of touch in the last year. But most decent mobos will have optical SPDIF onboard now.

If you want a decent audio card/interface that has ADAT I/O that can be used as optical spdif then do check out www.soniccore.de and their Scope cards. There are lots of variations to chose from and getting one second hand now is quite cheap as Sonic Core have just released a mega outboard interface which alot of users are selling off spare Scope cards to afford one of those. The best place to check for second hand prices for them is the users forum http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=8

FWIW, the moderator of the Scope products community forum, John Cooper, is also one of Korg's OASYS team.

Anashwaran · Post by **Anashwaran** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:35 pm

franzlp wrote:The best card out there ( for less than $100) for your computer would be the EMU 0404 period. Look up most reviews and you will agree. I brought it and I love it.

I use the same and it works well. Best price at this level.
Anashwaran

danatkorg · Post by **danatkorg** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:48 pm

Both of my modern Macs - a MacBookPro, and a now comparatively old G5 - have optical S/PDIF I/O as a standard feature.

AnthonyB · Post by **AnthonyB** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:04 pm

I've got an E-MU 0404, and a Creative XFI- Soundblaster X-FI Platinum Sounnd card 9the latter came with my new PC)

They both have optical inputs, but, until now, this "Optical" thing has been a mystery to me, and have only used standard quarter inch jacks. So would an optical "cable" act in a similar way to a Standard Jack plug?, or does it transmit other data as well?

Also, were do you get these cables from (was wondering if there are special types, or are they all "uniformly" the same). If i brought something like this: http://www.dv247.com/invt/8088/ would i be "ok to go"?

AnthonyB

TagPass · Post by **TagPass** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:25 am

Robert, what happened? A week ago you were looking for a computer now you're ditching the O altogether!?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... escription

Maybe you've got two?

Anyhow, I would've gone with franzlp's and Anashwaran's recommendation. I picked up a 0404 for $99 when my Fireface's power supply crapped out and used it to muddle through a few client projects while the FF was sent out for replacement. But I kept it around for paranoia and because I can still use the effects package, which works kind of like a mini UAD-1.

RobertPlatinum · Post by **RobertPlatinum** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 5:16 am

Tagpass, I only have one. Something came up so liquidate the assets, lol. I can always get another one.

franzlp · Post by **franzlp** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:46 pm

Actually the optical connection is in many ways superior to the the audio plugs Anthony. You dont' have to worry about hum because the connection is optical (light based). I exchanged my EMU 0404 for and EMU 1212m because its SPDIF optical in and out can be doubled as an ADAT optical in and out. I now can use that configuration with my EXB-DI to channel the 8 audio channels as if I were using the 8 physical audio jacks. Of course in this manner I only end up using one optical fiber which is much more compact. The optical connection is always better as it has the potential to transmit data and not just audio although with the Oasys I'm not 100% if its all only audio. As for the cables the best place and quality for cabled of this sort is www.monoprice.com . You can look into this one for instance.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subde ... p_id=10229