s/pdif cable?

raphus · Post by **raphus** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:27 am

Hi. I need a s/pdif cable to connect my Kronos to a MOTU UltraLite mk3 Hybrid, which has RCA-styles s/pdif connectors, and I need the RCA-style end to be right-angle. Does anyone have any suggestions? (Sorry, I'm new to s/pdif, and I don't know the terminology.) Thanks!

Robert

jeebustrain · Post by **jeebustrain** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:57 am

You'll need a media converter to change the Optical to coax (the "rca" style). I have one of these:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... 6000000000

Is the Kronos going to be your sync master? If yes, then you only need to have one set of cables. If you want your MOTU to be sync master, you will have to run coax SPDIF output on the Ultralight back through a converter into the Optical SPDIF on the Kronos.

As far as right angle SPDIF coax cables go, you might try someplace like Monoprice or Seismic Audio. I've personally never seen them before - I know some have gotten away with using "regular" shielded RCA cables on short runs, but my audio engineer friends tell me the impedance is wrong, so you're bound to have problems.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 7:31 am

Video cable is ok, I've seen mixed reports on the regular red/white RCA cables.

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 7:49 am

Here's another adapter. And as SanderXpander already said, don't use regular RCA cables.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ ... 4AodhSwAWg

raphus · Post by **raphus** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:53 pm

It's more complicated than I thought, so I appreciate all the advice. Thanks!

popmann · Post by **popmann** » Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:30 am

Also...don't worry about it--plug it in analog. Hit record.

danhewitt · Post by **danhewitt** » Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:15 am

Assuming you're not bringing digital audio back into the Kronos and just want to send signal to your MOTU, you only need a one-way adapter, optical in with coaxial out. I use this one from Monoprice and it works great with my Kronos and Presonus Firebox.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 ... 1&format=2

The two cables you need are less than $2 each, or barely more than that for more length:

http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?c_id= ... 1&format=2

and

http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?c_id= ... 1&format=2

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 10:08 pm

I know this an old thread, but I'm having trouble routing audio from my Kronos into my Presonus Firestudio Project.

I got the exact adapter and cords that Dan mentioned in the last post. Kronos sp/dif out - toslink cable - adapter optical in - adapter coax out - coax cable - firestudio sp/dif in.

I changed the sample rate to 48 khz on the Firestudio and changed the Firestudio clock sourse to sp/dif. The light is blinking indicating it's not syncing. The Kronos system clock is set to Internal.

I just want to get Kronos audio into the Firestudio; I don't need anything coming from the Firestudio to Kronos.

Are there any other settings I need to adjust? My multimeter tells me the 6VDC adapter that came with the converter is outputting 9V--could that be the problem?

xp50player · Post by **xp50player** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 4:40 am

make sure your TOSlink plugs are pushed in all the way, and set DAW to 24-bit.

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Sat Apr 25, 2015 4:33 am

Everything's in all the way. There's no setting for bitdepth in the Firestudio control panel... The DAW I've been using (Kristal Audio Engine) doesn't have a bitdepth setting (set to 32 bit until you mixdown). I'm trying Reaper and I don't see a bitdepth option there either. I see sample rate...

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Mon Apr 27, 2015 1:09 am

So I tried connecting my DVD player, which has coax and optical outputs, to my interface. I was able to get the clocks to sync using only the coax cable straight from the DVD player to the interface. However, I only got a very high pitched sine-sounding wave in the inputs (maybe 14-15k or so). I think the DVD player was outputting 5.1 though, so maybe that was the problem as the interface only supports stereo SPDIF...

Then I tried the optical out from the DVD player through the converter--same problem, wouldn't sync. Does that point to a problem with the converter?

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Fri May 15, 2015 4:35 pm

Turns out it was a bad converter. Monoprice sent me a replacement and I didn't have to ship back the bad one. All good now. I just wish the Kronos wasn't locked at 48khz... oh well, I think there are some workarounds.