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Topic: SPDIF or RCA Line In, which is better? (Read 9244 times) previous topic - next topic
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SPDIF or RCA Line In, which is better?

Hey folks,

Just a quick question. Sorry if this has been asked before, but keywords like 'spdif' and 'rca' don't get you very far with the search engine

OK. I use a M-Audio FireWire Audiophile (and will probably upgrade to a USB Audiophile soon).

I currently use a stereo set of RCA cables to connect my Roland SC-8850 (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct99/articles/rolandsc8850.htm) to my FireWire Audiophile.

My question is- if I converted the RCA Line Out from the SC-8850 to a SPDIF In plug, and connected that to the Audiophile's SPDIF In, would that be a better solution than simply connecting line out-> line in?
(I.e. is Line Out->SPDIF In better than Line Out->Line In).

Also, would converting the RCA signal to SPDIF pose any problems?

Regards,
- Spike

SPDIF or RCA Line In, which is better?

Reply #1 –
S/PDIF is digital; it cannot use an analogue input. The source must be an S/PDIF output device.

SPDIF or RCA Line In, which is better?

Reply #2 –
Right. Thanks man. I guess I assumed the Audiophile would convert the analog to digital (i.e. have AD and DA convertors), or something. Thanks again.

- Spike

SPDIF or RCA Line In, which is better?

Reply #3 –
Quote from: Spikey on
Right. Thanks man. I guess I assumed the Audiophile would convert the analog to digital (i.e. have AD and DA convertors), or something.

It does - when you feed it with an analogue signal.
When you feed it a digital signal, it doesn't need to, so it doesn't.
Since both analogue and digital audio signals are transmitted over wires as varying electrical voltages, the Audiophile has no idea whether what you're feeding in to it is analogue or digital, so it can't decide whether to send it through its A/D converter. (Well, I suppose it could monitor the incoming signal to see if it looks like an SPDIF stream, and auto-switch accordingly, but that would be a bit weird and almost certainly lead to confusion).
Therefore it has separate inputs - one for analogue, another for digital. You pick which input to use based on what you're going to be feeding it.

SPDIF or RCA Line In, which is better?

Reply #4 –
Thanks guys, looks like I forgot SPDIF was digital for a moment, there.

- Spike