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spdif question
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 2:45 am    Post subject: spdif question Reply with quote

I know nothing about spdif. My audio interface has spdif in and out so I am tossed up if I should use it, what advantages it may have or what it is even capable of. My original plan was to just use left and right outs to two audio in on the interface. Any advice or suggestions on a good source to read is appreciated.
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SanderXpander
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 4:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The main benefit is that you skip D/A and A/D conversion so the sound quality is better preserved. Whether this is something you will notice is anybody's guess and depends heavily on the quality of your audio interface, your monitoring and your ears.
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Shambler
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 6:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use SPDIF mainly because I assume it should be less prone to electrical/radio interference.

Also I have limited audio inputs so it keeps the analogue inputs free for something else which may not have SPDIF out.

If you need an optical/digital SPDIF converter I use one from Lindy and it's worked fine for the last few years.
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Diego5150
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SPDIF, Lightpipe or Toslink as it also know is as exactly how SanderXpander described it.
I have used it and really did not notice any difference. The thing that I really do not like about it is the connection does not sit firmly in place like a USB connection would. But it is a really good option especially if you used up all your other input connections on your interface.
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah! This all makes sense and probably the best reason Insee is if I need to free up audio inputs. I think Inwill pick up a cable and try it to get a feel for it. My audio interface has four hiz/line and four mic/line inputs, two adat sets and db25. So it will be awhile or forever before I use them all up. Thanks again!
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SanderXpander
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When using digital audio connections, you'll need to think about clocking. In any interconnected system there can be only one clock master. It's like midi clock but in this case the clock controls the sample rate. Clock is one directional. So if you only connect the s/pdif out of your Kronos to an input on your soundcard your only option is to have the Kronos be master (no settings need to be changed) and set your soundcard to slave/ext clock, fed from the s/pdif in. If you would like the Kronos to be clock slave you'll need to run a second cable back from the soundcard's s/pdif output to the Kronos input.
Remember to correctly set your soundcard's optival in/out to s/pdif not ADAT. Then you'll need to set the Kronos to slave.

Clocks can sound different because they control the samplerate and a bad clock with a lot of jitter will be noticeable with sound being less "tight", especially in the low frequencies. This is again depending mostly on the quality difference of the gear as well as your ears and your monitoring. Most of the time it's a pretty small difference.

No matter which clock master you choose, the Kronos only works at 48KHz so that's what you'll need to be using.
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks SanderXpander, I knew about the 48KHz but did not know about the clock. I will go check out the Kronos manual. I wonder which will work better Kronos as clock or Audio interface. Will I need to do something in my DAW about the clocking? I assume I will if I use some kind of vst. My goal of course is to integrate the Kronos, Karp and Minitaur through the interface into logic. Seems I have opened up a whole new subject I need to learn. Heck i don't even have spdif cables yet. I hope the local mom and pop or GC has some.
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Shambler
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your audio interface may auto detect the Kronos clock speed when you connect it, if not you can select it in the interfaces settings in your DAW.

I have the audio interface set as master, works ok so I've never looked into the details of master/slave.

SPDIF will appear in your DAW (should already be there) just like any other audio input on your interface.

I set up an audio track with the SPDIF stereo channel as input and if course a separate midi track if you want to record midi.

If your interface has optical in you can just use a toslink optical cable, if not you will need a toslink cable plus an optical/coaxial converter plus a coaxial cable.
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Shambler!
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SanderXpander
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As for which clock is better, in the grand scheme it's not trivial but in your situation it probably is. If you want you can try them both our but you can't really A/B quickly enough so I suspect you won't really hear a difference.
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep SanderXpander, I doubt I would know the difference when I hear it unless someone points it out to me. Once I learn it I will be able to but in this case I am guessing ignorance is bliss!
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SanderXpander
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just want to point out that the clock quality won't actually affect the recordings of your Kronos since it will communicate digitally so no jitter will make it to the recording. Rather, it will affect playback (which is always analog) and any analog recordings you do. So perhaps an even smaller worry for now.
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, I don't understand that and I am not certain what that would sound like. I will do some googling!
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Bertotti
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just listened to this example site on my apple earbuds. I will use my DT88o's when I get a chance. The truth is I 'm not sure what I am listening for. On the world is round to me something sounded like some background noise but the rest of the examples I am not sure. Can you guys make out the jitter? Perhaps I have to use better audio listening then the ear buds. DT's next
jitter examples?
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SanderXpander
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I mainly think that it is a good illustration of why you shouldn't worry about it Smile
It's worth mentioning just so you know it exists.
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